We Visit Kentucky to Toast National Corvette Museum’s 25th Anniversary

Corvette Forum chats with NCM’s new president at the dawn of the C8 era, and as the museum prepares to celebrate 25 years, Aug. 28-31.

Did you know that this year is Corvette Forum‘s 20th anniversary? Back then, we were rolling with Prince in his little red Corvette, partying like it was still 1999, getting to know the C5 that had debuted a couple of years earlier. We’ve come a long way since then — as has the Corvette — and we can’t wait to see what the next 20 years brings.

We’re not the only ones celebrating an anniversary this year, though. Way back in the waning years of the C4 era, when grunge gave way to glam-rap, electronica, and the Spice Girls, a wonderful place arose from the farmlands of Bowling Green, Kentucky: the National Corvette Museum. This year, the museum will celebrate its 25th anniversary of operation from August 28 through 31. What better way, then, to celebrate both milestones than with a series of posts surrounding the museum’s silver extravaganza.

CORVETTE SUMMER: Dr. Sean Preston at the National Corvette Museum, August 2019.

To kick things off, we drove down to the National Corvette Museum on the first morning of August to interview the new president of the NCM: Dr. Sean Preston, and the retiring president, Wendell Strode. Dr. Preston took hold of the reins as of July 1, while Strode’s last day is January 3, 2020; thus, it was only fitting to meet with those who were there at the beginning of the best place on earth, and those who will lead it to the next 25 years and beyond.

“My formal training is in education and nonprofit leadership,” said Dr. Preston. “I have a separate passion for cars, and [I’m] certainly a Corvette enthusiast. When this position became available, it seemed like a pretty good match with the direction the museum is heading, which is more of an educational slant, a little less of a building with just cars in it, but actually a story about the cars, and the story of Corvette: recognizing the past, celebrating the present, looking forward to the future.”

Dr. Preston first visited the National Corvette Museum several years ago with his father-in-law, who is also a big fan of America’s beloved sports car. He also visited with his wife as a semi-finalist for the position prior to taking the reins from Strode, who he says has been a great resource during the transition of leadership.

 SHOWCASING A CLASSIC: Dr. Sean Preston and an early C3 Corvette Stingray at the NCM. 

“It’s still pretty similar,” Dr. Preston said of the museum’s evolution over the years. “A lot of people would say that, prior to the hiring of [Derek Moore], our curator, about two and a half years ago, it was a wonderful place, but still a lot of cars, and not a lot of story, not a lot of other things that you’d want to enhance the exhibits. It was just looking at the beautiful cars.”

‘When this position became available, it seemed like a pretty good match with the direction the museum is heading, which is more of an educational slant, a little less of a building with just cars in it, but actually a story about the cars.’

Dr. Preston says Moore’s arrival helped add the pieces needed to tell the Corvette’s story, such as a display of cars at the Corvette Gateway exhibit that aren’t Corvettes to enhance the tale, including the European sports cars that inspired General Motors to throw its hat in the ring after the end of World War II. According to Dr. Preston, the display includes a touchscreen for visitors to scroll through the inspirations for the C1 era of the Corvette, and is the tip of the iceberg for the vision of what the museum will be going forward.

“I was a little stunned at first,” Dr. Preston said about seeing the production-ready C8 Corvette for the first time at its reveal in Los Angeles on July 18. “It looks unmistakably Corvette. There’s no doubt that it’s a Corvette; it doesn’t look like anything else other than a Corvette. However, it is very different. Not only the engine placement, but it has such an aggressive look to it.”

‘[The C8] looks unmistakably Corvette. There’s no doubt that it’s a Corvette; it doesn’t look like anything else other than a Corvette. However, it is very different. Not only the engine placement, but it has such an aggressive look to it.’

Dr. Preston added that the museum will have the last-ever C7 Corvette in its possession in October, “a white car with a red interior, harkening back to the 1953 car” which also had a white-over-red color scheme.

Eventually, a pair of C8 Corvettes will arrive at the museum, one housed at the NCM Motorsports Park for the public to drive around the track before the new ‘Vette hits showrooms, the other — the 25th ever made — as a “build your own” raffle prize for the NCM’s 25th anniversary.

“It’s serendipitous to have been invited here,” said Dr. Preston. “It’s not a regular year at the museum. It is a major, major event. You can only imagine a lot of my early focus has been on the 25th anniversary; though, of course, Wendell’s staff have done a lot of work previous to me being here. I’m here to help finish any of the loose ends and be present, and most of all, meet our members and our guests… I think meeting them, hearing their stories, feeling their excitement about Corvette and possibly even the new-generation Corvette coming out, it’s probably the best way that I could start what I hope is a very long career at the Corvette Museum.”

Dr. Preston expects some 8,000 to 9,000 guests and their Corvettes to visit the National Corvette Museum over the 25th anniversary festivities in late August. The guests will get to see a pair of C8s thanks to GM’s “C8 Experience” mobile display unit, and learn more about the new car from the engineers behind it. Mark Reuss will also be in attendance, as will dozens upon dozens of Corvette clubs. The main highlight will be the Corvette Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony, followed by a “Party Like It’s 1994” social mixer at the end of the anniversary party Saturday night.

“At [the National Corvette Museum’s 50th anniversary], I expect we would have quite a bit of expansion completed by then,” said Dr. Preston of the museum’s future. “We have 80 cars in storage, and many, many more of our members want to loan their cars to us or potentially donate their cars to us… we want to have those on display. We want to also attract those national Corvette collectors, a group of people that like the museum, maybe don’t know enough about it… I think we need to do a better job of reaching out [to them].”

‘The museum is committed to its members and guests. We understand that education and more of the story of these cars is what people really want to hear about.’

Other big goals Dr. Preston has in mind for the NCM includes increased ownership of its collection — as more than a few currently on display or in storage are on permanent or short-term loan from GM — and international outreach to many of the Corvette clubs and organizations around the world, all to help boost the museum’s standing as the one and only Corvette museum.

“The museum is committed to its members and its guests,” said Dr. Preston. “We definitely understand that education and more of the story of these cars is what people really want to hear about.”

Photos: National Corvette Museum/Facebook; Cameron Aubernon for Corvette Forum

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