Internal Communication Coordinator
This paid internship is funded by the Serving the City program and is only available to students at Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Fordham College at Rose Hill.
The American Friends of Lafayette (AFL) is an historical and patriotic society dedicated to the memory of Major General Lafayette and to the study of his life and times in America and France. It currently has 587 members in most of the states and France, England, and Germany. The AFL has no paid staff, but has a cadre of dedicated, knowledgeable, and hard-working volunteers.
The AFL was founded in 1932 at Lafayette College by a group of Lafayette scholars and collectors. The organization's primary exempt purpose is to educate the public about the life and career of General Lafayette through educational programs, publications and lectures. It has published nine scholarly pamphlets. In addition, it publishes the Gazette of the American Friends of Lafayette semi-annually, in which is found both scholarly articles and reports of the various member events conducted by the organization and other Lafayette societies.
As part of its plan to commemorate the Bicentennial of Lafayette’s 1824-1825 Farewell Tour of America in 2024-2025, the AFL has formed over 30 committees that cover the states that Lafayette visited and parts thereof. These committees are tasked with planning commemorative events in cities and towns 200 years after Lafayette, known as “The Nation’s Guest” visited them.
The Internal Communications Coordinator will work under the direct supervision of AFL Treasurer, Event Coordinator, and the Bicentennial National Committee Chair, Charles Schwam. Schwam is by profession a National Account Manager for Guernsey, Inc., an office supply company. Mr. Schwam devotes considerable skill, time, and effort supporting the mission of The American Friends of Lafayette and heading up the current primary initiative of recreating the Farewell Tour of 1824-1825. Mr. Schwam names each Committee Chairperson and communicates with the Chairpersons and members on a weekly basis.
RESPONSIBILITIES
This intern will be:
· Participating in various Committee zoom meetings; and relaying information from the National Desk to the Committee desks and vice versa.
· Answering emailed requests from Committee members for information, documentation, confirmations et al.
· Coordinating the transfer of information from National Desk (Mr. Schwam) and Committee Chairs to the PR Firm representative – so that press releases, website event pages, and invitations can be updated.
· Tracking progress and identifying schedule concerns to the National Desk.
· Interfacing with other AFL members and Bicentennial Committee members (some of whom are not AFL members).
· With direction from Mr. Schwam, communicating and coordinating event contracts and obligations with event venues and municipal representatives (such as City Planners, Mayors, Historical Society Directors etc.)
· Performing other tasks of a similar nature assigned by Mr. Schwam.
QUALIFICATIONS
An applicant for this position should have an interest in event management, hospitality, and administrative organization. The applicant should be someone who:
· Is interested in history or historical re-enactments
· Has excellent communication capabilities for phone and video conversations and meetings
· Is able to work independently
· Has excellent writing skills
· Is a good listener and a good communicator
· Understands online calendars, video conference apps, and taking notes online
20 hours/week; virtual