Episode 85 - Matthew Downs, 2025-26 AHA President

Air date: July 7, 2025 Alabama Historical Association president for 2025-2026, Dr. Matthew Downs, discusses the AHA’s program for the upcoming year. He describes the October 24-25, 2025 Fall Pilgrimage in Guntersville and the April 9-11, 2026 annual meeting in Fairhope. Downs also talks about the importance of the Alabama Review that he edits and two AHA projects – the Speakers Bureau and the AHA Digitally Enhanced Marker map. Transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/mw79d3ms Links mentioned in the episode Alabama Historical Association: https://www.alabamahistory.net/ Alabama Review: https://www.alabamahistory.net/the-alabama-review Downs’s book Transforming the South: https://lsupress.org/9780807157145/transforming-the-south/ Alabama History Podcast Episode 15 (Downs on Transforming the South): https://soundcloud.com/alabamahistory/aha-015 Guntersville Historical Society: https://www.facebook.com/guntersvillehistoricalsociety/ Alabama History Podcast Episode 71 (Guntersville Historical Society): https://soundcloud.com/alabamahistory/aha-071 Lisa Shaul’s book Midnight Cry: https://ugapress.org/book/9781588385338/midnight-cry/ Fairhope, AL: https://www.fairhopeal.gov/ Coastal Alabama Community College Fairhope Campus: https://www.coastalalabama.edu/about/locations/fairhope/ Explore the Eastern Shore: https://www.exploreeasternshore.com/ AHA Speakers Bureau: https://www.alabamahistory.net/speakersbureau AHA Digitally Enhanced Marker Project: https://www.alabamahistory.net/historical-markers-index Alabama Heritage Magazine: https://www.alabamaheritage.com/ Encyclopedia of Alabama: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/ Alabama Men’s Hall of Fame: https://www.samford.edu/alabama-mens-hall-of-fame/Default Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame: https://awhf.org/ The Alabama History Podcast's producer is Marty Olliff. Founded in 1947, the Alabama Historical Association is the oldest statewide historical society in Alabama. The AHA provides opportunities for meaningful engagement with the past through publications, meetings, historical markers, and other programs. See the website www.alabamahistory.net.