Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 2026 National Association of Automotive Museums [NAAM] Annual Conference and Awards Banquet at America’s Packard Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Given my research interests, I had originally planned to attend one day to attend a session on women in motorsports. However, as president of the Society of Automotive Historians, I was invited by the Packard director Rob Signom to attend the entire conference. It turned out to be a great experience as I sat in on many informative sessions, networked with folks from the transportation museum community, received some inspiration for my book manuscript, took part in field trips to a number of transportation-related museums and sites, as well as having the opportunity to spread the word about the SAH.
The four days were jammed-packed with activities. The sessions covered topics such as using social media to engage and attract younger museum audiences, obtaining grants to fund special programs and incentives, achieving best practices for archival accumulation and storage, the challenges of creating changing and relevant exhibits with automobiles, as well as the aforementioned session that focused on incorporating women’s motorsports into museum exhibits. Field trips to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Carillon Historical Park, Champaign Aviation Museum, personal automotive collections, and an experiential environments design firm were also part of the conference.
Thursday evening featured the presentation of NAAMY Awards, which honor achievements in curation, education, marketing, and collections management in nonprofit transportation museums across North America. During one evening a group of attendees [including my baseball-loving self] had the opportunity to attend a Dayton Dragons minor league ballgame, which was a complete blast.
Although I find social situations to be quite stressful, the NAAM folks were welcoming, helpful, and engaging. I was struck by the atmosphere of cooperation; all were eager to share information, artifacts, and resources with others. Not only did I personally connect with archivists willing to help with my book project, but I believe my attendance and participation will help strengthen the important relationship between the SAH and NAAM. And the baseball game was pretty awesome, too.