September 29, 2016
 
FOR IMMEDIATE  RELEASE                               
Contact: Lana Chassman
Director of Public Relations
lchassman@hrmm.org
 845.338.0071 x 15
 
SMOOTH TRANSITION FOR MARITIME MUSEUM
Lisa Cline Assumes Position of Executive Director as Russell Lange Retires
 
Kingston, NY -- There will be a changing of the guard at the Hudson River Maritime Museum this fall with Russell Lange stepping down from his position of Executive Director.  Over the past several years, Lange has guided the Museum, stabilizing and strengthening the organization through a tremendous period of growth.  Lange will resume his position on the Board.
 
Board of Trustees President Allan Bowdery comments on this transition, "Russell’s vision of community involvement and his skill for engendering partnerships has helped the Museum in building an active and successful Board of Trustees and professional staff. This board and staff, including a fleet of dedicated volunteers, have joined Russ to establish new exhibit and venue spaces, improved facility and grounds, as well as innovative education programing, including the newly opened Riverport Wooden Boat School.”
 
Assuming the position of Executive Director is Lisa Cline, who will begin her tenure as Executive Director after serving as the Museum’s Chief Operating Officer for just shy of one year.  Growing up on the Esopus Creek in Saugerties, she learned about boats and Hudson River history from both sides of her family. Her father was an avid sailor and maritime history buff, and her mother was the daughter of a prominent brickyard owner in Newburgh.  Both her parents served on HRMM’s Board in the early years and introduced her to the Museum’s mission.  
 
Moving to New York City and San Francisco and then back to New York, Cline forged a 30-year career in film and theater production, with a special focus on scenery construction. Throughout that period of professional commitment, her interest in the Museum and its mission never waned, and she kept returning to the Museum, both as a volunteer and as Acting Executive Director in the early 1990’s.
 
Cline assumes the position of Executive Director as Russell and Allynne Lange are both honored at the Pilot Club Gala, the Museum’s annual fundraising event. She adds “I am tremendously excited to accept this position and be given the chance to build upon the excellent foundation that has been laid by my predecessors”.
 
Allynne Lange will continue serving as the Hudson River Maritime Museum’s Curator while Russ Lange will remain active at the Museum with a special focus on collections and exhibits. 

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About the museum:  Located along the historic Rondout Creek waterfront in downtown Kingston, NY, the Hudson River Maritime Museum is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries, and related industries. In 2016, HRMM opened the Riverport Wooden Boat School.

An early morning at the Hudson River Maritime Museum on the first chilly day of fall resulted in beautiful mist burning off of Rondout Creek in the morning sunshine. The restored 1929 ketch Belle Aventure​ can be seen at dock.