City of Jacksonville Heritage Cultural Center Board met January 4.
Here is the minutes as provided by the board:
The meeting (held in the Jacksonville Municipal Building Mayor’s Conference Room) was
called to order at 5:15 p.m. by David Blanchette, Chairman. Those present included David
Blanchette, Patsy Erickson, Kevin Heitz, Diane Hollendonner, John Power, James Pisell, Steve
Varble, and Brittany Henry (Ex-Officio). Absent were John Clancy, Kyla Hurt, Anne Jackson,
Charles Rice, Samantha Sauer, Sharon Zuiderveld, Judy Tighe (Ex-Officio), and Trevor Lawson
(intern).
Minutes of the December 7, 2017 meeting were approved as distributed.
The treasurer’s report was given by James Pisell, with $1887.37 in the checking account and
$44,041.62 in the money market account.
2018 Board Officers were nominated as follows: Chairman, David Blanchette; Vice-Chairman,
Samantha Sauer; Treasurer, James Pisell; and Secretary, Diane Hollendonner. It was voted to
approve the slate of officers as presented.
Committee Reports:
Employee/Staff Management: Board members responded to a request for potential meeting
dates and times, with meetings for 2018 set on the first Thursday at 5:15 p.m., so Karla Stice will
be asked to reserve the Mayor’s Conference Room for the coming months.
The donation card for the upcoming museum membership list mailer needs to be printed before
the letter is ready to be sent out.
Volunteer Recruitment/Management: Intern Trevor Lawson is recovering from back surgery
and will resume working on putting together an exhibit for the Jacksonville Public Library
display cases when he gets better.
Fundraising and Budgeting: David Blanchette passed out a proposal from Pat Miller at the
Illinois Heritage Association for a meeting with the museum board to discuss “Future Directions
for the Jacksonville Heritage Cultural Museum” at a cost of $875. It was voted to accept her
proposal and conduct the meeting at a cost not to exceed $875. Members will be contacted with
a choice of dates for the meeting. Brittany Henry offered to host the meeting at the Jacksonville
Area Convention and Visitors office since it would be convenient for including a tour of the Old
Post Office across the street.
Acquisitions/Archives & Historian: Board members have reviewed the current copy of the
collections policy for comments, and decided to ask David Blanchette to forward a copy to Pat
Miller to look over and make suggestions. It was pointed out that since we currently have no
“Director” some of the policy content could not be followed anyway.
Patsy Erickson offered to donate a copy of “Faces and Places: A Morgan County Family Album”
by Col. Vernon Fernandes which she had purchased in an antique store. It was voted to accept
the book for use as a reference resource, since there are so few copies of it available now.
Exhibits/Facilities: John Power reported that work continues at the Old Post Office Building.
The exhibit is still up at Jacksonville Savings Bank, and will probably be on display until
weather conditions improve before moving our items back to storage. Mayor Ezard and the city
attorney have given approval for materials belonging to the Jacksonville Genealogical Society to
be stored with museum items if the need arises due to loss of their building.
Steve Varble reported on the plans for the next two books in the Greg Olson “The Way We
Were” series, with the next book signing scheduled for this fall. Knowing the content will assist
in planning the appropriate museum exhibits at Jacksonville Savings Bank in conjunction with
the book signings.
Special Events/Public Education & Promotion: Samantha Sauer and James Pisell have
discussed a theme about early pioneers in Morgan County and their everyday lives for an Illinois
Bicentennial exhibit. They will be looking through the oldest items in the museum’s collection
for examples of items that pioneers might have used. Suggestions included 1840’s dishes, the
Mother Carson birthing book, and the survey rods used to lay out the plans for Jacksonville.
Interns: Intern Trevor Lawson’s work has been temporarily put on hold while he recovers from
back surgery.
Old Business: None.
New Business: David Blanchette proposed that the board authorize a memorial donation in
honor of Judith Fay, wife of board member John Power. It was voted to donate $100 to the
Judith Fay Scholarship at Illinois College.
Steve Varble suggested that the board organize subcommittees to work on temporary museum
exhibits around town. David Blanchette will send out an email for board members to sign up to
work on the various sites.
There were no public comments.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 1, 5:15 p.m. in the
Mayor’s Conference Room at the Municipal Building.
With no further business or announcements to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
http://www.jacksonvilleil.gov/city_government/boards_commissions_and_committees/docs/Boards%20Commissions%20Committees/HCC_Minutes/2018/HCC%20Minutes%201.4.18.pdf
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