We’re hitting several milestones this year: the Declaration of Independence’s semiquincentennial, the Route 66 centennial, and the retirement of the one and only Jeff Woodard.
Jeff joined the staff in 2005 as the Museum’s Director of Marketing & Community Relations. Prior to becoming a full-timer, Jeff volunteered in our Library & Archives for several years and also wrote for the UAW Local 2488’s newsletter, Union Spirit, at Mitsubishi Motors.
Jeff’s work over the last two decades has brought thousands of visitors to the Museum and our Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center & Gift Shop, created lasting partnerships, and helped collect and preserve stories that might’ve otherwise been lost to history.
He has been instrumental in marking the Museum’s spot on the Route 66 map, promoting the Museum Square, and in continuing to foster the Museum's relationship with the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project.
Jeff has given countless dome tours, conducted dozens of oral history interviews, and spread innumerable smiles across town.
He is truly one of a kind and will be missed in the office — although he reassures us he’ll be around. Retirement just means getting to do more tai chi, gardening, and spending quality time with his family!
Help us celebrate his career and wish him well on Friday, May 15, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the courtroom. We’ll be hosting an open-house style reception before heading out to Jazz Upfront for the after-party.
Jeff will also be honored later this summer as Bloomington’s Grand Marshall during the Cruisin’ Through the Century celebration on June 6 & 7. He was nominated and selected for this role because of the work he’s done over the last two decades to make Bloomington a Route 66 destination.
Questions? Please click here to contact us.
Jeff teaches kids about the magic of gardening during Futures in History Day Camp in 2024.
Jeff will also be honored later this summer as Bloomington’s Grand Marshall during the Cruisin’ Through the Century celebration on June 6 & 7. He was nominated and selected for this role because of the work he’s done over the last two decades to make Bloomington a Route 66 destination.
Questions? Please click here to contact us.
