P47 Thunderbolt Arrival in Evansville

The Evansville P47 Foundation exists to bring wartime pieces to the Evansville Wartime Museum. They have been able to usher a Sherman Tank, a Boeing Steerman biplane, and other pieces to the museum. However, they first formed in order to bring one of the few remaining Republic Air-built P-47 Thunderbolt fighter planes back to its birthplace of Evansville. The foundation contacted me once they had found a plane they knew they could bring to Evansville, but before they had secured all of the funding or released the news to the public. The foundation managed the logistics and financing of the purchase while I was tasked with spreading the news to the public and generating interest for the Museum, the Foundation, and the new P47 exhibit.

The following steps were completed in order to release information about the plane to the public.

• Hosted a press conference for the announcement, including writing a speech for Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch. See the story here.

• Created a website and social media accounts for the Foundation. Kept the public updated all the way up to the plane’s arrival.

• Delivered press releases for the announcement and arrival dates for the plane.

• Created a plan to fly the plane around Evansville and Vanderburgh County. Hundreds lined the Evansville riverfront and gathered near the Evansville Regional Airport to see the plane arrive. See the Story Here and here.

• Photographed the plane’s final flight and landing in Evansville, Indiana. See the photos here.