Rita Folse Elliott

Southern Research Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc., & The LAMAR Institute, P.O. Box 337, Box Springs, GA 31801, 706-569-7233 ext. 14 (work), ritaelliot@aol.com

Description of past and current involvement in public outreach and education

I incorporate public outreach in CRM projects through my position as Senior Archaeologist at Southern Research; as Education Coordinator for the non-profit LAMAR Institute; and as Board Member of The Society for Georgia Archaeology.  These projects have included creating numerous museum exhibits; Archaeology Month Curriculum Guides; a teachers’ archaeology classroom manual; an interactive archaeology CD; powerpoint presentations; “popular” site reports; interactive site tours; half-day to week-long teachers’ workshops; children’s workshops (K-12 students, scouts, at-risk youth); and Elderhostel classes.

I have been the Georgia Network Coordinator for several years now.  I attended the PEC Retreat in Louisiana, several PEC annual meetings and PEC-sponsored workshops, and am now formally a member of the committee.  I am currently Chair of the Boy Scout Task Force

Interest in PEC Membership

I appreciate the opportunity at SAA conferences and throughout the year on the listserv to communicate with other PEC members about projects, activities, and ideas in the public education realm.  I hope to continue to grow professionally from this relationship.I hope to share my experiences in public education if they are relevant to particular projects that individuals and/or the PEC focus on.  I aim to make time to be a fairly active PEC member, which will include, minimally, continuing in my role as Georgia state network; working on one specific project (such as the Boy Scout Task Force) at a time; and participating in additional PEC activities as my time allows.

Area of interest: Public outreach through traditional and non-traditional methods; archaeological advocacy among policy makers; targeting varied audiences.

Target audience(s): I enjoy public outreach with virtually all audiences.  I’m especially drawn to traditionally underserved audiences such as those in rural areas, economically challenged areas, home-schoolers, ethnic minorities, and students with developmental and/or emotional challenges.  But I also enjoy working with both young and older groups, avocationals, urban residents and others.