(reposted from July 1, 2013)

It’s not often you get to write your own obituary but here I am faced with saying goodbye as I transition into working retirement. I won’t actually be gone: just working to advance NASA’s mission another way. And if I’m lucky, I may be able to get an LLC launched so we can help others wade through its bureaucracy.

Starting in June 2013, I will have the privilege of serving as the museum director of the Infinity Science Center in Bay St. Louis, MS, which also serves as Stennis’ official visitor center. It’s an incredible opportunity and about the only one that would lure me away from civil service. I could go on about all the wonderful opportunities given me over the past 20+ years, or how much I’ve learned from all the incredible people I’ve worked with but I’ll leave that for another time. Blogs are supposed to be brief.

In the past year or two, it’s become obvious inside and outside of Marshall that its exhibits function is a mature, thriving, productive organism that has definitely come into its own. It’s world class. Who would’a thunk we’d ever have a team of skilled “veterans?” All in one place at the same time!

Someone asked me last week which projects have been my most memorable and why. Just for the record, they would have to be:

•  “Space Science; Space Exploration,” where I learned tough lessons about targeting audiences
• “Building a Better World,” where we first learned about handicap accessibility
• “New Questions,” and the Curiosity rover models, which unshackled us a bit from literal presentation
• The Freedom and ISS tandem trailers, where we honed our Community Impact Program (CIP) strategy and tactics
• “Conquering LEO,” which leveraged artifacts to deliver messages
• “Exploring the Backyard,” although just a concept, it has great potential to inspire on a large scale
• And of course, “Great Nations Dare,” a life lesson in stubborn, relentless determination.

The way the contractor team has responded to their new contract; the expansion of ex-Exhibits Team members into responsible communications positions elsewhere in OSAC and around Marshall; the way the center is leading a combined SLS/Orion/ESD strategy; and the incredible depth and maturity of the team’s exhibit production and operations skill mix are all signs that the function will continue to be a relevant, needed part of NASA’s communications strategy.

S’long but not goodbye. As I mentioned in a note earlier to the Exhibits Team, it has been an honor to work for you.