Eastern National, the parent company of America’s National Parks, is proud to congratulate Stacy Madalena, EN director of retail south, for receiving the 2019 James V. Murfin Award from the National Park Service on March 2, 2020. The James V. Murfin Award recognizes an individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution to the partnership between the NPS and cooperating associations over time.
The Murfin Award—inaugurated in 1988—is named for the talented and dedicated servicewide cooperating association coordinator who worked diligently for over a decade to encourage excellence and innovation in the cooperating association program. Because this award is never given to the same person twice, it is viewed as a “lifetime achievement award.” Stacy was presented with the award at the Public Lands Alliance (PLA) 2020 Convention and Trade Show held in Arlington, Virginia.
An Enriching and Exciting Eastern National Career
Since 2004, Stacy has supported and enhanced the partnership between Eastern National and the National Park Service staff in the National Capital Region. As the first EN regional manager in the National Capital Region, she was integral in establishing the cooperating association operation and partnership model from the ground up. Since then, she has forged relationships with park staff and partners that have resulted in annual sales growth, enhanced visitor experiences, and new business opportunities on the National Mall, National Capital Parks – East, and George Washington Memorial Parkway. In 2018, Stacy increased her partnership network when she was selected as the EN director of retail south. She is now responsible for building strategic relationships between cooperating association and NPS staff across the NPS’s Southeast and National Capital regions. Additionally, Stacy serves as a program coordinator for the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation and is responsible for coordinating events with the annual storytelling program on the National Mall. She is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and serves as a local point of contact to our NPS partners at the park, regional, and national level.
Stacy is instrumental in providing contributions to interpretation and education that has enabled EN to expand their level of support for the NPS. In 2017, she helped negotiate the transfer of retail operations at Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument as the site became a new unit of the NPS. At the request of the NPS, she guided product development and new store operations at Carter G. Woodson Home NHS and in the chamber of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
In 2020, Stacy is involved in the following major projects:
- The implementation of the new Erply Point-of-Sale software system, which will help to facilitate training and the creation of new procedures.
- Working with the advisory group of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation (VWMF) and EN’s Information Technology Department to update the VWMF website and planning the “Vietnam: In Their Own Words Storytelling at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial” events on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
- Planning for new stores at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, which is slated to open in Washington, D.C., on May 8 (the 75th anniversary of V-E Day), and for Pilot Mountain, a North Carolina state park.
Stacy says that she is looking forward to the reopening this year of the sales outlet at Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial—which recently underwent a rehabilitation—and that there are many exciting things planned for the Lincoln Memorial.
A Personal Q & A with Stacy
We posed the following questions to Stacy to learn more about her:
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about partnership?
“If we all work together as one cohesive team, then both Eastern National and our partners will be successful.”
What has been your proudest moment working with EN/NPS?
“When I received the James V. Murfin Award at PLA. I am both humbled and honored to receive this award from our NPS partners. The second most proud moment was when I was included in the NPS staff photos after the presidential inauguration in 2009 because I was ‘one of them’ in the regional director’s words.”
What current project are you most excited to be working on?
“Planning for the Lincoln Memorial. We will be moving to the undercroft. The ideas for the exhibits and interpretation for the memorial are going to be state-of-the-art and very innovative.”
How has EN helped your professional growth?
“As an organization, we have many development opportunities for all staff. And EN has given me space to grow and learn new things every day.”
Which stamp in your Passport To Your National Parks® book are you the most proud of?
“Rock Creek Park—my very first stamp that I received my first week of working for EN.”
Which park is at the top of your NPS bucket list?
“Denali National Park and Preserve”
Stacy’s hometown is Erie, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Eastern National, she spent 14 years working for National Record Mart, followed by eight years with WH Smith USA Retail, where she specialized in airport and hotel retail concessions management. She holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. In her personal time, she is an avid reader and yoga practitioner.
Photo: NPS Acting Associate Director for Interpretation, Education, and Volunteers Tom Medema presents EN Director of Retail South Stacy Madalena with the James V. Murfin Award at the 2020 Public Lands Alliance Convention.
