HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-16-2008White River Valley Historical Society
Board Meeting Minutes
January 16, 2008 1:30-4PM
Board Members Present: Ronnie Beyersdorf, Nancy Colson, Jan Cavanaugh, Terry Davis, Doug
Hedger, Gerry Honeysett, Warren Kinggeorge, Michelle Marshman, Gordy Nishimoto, Judi Roland, Lisa
Scarff, Jennifer Traufler
Board Members Excused: Mike Gerber
Board Members Absent: DeAnna Burnett-Keener
Staff Present: Patricia Cosgrove, Kristen Bruhahn, Angela Stalgis, Tara McCauley, Andy Clark
Guest: Jim Kelly, Director of 4Cluture
President Kinggeorge called the meeting to order at 1:37 PM. He called for the approval of the minutes
of the December meeting. MOTION PASSED
President Kinggeorge asked for a motion to defer the Treasurers report until the February meeting for the
sake of time. MOTION PASSED
President Kinggeorge introduced the new Board Members present: Lisa Scarff, Gerry Honeysett,
absent was Deanna Burnett-Keener. President Kinggeorge stated there are two open positions of
the Board. Please submit suggestions.
We then began our Board Orientation with:
Museology 101: Governance & Service Mission by Patricia Cosgrove
Patricia began by telling us that the museums and historical societies exist to serve the public good. It is
their duty to manage their holdings in order to provide the greatest benefit to the community that they
serve.
The Museum has been a 501c3, non-profit corporation since 1961. In 1992 a Museum Services
Agreement was entered into between the City of Auburn and the Historical Society. She noted that for
every $1 the City had allocated to the Museum, the Museum has earned $1.38. The Historical Society
elects eight board members and seven are nominated by the City of Auburn.
Four overriding goals for the Board Members for 2008 are:
Support the Capital Campaign
Support and Grow the Harvest Ball
Connect the Museum and Farm to the community
Operate the Museum with an Annual Surplus.
Please refer to the bright yellow page in your packet for more information.
Next up: Cultural Heritage Community and Boards by Jim Kelly, Director of 4Culture
Jim began by telling us that there are 75 members in the Association of King County Heritage
associations, but only 25 actually operate Museums. He feels we are 42 on the list of best operating
Museums, behind the Seattle Art Museum. He said we tell the story of the White River Valley and said
the Mary Olson Farm is a great educational opportunity and a model local heritage museum. He indicated
that we will always be fundraising and that we are fortunate to have the City's support. He told us that we
needed to set the policies of the Museum, keep a close hand on the financials and be an ambassador for
the Museum by taking it to our social settings and talk up the organization. He stated that 90% of
American History is preserved at the local level and how important it is to pass the history to future
generations.
Back to Museology 101:
Exhibits & Education (Public Programs) by Tara McCauley
Tara explained that there are four temporary exhibits each year with sets of supporting programs for each
exhibit. She indicated that the effort to have public programs presented by Museums has occurred only in
the past decade.
There is a strong school field trip program with the Auburn School District that brings each Kindergarten
and third grade student to the Museum. A series of free summer programs, Camps and classes, three
lectures on railroad history and three lectures by guest curators occur each year. The new field trips to
Mary Olson Farm by grades one and six are the newest venture for the Museum's Education Department.
Please refer to the blue page in your packet for more information.
Collections & Research by Angels Stalgis
Angela stated that for a Museum's collection of artifacts to be useful to the community, it must be
organized and made available. She explained some of the care and cataloging that is being done with our
collection. Angela estimates that 25% of our collection is on display at any one time. The hope is to have
the items in the collection on line for the community to access.
Refer to the purple sheet in you packet for more information.
Administration & Finances by Patricia Cosgrove
The outcome for a quality museum administration include: financial oversight by a committee and third
party analyst; full board participation in fund raising events; observance of policies, plans and job
descriptions; operating with an income surplus; providing ongoing training for staff and volunteers;
growing the endowment through planned giving; stable leadership, and long term employees.
Patricia then stated where we stand on the above issues. We have some work to do. Please refer to the
green page in you packet for more information.
After a ten-minute break with cookies and coffee, we resumed and selected the committees for the year
The committees met for 15 minutes and then gave a brief report on their plans.
FUND RAISING COMMITTEE: Chair Judi Roland; Staff, Patricia
Ronnie Beyersdorf, Jan Cavanaugh, Nancy Colson, Mike Harbin Jr., Pat Bailey
COLLECTIONS COMMITTEE: Chair Michelle Marshman; staff, Angela
Mae Yamada, Ronnie Beyersdorf, Jan Cavanaugh, Dave Sprau, John Peckenpaugh
PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Chair Terry Davis; staffed by Tara/Patricia
Lisa Scarff, DeAnna Burnett-Keener, Jennifer Traufler, Mike Gerber
FINANCE COMMITTEE: Chair Doug Hedger; Staffed by Kristen
Gerry Honeysett, Gordy Nishimoto, Jennifer Traufler
HARVEST BALL LEADERS: Chair Terry Davis; staffed by Patricia and Kristen
Gerry Honeysett, sponsors; Kristi Mills, auction 253 952-6385 home, 253 569-5812 cell; Ronnie
Beyersdorf, Doug Hedger, Lisa Scarff and Michelle Marshman, Decor, Linda Cowan, Captain of
Captains
Adjourned at 4 PM
Next Board Meeting: February 20, 2008 1:30 to 2:30
Muckleshoot Room, White River Valley Museum
Respectfully submitted by: Jan Cavanaugh, January 17, 2008