Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2016

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Yorktown. They also can choose a
trip to Fort Sumter, an oceanography
program or time in a state-of-the-art
flight simulator. In addition to camp-
ers, around 22,000 schoolchildren
visit Patriots Point every year, and
Burdette and his staff reach thou-
sands of others across the state with
a $400,000 a year grant through the
Education Improvement Act.
“We reached 100 schools in the
past year. That’s four times as many
kids than if we didn’t have the Distance
Learning Program,” Burdette ex-
plained. “Hopefully, this will encour-
age these kids to come here in person.”
Keith Grybowski, a former practic-
ing attorney, came to Patriots Point as
a volunteer. Burdette later hired him
on a full-time basis as his director of
education. His efforts have played a
role in increasing the paid attendance
at Patriots Point from 220,000 visi-
tors when Burdette arrived in 2010
to 282,000 visitors in the fiscal year
that ended June 30. In addition to
hard work by his staff of 75 full-time
employees and another 35 part-
timers, Burdette came up with several
reasons why Patriots Point is no lon-
ger referred to as “cash-strapped” in
news stories. He cited an improving
economy, the popularity of Charles-
ton and the fact that “we earn it.”
He added that in the past six years,
he has increased Patriots Point’s mar-
keting budget by 70 percent.
“It’s a great product, and we have
to tell people about it,” Burdette said.
“We’re trying hard to make this
one of the great museums in the na-
tion,” he remarked, adding that the
support of his board of directors has
been a key factor in Patriots Point’s
recent success. “As much as we believe
in the emotional aspect, we won’t
make it without the business aspect.
The board supports us 100 percent. It
makes a huge difference.”
Patriots Point, an agency of the
state of South Carolina, receives no
funding from Columbia. Burdette
pointed out that it exists on admis-
sion fees; revenue from the gift
shop; camping and school programs;
renting the facility for events such
At the Vietnam Experience, visitors can watch movies that delve into the Tet Offensive, the
Mekong Delta and the Battle of Khe Sanh, and they can listen to actual transmissions from
soldiers in helicopters, aboard riverboats and in the field.
Photo by Brian Sherman.