Exciting announcement! Our November programming will include two events featuring Skip Finley, author of Whaling Captains of Color – America’s First Meritocracy.
The events featuring Finley will take place on November 11 and 23, both at 7pm. The second event will be hosted in partnership with the Herrick District Library. Due to COVID-19, these events will be hosted virtually. More information can be found on bigreadlakeshore.com.
Finley will discuss race in the context of the whaling industry which is heavily featured in the Big Read Lakeshore’s 2020 book selection, In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Skip Finley built a career in radio and the communications industry. He served as Vice Chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters, Chairman of the Radio Advertising Bureau and several industry boards and committees. His career, since 1971, has included responsibility for 44 radio stations (five of which were owned by him).
Although Finley has been retired since age 50, he has continuously returned to the communications industry. Finley is currently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Vineyard Gazette Media Group on Martha’s Vineyard. Beginning in 1955, Finley spent his summers on Martha’s Vineyard and in 1999 he moved there and decided to become a writer.
Notably, Finley has written articles for the Vineyard Gazette, Martha’s Vineyard Magazine, Island Weddings Magazine, the Provincetown Banner and the Martha’s Vineyard Museum publications, The Intelligencer and the MV Museum Quarterly.
He has written two books: Historic Tales of Oak Bluffs, published by The History Press – Arcadia Publishing, and Whaling Captains of Color – America’s First Meritocracy, published by the Naval Institute Press in June 2020. Information of Finley’s career and publications can be found on his website, skipfinley.com.
Hope College’s NEA Big Read Lakeshore program began in 2014 with the goal to create and foster a culture where reading matters. By bringing the Lakeshore community together around a common book, Big Read Lakeshore uses the shared experience of reading, discussing, and exploring the themes of the book as a springboard to listen from and learn from each other.
Contributed by Kylie Galloway. Kylie is the Marketing Manager for Big Read Lakeshore. Kylie is also a junior at Hope College. She is majoring in Communications and minoring in both History and Spanish.