National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico, Karen Poth, Mobile

Much like the legend of the immortal Phoenix's powers to regenerate by bursting into flames just as it reaches the end of its life and then rising from its ashes toward the sun, the GulfQuest Maritime Museum has risen to become the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico.

After an inauspicious beginning, the big vision of creating a world-class visitor destination museum dedicated to the maritime industry barely made it through childbirth. Challenged with an ever-changing vision, multiple government leadership changes, each with new ideas, and significant construction and cost overruns, it seemed that GulfQuest was doomed the day it finally opened.

Saddled with large debt, no budget to market, and a lack of paying visitors, GulfQuest remained on life support for several years.  With credit to a committed Board of Directors and City of Mobile leaders who stuck with the vision of a world-class facility on the waterfront in Mobile, they breathed new life into the facility and its programs.

“Never underestimate the power of well-connected trustees who resolve to see a project reach its true potential,” says Mike Lee. Mike, whose 4th generation Page & Jones maritime business, along with other distinguished Mobile maritime business families, has been involved from the beginning and was determined to see the project rise from the ashes. 

“We stayed with it, and have been able to reduce a $25 million debt down to about $1 million today through generous donations and successful grant requests to keep GulfQuest afloat, if you will.”  The story is still unfolding, but there is much promise in the future!

Let’s start with the long history of the maritime industry and the Port of Mobile. I’d venture to say that most travelers through Mobile, including Mobilians, see the Port’s maritime industry activity without much understanding of what is taking place in front of them. As the 9th largest deep-water port in the United States, the Port of Mobile generated $98.3 Billion in economic value in 2023.

Mobile has a rich history beginning with its founding by the French in the early 1700s. The French first sailed into Pensacola Bay but found that the Spanish had already staked their claim, so they moved west to Dauphin Island. Mobile Bay is a shallow bay, so the French, led by Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville moved inland and established a base at Fort Maurepas on the Mobile River in 1702.

The population of the early colony fluctuated with Native American, French, and African slaves, many of whom succumbed to yellow fever and other diseases. When first explored, Dauphin Island was referred to as “Massacre Island” after finding skeletons scattered about. The skeletons were actually from a native burial mound that had been broken open during a hurricane.

Throughout the years, the maritime industry has played an important role in generations of shipping. Banana boats from Central and South America, the building of Liberty Ships at the Alabama Dry Dock for the war effort in WWII, and the import-export of essential goods such as lumber, seafood, and coal, established Mobile as a significant port for maritime trade. 

The first step in resurrecting the potential represented by the GulfQuest Maritime Museum was a name change. It is no longer called GulfQuest but is now the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico. It has a new Executive Director, Karen Poth, a native of St. Louis, Missouri. 

Karen earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Journalism at the University of Missouri. 

“I was the features writer at the Warrensburg, MO newspaper after earning my undergraduate degree. Avis Tucker owned the newspaper and was on the board at the University of Missouri. She recommended me to Graduate Journalism school. I married my husband while getting my Masters degree. James had begun working with Arthur Andersen in St. Louis, and we lived there after school.”

With her Masters degree in hand, Karen tells me she couldn’t get a job with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, so she went to work for May Department Stores, the third largest department store in America at the time. There she was a product designer for May’s plain label brands and traveled often to China to check progress and tweak the design of items like clothes, cosmetic packaging, hang tags, home decor, and such.

“It was a neat experience and I stayed for 5 years. I’ve always been a big Disney fan and my dream job was to work for Walt Disney World. James and I went to Disney World for vacation. While there, I requested an interview. We met and I left with a job.”

Karen worked with the Disney Design Group for four and a half years designing products like hats, clothing, and mugs sold in Disney parks all over the world. “By then, James was working with IBM and traveled all over so we decided we would live wherever my job was.” 

Around 2000, Karen was recruited to join VeggieTales, a Christian animation series for children headquartered in Chicago. “Phil Vischer, the founder, was the closest thing to Walt Disney I could think of in terms of his imagination and creativity. I became the VP of Creative and stayed 9 years.” 

There, she and her team designed and produced all the live touring shows and designed all their product, marketing, and promotional materials. She is the author of 32 children’s books and wrote, directed, and produced 5 national tours. 

Then, Hallmark Cards in Kansas City came calling. “Go Chiefs,” she says! A good friend she worked with at Disney reached out and she and James moved to Kansas City. After a couple of years, she decided to be independent and freelance. 

“James' uncle had purchased property on Dauphin Island many years ago, and we had been going there for years. We bought a house on the Island 22 years ago. After I decided to freelance, we bought a house on Dog River in Mobile and have lived here permanently for eight years.” 

Karen’s second freelance client was the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. “It began in 2016 and is housed in a 430,000 sf building. I worked from home three weeks a month and spent one week in Washington at the Museum. One day in 2017 while I was in DC, I got a call from the front desk saying that Sandy Stimpson, his wife Jean, and his brother and wife were in the lobby and asked if I could say hello. I ended up giving them a two-hour tour.”

A couple of months later, Karen received a call from Mayor Stimpson asking if she would come downtown to talk about GulfQuest. “My real love is designing exhibits and other experiences. I gave it considerable thought, understanding the history of GulfQuest’s beginning. I accepted the position of Executive Director and began on September 11, 2023.”

She tells me they are still figuring it out, but Karen and her small staff are reconfiguring and adding to the exhibits so that they are more encompassing and attractive for visitors. They have just signed a contract with a food vendor that will soon reopen and operate the cafe that has been shuttered since the pandemic.

“This is a place that all Mobilians should be proud of,” she says. “It is a one-of-a-kind world-class facility with extraordinary views of the riverfront and the city. There is always something to see every day.” The day I visited, the Last American PT Boat was docked at the Museum for people to tour. There is a viewing station where I met a volunteer who knew every ship and product that sailed into and out of the Port of Mobile.

As an event space, The National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico is incredible. State-of-the-art meeting rooms for corporate retreats and conferences, wedding receptions, milestone birthdays, and celebrations of any sort are available. The morning I was there, they hosted a children's group, and there were lots of kids enjoying the exhibits and interactive displays.

This amazing museum has several floors and is shaped like a ship.   Visitors can learn about every facet of worldwide shipping, cargo routes for land, sea, and air, pilot and captain simulators, and laser-enabled maps with an educational focus. It’s fascinating for both kids and adults and hours can be spent seeing everything.

On the job for only nine months, Karen says they know what they want to accomplish. The first job is to get people in the door.” All summer long teachers get in free. We want every school kid in Alabama to visit and learn about what the maritime industry means to the State of Alabama and the region.” 

On April 13 this year, the Museum hosted Family Fun Day on a Saturday. “1430 people visited and we only had one complaint… “It’s too crowded.” Karen plans to do it again in the Fall. The National Maritime Museum is a “Blue-Star Museum, meaning all active military and their families, including all Veterans, are admitted free.”

As we toured the Museum, I met some of the staff and volunteers who were working hard to build momentum. Stewart Hood was working on an exhibit. He is the Curator and Exhibit Expert. “He’s an amazing guy, extremely bright, and absolutely loves what he does. He can do anything!” says Karen. 

Jason Ladner is the events coordinator. Give him a call to schedule a corporate outing or celebration. While the Cafe will open soon, outside caterers are welcome. Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 AM until 4 PM. Of course, events are available anytime day or night.

Karen seems to be in her happy place, with plenty of challenges. I wouldn’t bet against her. “This place is amazing. My job is to win Mobile over, and it’s not an easy town to win over. But Sandy Stimpson has never shied away from a challenge, and with board members who are determined to see this Museum become what it was envisioned to be, we can do it.”

Do yourself a favor and plan a visit to the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico. There is so much to learn and have fun doing it. From the new ‘Pelican Girls’ exhibit to the new Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo exhibit, this is a special place. We are thrilled that the ship seems to be finally sailing in the right direction.