For Immediate Release For More information contact: Liza Brocker Director of Development & Communications Sultana Education Foundation 410-778-5954 / lbrocker@sultanaeducation.org

Sultana Education Foundation Raises $105,000 at Annual Gala for the Swain Geography Classroom

Sold-out crowd of 400 attends event to honor

John E. Swain, builder of the schooner SULTANA.  

September 21, 2015 - Chestertown, Maryland: A sold-out crowd of 400 guests came out to honor John E. Swain, builder of the schooner SULTANA, at the Sultana Education Foundation gala on Saturday, September 19th in Chestertown. Funds raised at this annual event support the Foundation’s award-winning programs in Chesapeake Studies for K-12 students in Maryland, including programs on the 1768 replica schooner SULTANA. The Foundation chose to honor Swain at its annual gala to recognize his singular contribution to the organization. Swain conceived the idea to build a replica SULTANA in Chestertown, played a key role in founding the Sultana Education Foundation, and served as Master Shipwright for the construction of SULTANA between 1998 and 2001. “Swain gave us two incredible gifts,” Sultana Education Foundation President Drew McMullen remarked to the assembled crowd. “First he built us a word-class school-ship, and second, more than anyone else, he helped create the community of people who continue to support the Foundation’s educational programs.” At Saturday’s gala, the Sultana Education Foundation announced that it will name the Geography Classroom in its new LEED Platinum Education Center in Chestertown in honor of Swain. When the Swain Geography Classroom opens its doors in the summer of 2016, it will be one of the most advanced facilities of its kind for teaching K-12 geography and

Tito Puente Jr. charms the crowd at Sultana's Annual Gala

introducing students to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. The Swain Geography Classroom is being developed by the Sultana Education Foundation in partnership with Locust Grove Studios and the Washington College Geographic Information Systems Program. Guests at Saturday’s gala pledged over $105,000 in funds for the construction and equipping of the Swain Geography Classroom.

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