11-07-2002
1 Minutes Board of Trustees Meeting November 7, 2002 Present: Sandra Criner, Esq. Kimberly Mash Parks Griffin F. L. Tanky Meier Ann Griffith Bernhard Thuersam Jerry Mannen, Esq. Dr.
Barton Williams Absent: Virginia Chiarello, John Haley, Ph.D., Grace Mosley-Byrd, Richard Trask, David Brownlow, Ex-Officio. Also Present: Ruth Haas, Museum Director Pat Voelker, Administrative
Support Specialist The Board of Trustees of Cape Fear Museum held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, November 7, 2002, at 5:06p.m. In the Williston Auditorium, with Mr. Bernhard
Thuersam, Chairman presiding. I. Consideration of Absences: Virginia Chiarello, John Haley, Ph.D., Grace Mosley-Byrd, Richard Trask, excused. II. Corrections/Additions to September Minutes:
Mr. Thuersam asked for corrections, additions or deletions to the minutes of the September meeting. There being none; he entertained a motion to approve. Mr. Jerry Mannen moved, Mr.
Parks Griffin seconded and the minutes were unanimously approved.
with the Director, Ann Childress, at which time they discussed how the Cape
Fear Museum might tie in with Mooalso
attended a Civil Rights program at the North Carolina Museum of History in September. Morris Dees was the featured speaker at the event. He spoke briefly with Betsy Beaufort, Director
about their Associates organization. Mr. Thuersam distributed information from the New Hanover County website relating to the authority and guidelines for the Board of Trustees. This
information can be kept in the Board
2 packets for future reference. Ms. Haas added that some of this information has changed due to the recent change in by laws, and the website will be updated to reflect these changes.
IV. Associates Report: should have all received
invitations for the opening of the exhibit to be held on Tuesday, November 19. They will also receive letters along with 2 tickets
asking them to invite others who would be prospects for membership. Posters advertising are available for display in places of business for publicity purposes.
The annual meeting for the Associates will be held on Monday, November 25 at Noon. At that time, they will be electing new officers. There is a meeting scheduled next Tuesday at 4:00p.m.
David Brownlow, John Perritt, Frances Trask, Mark Francolini and Ms. Haas will review review the applications for the Development Coordinator, develop questions, and agree to the logistics
for the interviews. Twenty-six applications were received and 8 have been forwarded from Human Resources for interviews. All 8 candidates are from the Wilmington area and represent broad
backgrounds and experience. Mr. Thuersam asked if the Associates had communicated the hiring of a development director to their membership. Ms. Haas said that it would be included in
the next newsletter. V. Committee Reports: Long Range Planning Committee
approval of the amendment to the by laws to amend Article VII, by adding clause F. F. Standing Committee Meetings
A discussion was held by the Board on the frequency of committee meetings and how often committees needed to
meet to function efficiently. The committee meeting schedule is included in the board packets. The option is to meet more frequently if necessary. Mr. Thuersam called for a vote to close
discussion. Five board members voted in favor. Mr. Thuersam then called for �
�times per year. Five were in favor, 1 against and 1 abstaining (Tanky Meier). The by laws amendment was approved. Mr. Griffin
concluded by saying that the Long Range Planning Committee has a meeting scheduled for December 5. Collections Committee Ms. Haas read the report from the Collections Committee in Ms.
Grace Mosley-The Committee met and toured the collections area with Barbara Rowe, Curator. The process to develop and establish an acquisition plan
was discussed, as was the challenge of having the collections storage in the basement of the museum. We are beginning to identify all donors on new exhibits to give greater recognition
to the donors and are continuing to build relationships. The museum is exhibiting more of its collections through the World War II website and also through the sale of the Cape Fear
Museum calendar. The calendar will be available in the gift shop as well as other locations in the community.
3 requesting
that every Board member sign the collections ethics policy approved by the New Hanover Board of County Commissioners on August 16, 1999 and January 27, 2000 with the expectation that
all those who serve on the Board of the Cape Fear Museum would sign. Awareness of ethical practices for board members has become a major concern in recent years. Mr. Griffin stated his
opposition to signing the policy. A lengthy discussion was held as to what the policy represents, its ethical considerations and legal implications as well as the issues related to the
AAM accreditation process at that time. After considerable discussion, it was suggested that we table this discussion until the next meeting. Mr. Tanky Meier moved that we table discussion.
Ms. Ann Griffith seconded. The Board agreed unanimously to table and to re-visit at the January meeting. Ms. Haas will pull the old minutes where the ethics policy was previously discussed
as well as the minutes showing the vote on AAM accreditation. The Board accepted the Collections Committee report. Public Relations Committee Ms. Sandra Criner stated that the Public
Relations Committee met on October 3. There is no action to be taken from their report, which is included in the board packets. The Committee supports the new format for the Waves and
Currents newsletter. They also talked about ways to raise money for the museum and their involvement in planning a major fundraiser for late February or early March. Finance Committee
3.
No actions are to be taken on the Committee report included in the board packets. Discussion was held by the Committee on ways they could begin to plan in terms of fundraising especially
in the area of capital improvements for the next budget year. Open discussion was held on the need to develop policies for room naming opportunities as the Museum moves towards exhibit
changes and fund raising. A sustaining donation in terms of an endowment should be included in the new policy, which should be developed as part of the exhibit planning sessions. Education
Committee Dr. Bart Williams reported that the Education Committee met on October 9. The Girl Scout badge program weekend raised almost $1,000 in revenue. With the current budget environment,
the Committee discussed finding ways to generate program revenue with education and outreach, �
�colonial history in February in our newsletter, and will be hosting history day at Cape Fear Museum in March
in cooperation with them. Dr. Williams said they also discussed the exhibit design master plan. We will have more opportunity to have input as the process evolves working with The PRD
Group. We are asking PRD to help us plan and think about where we want to be in 10-20 years. Mr. Thuersam suggested that Mr. Meier be put in touch with Dan Murphy of the PRD Group to
talk about 1898 and get his perspective on it. Dr. Williams stated that we need to think through the issues and what message we want to put forth in our exhibits.
4 The Committee endorsed the schedule of museum education programs for January through May 2003. Building and Grounds Committee Ms. Ann Griffith reported that the Building and Grounds
Committee has a meeting scheduled for December 19th. At that time, they hope to have Charlotte Glenn, from the Cooperative Extension to meet with them and discuss their joining in to
help with replenishing the Museum grounds with a historical perspective. Directors Update update included in the
Board packets. The Museum Education position has been offered to Virginia Howell, who served an internship with Cape
experience. Ms. Howell is currently developing and presenting education programs at The Capital Museum
in Raleigh. Her start date is December 30. A pre-construction meeting was held on the stucco project this past week. Panels are ordered with a shipping date of December 19 and should
be delivered the week of Christmas. The notice to proceed will be issued on December 9. They will have 150 days after December 9 to complete the project. Rather than scaffolding, the
contractors will be using lifts to get at the building. The construction time frame outlined is dependent on weather, condition of inner frames, sills and windows and sub-contractor
work coordination. regardin
g history day and will be meeting with Rhonda Bellamy regarding co-sponsoring the Black Arts Alliance Film Festival to be held at Cape Fear Museum on March 6-9, 2003. Ms. Haas concluded
by showing the Board members a copy of our first annual CFM calendar. Complimentary copies will be given to the Board when received from the printer. She stated that we are very very
pleased with the calendar, which was paid for by the advertisers. Money raised by their sale will go towards doing future projects. The World War II website is up. Copies of the flyer
about the website are available. Mr. Thuersam raised a general question regarding the parameters for hiring for the education position. Ms. Haas stated that we received 103 applications
for the position. Human Resources reviewed the applications based on the qualifications we had submitted and forward 12 applications to us for interviewing. Every one of the applicants
considered for the position had museum education experience and we had very qualified candidates. VI. Other Business: �
�November 10 entitled
5 Mr. Thuersam asked for clarification on the Grassroots Arts Grant as to time involved and parameters to disburse the funds. Ms. Haas explained that this was not a Board concern but
that she took on this role as a result of her appointment to the Arts Council. The check will come to the Museum, go to Dottie Ray, at County Finance, and will be re-issued to the Community
Foundation. The goal is to turn this over to the Community Arts Foundation for the future. Mr. Thuersam recommended Craig Chapman from Raleigh as a speaker for our Confederate �
�d by asking for the schedule
for the gift shop advisory board for the coming year. Dr. Bart Williams is our representative to the board, which does not have regularly scheduled meetings. They should be meeting some
time in the spring. Adjournment: Mr. Thuersam entertained a motion to adjourn. Mr. Mr. Tanky Meier moved. Ms. Kimberly Mash seconded. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting concluded
at 6:40p.m.