Battlefield and Ballroom Tours

Following our public meeting on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, the new board of directors members the next day toured the proposed site of the Battle of Puebla re-enactment at Camp Mabry, the Texas National Guard post in Austin. Our host was Jeff Hunter, who is Director of the Military History Museum there.
Jeff made it clear that they don't let just "anyone" come to Camp Mabry who wants to do a re-enactment. We plan to work with him on making our case for the Adjutant General. We are confident that we have well-qualified re-enactors interested in our planned 2012 event. Some of them have already participated in other re-enactment or "living history" events at Camp Mabry, and we will collaborate with them in formulating our plans.
On Friday, October 3, we had a tour of the historic Hotel Driskill in Austin, where we would like to stage a dinner and an 1863 French army military ball. We saw the large ballroom where the dinner will be held, as well as the tiled mezzanine and its grand piano. Most impressive was the "Maximilian Room," where the walls are adorned with a number of very large mirrors. Each mirror has the profile of Empress Charlotte etched at the top. The mirrors were apparently ordered from France by Emperor Maximilian. As the ship was at sea, Maximilian was executed in Mexico and the mirrors were diverted to New Orleans. From there, they wound up at the Driskill.

Interim Board of Directors Formed

As we apply for non-profit corporation status, four of us have agreed to serve as a board of directors for an interim period. This will give us time to carefully recruit and screen candidates for the permanent board. We are looking for community leaders who live in the greater Austin, Texas, area, so that - at least initially - they will not have to travel great distances to participate in board meetings and other Consortium activities. That may change after a few years of successful "local" operation, if the board agrees that expansion is both feasible and desirable.
The current interim board members - other than myself - are: Dr. Maribel Rios, Mr. Hector Diaz, and Maj. Juliette Ritzman, (USAF, Ret.) Information about their qualifications and backgrounds can be found elsewhere on this website.