Mills Named New Media Relations Director For Washington College

Chestertown, MD, December 14, 2006 — Maryland-based author/editor Eric Mills has been appointed Director of Media Relations for Washington College.

Mills comes to the College after serving on the editorial staff of the United States Naval Institute, where he held the position of Acquisitions Editor for the Naval Institute Press.

"Eric's love of history combined with his media savvy made him an ideal fit for us," said Meredith Davies Hadaway, Washington College's Vice President for College Relations and Marketing. "As we're gearing up to celebrate the College's 225th anniversary in 2007, it's fortuitous to have him coming aboard."

Mills brings a multi-media background to his new role. On the print-media front, he is the author of Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War (Tidewater Publishers, 1996), Chesapeake Rumrunners of the Roaring Twenties(Tidewater, 2000), and, forthcoming from the Naval Institute Press, The Spectral Tide: Great True Ghost Stories of the U.S. Navy. His byline has appeared in Naval History, Proceedings, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Baltimore Magazine, and numerous other publications.

On the broadcast-media front, Mills wrote the screenplay for "The Bay at War," a short documentary film, narrated by Roger Mudd, produced as a tie-in with the exhibit currently on view at Virginia's Steamboat Era Museum. Mills also served as chief consultant to the exhibit, which was largely inspired by his Civil War book.

On the cyberspace-media front, Mills was Internet correspondent for the Naval Institute's nationwide conference series, providing on-site coverage for the Institute's Web site with constant Web-updates from New York City, Washington, D.C., and other locations around the country.

Mills was educated at St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Md., and earned a B.A. in English from Towson State University. Prior to his years of involvement in book publishing, he worked as a features reporter and editor for the Easton Star-Democrat and other newspapers within Chesapeake Publishing's Mid-Shore division. He was twice the recipient of the Suburban Newspapers of America (SNA) Award, once for Best Entertainment Section and once for Best Layout and Design. He later worked as an exhibits researcher/developer for the Historical Society of Talbot County, and as Editor of Publications and Publicity Director for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

"I have worked on both the sending and receiving ends of the media-relations process," Mills said, "and I'm glad to be able to bring that sort of dual insight to the position. Washington College is steeped in history, and I am thrilled at the prospect of helping get the word out, on all media fronts, about this wonderful school. It's one of the oldest colleges in America and one of the region's brightest gems."