City of Jacksonville Area Museum Board met Nov. 3.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The November board meeting was held at the Jacksonville Area Museum (Old Post Office) with a teleconferencing option available. The meeting was called to order at 5:15 p.m. by David Blanchette, Chairman. Those present included David Blanchette, Chad Boehlke, John Clancy, Diane Hollendonner, Rebecca Houston, Nick Little, Laura Marks, Jo Ann Nelson, Greg Olson, and James Pisell. Absent were Patsy Erickson (Emeritus), Kyla Hurt, Allan Worrell, Brittany Henry (Ex-Officio), and Judy Tighe (Ex-Officio). Also present was Consultant Steve Varble. Manager McKenna Servis was unable to attend but submitted a report.
The minutes of the October 6, 2022, board meeting were approved distributed.
Laura Marks distributed copies of the treasurer’s report. The checking account balance was $35,132.25 at the end of October. Expenses included monthly bills (George Alarm, I3Broadband, and garbage pickup), $8,465.79 for salaries and benefits, and $59.00 to Faith Printing for museum letterhead. Income included $8,383.89 in reimbursements from the MAC Foundation ($5,710.89) for manager and intern salaries, plus donations and memberships.
Laura also had compiled a summary of visitor and donation totals by month and day of the week in the past year, showing 1747 visitors since opening in September 2021.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Administrative: After brief discussion of the 2023 draft budget, it will be added to the December board meeting agenda for a final vote.
It was voted to raise McKenna’s salary by $2000, with the museum to pay half the amount and MAC Foundation to pay the remaining half.
Chairman Blanchette read the proposed slate of officers for 2023: President, Allan Worrell; Vice President, James Pisell; Treasurer, Laura Marks; and Secretary, Diane Hollendonner. Upon hearing no further nominations, it was voted to close the nominations and accept the slate of officers for a term of one year.
In her report, manager McKenna Servis noted contacts with Lisa Hall (Routt exhibit), Betty Query Smith (future donation of Brownie Scout uniform), and the Dominican Sisters (list of items and measurements of display space). She will be ordering $1500 of supplies, mostly storage boxes and photo sleeves, from the Gaylord archival company. McKenna also requested that the museum be closed for one week during her semester break in January for intensive organizing in the safe room, including the textile boxes, and separating artifact items from the props that don’t need to be stored in temperature-controlled spaces. That issue will be decided at the December meeting after Dave finds out her break schedule.
The museum sign out front still hasn’t been installed; Ace Sign in Springfield currently has the information from Steve Varble and should be working on it. In the meantime, Laura Marks suggested that a vinyl banner be purchased to stretch across the two front columns. It was voted to order a banner in bright orange as soon as possible, waiving bids.
No update on the HVAC system.
No new developments on the county/city bicentennials.
Blanchette confirmed that the afternoon of Sunday, November 13, 1 – 4 p.m., will be the date of a strategic planning workshop at the Ayers Mansion (graciously provided by Scotty DeWolf).
Exhibits: Publicity for the November 16 Capps event is running on local news media. There will be a craft to decorate wooden spool ornaments for the Christmas tree followed by a program by Donna Cody and Terry Maggart. A tree topper in the shape of a needle will be ordered (to thread with ribbon that will wrap around the tree).
Greg Olson reported that the committee hadn’t met recently but discussions have continued to coordinate the Dominican Sisters anniversary/Chuck Murphy Vietnam Memorial exhibits next May. Steve Varble added that the portrait wall by the welcome desk still needs to be arranged so that the display case and bulletin board for temporary guest exhibits will be ready by the first of the year.
Fundraising: No updates, still waiting to hear from Jacksonville Children’s foundation and State Farm.
Laura reported that the Jacksonville Area Museum Foundation met the previous week. They are working on a fundraising letter to membership that will go out in late November/early December followed by a large-scale kick-off event for the Phase 2 project in early summer.
Laura collected lists of prospective members from the board members. Membership response to renewal letters has slowed down a bit but contributions are still coming in.
Collections: Donated items included a stack of Jacksonville-related books, a WW2 Red Cross apron and cap worn by Dorothy Frank, a Passavant Hospital memorial plate, and a WW2 New Testament carried during the war by Jessica Sibert. It was voted to accept the above items into the collection.
Promotion: Steve Varble distributed a handout listing podcasts and frequency of listening as well as a chart showing number of listeners grouped by age. He noted that we should keep track of people reached through social media as well as actual visitors to the museum. The Facebook post announcing the museum’s first anniversary celebration received the most attention with over 3400 views. Social media promotion for the November 16 Capps event started on November 3 and the website is being updated for it also. Laura is working on information for the JAM Foundation page.
OLD BUSINESS: Steve Varble left the room while compensation for his services was discussed. It was voted to authorize payment of $5000 for his work with social media, the website, and exhibit/design consultations.
NEW BUSINESS: It was agreed that a sound system was needed for the November 16 Capps event. Nick Little offered to get one.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, December 1, 5:15 p.m., at the Jacksonville Area Museum, 301 E. State Street. Social distancing rules will be observed and call-in option is available upon request.
With no further business or announcements to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m.
http://cms6.revize.com/revize/jacksonvilleil/city_government/boards_commissions_and_committees/docs/Boards%20Commissions%20Committees/HCC_Minutes/2022/Minutes%2011.03.2022.pdf
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