President, Board of Directors, Chairman, Education Committee, Point Conception Lighthouse Lens Committee, Member, Executive Committee, Curatorial Committee

Willard Thompson's historical novel of early California, Dream Helper won a gold medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards in 2009 as the best fiction in the Pacific/Western Region. Delfina's Gold is the second novel in the Trilogy. The third, Their Golden Dreams, will be published May 1, 2015.

Willard Thompson a retired business executive who is passionate about sharing his love of history.He writes and publishes both fiction and non-fiction articles and books about Western American history. He lectures and organizes training programs for museums and other groups who share their historical expertise with others.Thompson won a Gold Medal from the Independent Book Publishers Awards for His first novel, Dream Helper which also won a scholarship from the Profant Foundation as a work in progress. He has appeared before numerous audiences with illustrated lectures of topics that are both entertaining and informative.As a member of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum and Santa Barbara Maritime museum, where he is on the Board of Directors and chair of the Education Committee, Thompson was deeply involved in the development of its Docent Training Program.He also speaks to local school teachers about the value of the museum's Tall Ship program for 4th graders that give them the experience of reliving Two Years Before The Mast by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.His lectures and appearances on radio and TV, which cover a variety of subjects, are often used as fund raising vehicles or simply to help people understand and enjoy the historical significance of the world in which they live.ton, NY.