(Earle Shettleworth, State Historian, Raney Bench, MAM Board President,
Dan Yeager, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, State Representative Erik Jorgensen)
Maine Museums Day
Seventy-five museum professionals turned out for the festivities celebrating Maine's museums at the Augusta State House on March 29, co-hosted by NEMA and Maine Archives and Museums. The day began at the Maine State Archives with an advocacy training session, and concluded at the Hall of Flags, with 21 museums exhibiting and a full slate of speakers including Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, Representative Erik Jorgensen, Julie Richard of the Maine Arts Commission, Jon Edstrom from the Biddeford Mills Museum, Steve Bromage of Maine Historical Society, and Earl Shettleworth, former state historian. Representative Jorgensen read the governor's proclamation of Maine Museums Day, and the event was covered by local media. Check out television and social media coverage, as well as the complete list of participating museums and sponsors here.
Kaywin Feldman, AAM board chair, and Laura Lott, President and CEO of AAM, presented Susan Funk, NEMA Board member and Executive Vice President, Mystic Seaport and Dan Yaeger with Star Advocates awards for five years of participation in Museums Advocacy Day.
Washington DC Museums Advocacy Day
Twenty New England museum professionals, including Dan Yaeger and Meg Winikates from NEMA, joined the activities at Museums Advocacy Day in Washington DC in late February. Over 250 attendees made 368 congressional visits, speaking with their legislators and staff about support for the IMLS Office of Museum Services budget, reauthorization for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, education policy and support for STEM initiatives. Most of the legislators from New England agreed to sign the letter supporting robust funding for the Office of Museum Services: you can find the entire list here. AAM staff report that many legislators' offices indicated they were signing the letter specifically because a museum professional asked them to, so thanks and congratulations to those of you who attended Museums Advocacy Day and those who participated by sending letters, tweets, and other messages to your legislative offices.
NEMA at AAM
NEMA Executive Director Dan Yaeger will be in DC for the AAM Annual Meeting May 26 – 29. In addition to representing NEMA at the annual meeting of the Council of Regional Associations, Dan will be presenting at two sessions: Future Choices: Enacting Best Practices for the Profession (Thursday, May 26, 1 pm, Convention Center) and Zen and the Art of Successful Negotiation (Saturday, May 28, 11 am, Convention Center).
NEMA is coordinating a meetup of New Englanders attending the Annual Meeting on Friday, May 27. We’ll be attending a Washington Nationals baseball game (against Dan’s hometown St. Louis Cardinals) at 7 pm. Anyone interested in joining in the fun should register for the event by April 29. Tickets are $35 each. Go to nemanet.org/baseball.
Podcast hosts Marieke Van Damme and Dan Yaeger.
Museum People Podcast
The first season of NEMA’s ground‐breaking podcast series has wrapped up and, though we didn’t really know what to expect, it sure feels successful. The 8‐episode series attracted more than 6,500 downloads so far, with listeners from New England and beyond. Museum People also generated substantial public relations/social media exposure for NEMA nationwide (and globally). We received hundreds of mentions on Twitter (#MuseumPeople and @NEMAnet), Facebook, and elsewhere. Planning is underway for Season #2, which we anticipate will be this summer.
Optimize your Board/CEO Team
NEMA invites all of its Institutional Members to participate in an exciting new workshop designed to improve the working relationship and effectiveness of boards and executive directors. High Impact, Low Drama: Optimizing Your Board/CEO Team, is an essential, customized workshop for assessing governance best practices and maintaining a culture of teamwork at your museum.
Optimizing Your Board/CEO Team is open to all NEMA Institutional Members. To participate, your museum needs to send its executive director and 1 – 5 board members so we can ensure a fruitful discussion. (All volunteer museums may attend, but need to send their board chair and 1 – 5 additional board members.) You pay one low price of $65 per museum – a great deal for an afternoon of customized learning.
Space is limited, so reserve your place today! Go to www.nemanet.org/leadership for complete details and to sign up. For more information contact Dan Yaeger, dan.yaeger@nemanet.org or 781-641-0013.
2016 NEMA Workshop Series
Our spring/summer workshop season is well underway. In March, the Windsor Historical Society hosted a sold out workshop on New Directions in Visitor Engagement at Historic House Museums. Next week the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation will be hosting Steampunk to Starships: Museums, Pop Culture, and "Borrowing Cool."
Don't miss out on these upcoming workshops:
April 20, 2016
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot, When You’re Not, You’re Not!
Wheaton College, Norton, MA
Presented by the College and University Museums PAG
May 9, 2016
Dressing for Show
Rough Point, Newport Restoration Foundation, Newport, RI
Presented by the Conservators PAG
June 29, 2016
Everything AND the Kitchen Sink
Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH
Presented by the Registrars PAG
Stay tuned to the NEMA website for upcoming workshops from the Education and HR and Volunteer Management PAGs. Thank you to our PAG chairs for all of their work they do in creating the workshop series.
Call for Articles
Have a great idea for an article for New England Museums Now? Museums Now is the professional journal for the voices of museum professionals across the geography, genres, and job descriptions present in our field, and we want your voice to be represented! Submissions for articles are accepted on a rolling basis. Though Museums Now issues each focus on a particular theme relevant to our field, we welcome articles on all museum topics. Your submission is not required to fit a theme for an upcoming issue. For complete details about submitting an article, click here.
Trendswatch 2016 Discussion
Join the NEMA staff for a discussion of the Trendswatch 2016 report. Each year the Center for the Future of Museums, part of the American Alliance of Museums, highlights topics they consider to be important for museums and their communities. Click here to download a free copy of the report. RSVP here.
Welcome New PAG Chairs
We would like to welcome Mary Heath, Chief Marketing Officer from the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Douglas E. Perkins, Administrative Operations Manager of the Middlebury College Museum of Art as the new co-chairs of the Membership, Development, Public Relations, and Marketing PAG.
Sponsorship outreach for workshops/networking events
Now is your chance to show your support for the New England museum community and build valuable good will for your organization. Become a sponsor of NEMA's 2016 Spring/Summer professional development programming! Sponsorship opportunities include the PAG workshops and networking events. Click here for details.