OCONOMOWOC HISTORICAL SOCIETY

OCONOMOWOC AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM BOARD MINUTES

September 8, = 2008

at the museum

Board Members Present: Sue Bickler, Fran Durkin, Barbara Elwood-Goetsch, Betty Hancock, Shirley Hinds, Barb Hirsch, Duane Hoffman, D= iane Johnson, Ed Johnson, Margie Krauski, Terry Ladwig, Nancy Lins, Lois Luebke, Bill Marris, Ray Mauer, Don Wiemer

Absent Excused: Melissa Krahn, Hilton Neal, Ann Zimmerman

Absent: M= ac Dorn, Bob Ludwig Kevin Passon

Other Attende= es: Marjorie Day, Dorothy St. Thomas

President Don Wiemer called the meeting to orde= r at 4:01pm.

Secretary’s Report: Terry Ladwig moved and Lois Luebke seconded to accept the minutes of the A= ugust 11, 2008 board meeting. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Ed Johnson reported that he audited the monthly financial reports that were completed by Hilton Neal, and that everything was in order. The Night at the Museum gala has netted $10,956.54 to date, and when the total = is finalized, all proceeds will be transferred to a money market checking acco= unt where they will be held until the endowment fund is formally established. The August Ice Cream Social has ne= tted $475.26 and the bike raffle netted $711.&n= bsp; Johnson reported that a $500 general-use donation was just received.= He reviewed the monthly financial reports= that had been emailed previously to the board. Monthly expenditures total= ed $11,104.58; revenue was $9,696.38; and expenses exceeded revenue by $1,408.20. WEnergies overcharged us for natur= al gas (estimations vs. actual usage) resulting in overpayments and a credit line = that will carry us for several months. The year’s financial outlook is very positive. Betty Hancock moved and Shirley Hinds seconded to approve the Treasurer’s Report. Mot= ion carried.

Administrator= ’s Report/Museum Operations:

Nancy Lins pre-distributed a copy of her complete report. She announced that Ro= berta Sprague-Schaefer has volunteered to be our new newsletter editor and that submissions for the next edition are due before month’s end. All committees should review their= respective needs for monies for the next fiscal year and submit requests ASAP to her f= or possible inclusion in next year’s budget. She will be on vacation from Sept. 17-28.

Committee Reports:

Executive Committee: 1) The long-term status of the umbrella stand next to the rail= road tracks by the old train station has been resolved. It has been decided to refurbish i= t, thanks to help from John Easton, and perhaps make it usable by adding bench= es and a picnic table. Before th= at can be accomplished it needs power-washing, painting, brick replacements and so= me carpentry work. The plaque that describes the shelter’s history is missing, so Dorothy St. Thomas agreed to write a letter to the editor askin= g if anyone in the community knows of its whereabouts. Ray Mauer suggested that if benche= s are needed, we consider coordinating our benches with the type being used in the downtown restoration project (for consistency and possible cost advantage). The Society plans= to submit grant requests to help cover all associated costs. 2) The committee met with representatives of the Waukesha County Community Foundation to discuss how their organization might assist ours in setting up and managing our soon-to-be-formalized endowment fund.

Collections: Marjorie Day reported 60 accession groups have received 631 items so = far this year. When this information is entered into the logging system, any pertinent history regarding items is also entered. Of particular note, she reported that the Guetschenruetter family of the Town of Oconomowoc recently donated 3 DVDs on t= heir family’s recollection of the town’s history. Claire Greene donated 12 old toys = that will enhance our multi-period collection.&= nbsp; Also, 20 volumes of collection reports from early French settlers wi= ll prove to be a great resource for historical research.

Education: Barb Hirsch reported that her committee= is finalizing its work on the trunk show for fourth graders focusing on the history of immigration in this area. They are about to advertise the program and begin delivering it.

Exhibits: Shirley Hinds reported that her committee is now meeting regularly following a summer hiatus. An exhibit on sailing in the Lake Country area will replace the fire truck exhibit. Dr. Gerald Zelm will join their n= ext meeting to show sketches of how a potential display on local chiropractic m= ight be exhibited. The murals from the old Summit School in the classroom display will be rotated for preservation. The family of Lester Stevens, a lo= cal Olympian, has provided his trophies from the 1908 London Olympics and they = are currently being displayed in the Oconomowoc Publics Library showcase.

Local History: = ;The committee will meet on Sept. 18 at 10:45 at the Oconomowoc Lake Village Hall. Work will begin shortly on turning the Oconomowoc timeline into a DVD presentation.

Membership: Barb Elwood-Goetsch reported the following: 150 single memberships, = 112 (224) couples’ memberships, and 1 student membership for a total of 3= 75 individual memberships. There are also 14 organization/business/municipality memberships, 41 free memberships and 53 delinquent memberships. She distributed a list of those receiving free memberships and those who are delinquent. It was moved by Ed Johnson and seco= nded by Sue Bickler to discontinue sending the newsletter to past due members who declined renewal when contacted. Motion carried. It was further moved by Ed Johnson and seconded by Bickler that any past due membe= rs who have not been personally/recently contacted for renewal but whose membership is more than 1 year delinquent be dropped immediately from the membership rolls. Motion carried. It was also moved by Bickler and seconded= by Ladwig to send a returnable postcard to all recipients in the free membersh= ip category (with the exception of local City elected representatives) asking = to return the postcard if they wish to continue receiving the quarterly newsle= tter, and to delete or maintain their names as appropriate.

Property and Maintenance= : = No report.

Nominations/Resignations= : Ladwig asked for volunteers to join the Nominating Committee, whose w= ork must be completed before the October quarterly meeting. There are 5 known board vacancies = to fill, including Diane Johnson who announced her impending resignation at the meeting. It is a short-term committee commitment.

Special Events (Quarterly Meetings): The following sche= dule for speakers was reported:

= October 2008: Oconomowoc History DVD &#= 8211; Kaldhusdal (questionable)

= January 2009: Wiemer (confirmed)=

= April 2009: Mapleton – “The Busiest Little City in the World” (confirmed)

Janet Kaldhusdal spoke on her husband’s behalf (Terry Kaldhusal= ) to report that the DVD he has been working on for the past several years is nearing completion but may not be ready for an October debut or as the gift incentive for the annual campaign. She suggested delaying its release until next year , perhaps unveili= ng it at a “red carpetR= 21; fundraising event. She was advised to tell Terry to continue working on the DVD and that the Annual Campaign will advi= se donors that the DVD will be delivered upon its completion.

Old Business:

Branding Committee: = Ladwig reported that the committee met = Sept. 2 and is recommending placing permanent exterior signage on the building’s balcony (framed by the railing). Its cost is expected to be about $= 200 for a bendable Mylar-overlay on aluminum-based backing. It will be lit with simple lightin= g that will be added by Jeff Lins following the sign’s installation. It was moved by Ed Johnson and seconded by Shirley Hinds to order and install the = new signage. Motion carried.

Newsletter: = Ladwig reported that the Branding Committee is recommending that the new name of o= ur newsletter be “The O Chronicles” that utilizes our stylized “O” in its name. = It was moved by Ladwig and seconded by Hinds to rename the newsletter The O Chronicles. Ed Johnson moved and Krauski seconded to allocate $300 for a graphic designer to lay out the masthead and design look for the revamped newsletter. Motion carried

New Business: None=

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Next meeting:= The next board meeting will be Mon= day, October 13 at the Wilkinson Sports Conference Center at 4:00 pm.

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Adjournment:<= /b> Ed Johnson moved and Lins seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 5:16 pm.

Submitted by Margie Krauski, Secretary