News

Click here to download a .pdf version of our 2007 Annual Report.

Fast Facts
Education
Tracks
From the Executive Director's Desk

Fast Facts

Stable operating income: 54% earned and 46% contributed
Mission-related expenditures: 89% programs, 7% administrative, and 4% fundraising
Strong volunteer effort: 17,740 hours of donated service, the equivalent of nearly 9 full time staff, valued at $566,472
2008-2009 operating budget of $724,000
The most visited Museum in Solano County: 23,000 annual visitors
Youth focus: 50% of all visitors under 14

Education

Do you want to know how field trips to local museums can help students and teachers address many of the California State Curriculum Standards, especially in grades K-5?  The Solano County Museum Consortium and the Solano County Office of Education can help!

Click here to download a free .pdf copy of “Standards Based Education Resources at Solano County Museums.”

Click here to learn more about the school field trip program at the Western Railway Museum.

Who says advocacy isn’t fun? News from the Executive Director

On the U.S. Capitol Plaza telling our Senators that the Western Railway Museum matters

Ad-vo-ca-cy noun active verbal support for a cause or position

Making the Case for Museums in Washington D.C.
A few times throughout the year, events conspire that require me to work well beyond the 40-hour workweek. During the Pumpkin Patch in October, I typically work the entire month without a day off. April and May are also very busy with the Scenic Limited trains and school groups. The last week of February 2009 was about the busiest I’ve been since the Jensen Memorial Car House Grand Opening last May. But hard work and long hours pay off for our Museum, and I couldn’t be more pleased (and exhausted).

Saturday February 21 was a typical third-Saturday-of-the-month Board of Directors meeting. What was atypical was that later that night, I hoped a red-eye flight from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. to participate in the American Association of Museums Advocacy Day. The American Association of Museums (AAM) represents museums, zoos, aquariums, and science centers all across America. Museum leaders from 45 states were converging on the nation’s capitol to make sure our elected officials know how important museums are to our country.

Just a week prior, an amendment had been proposed in the Senate that would prohibit any museum from participating in the Stimulus Package before Congress. It was only because thousands of museum supporters cried, “foul!” that we were added back in at the last moment.

Our own California Association of Museums (CAM is our own statewide association that looks after the well-being of museums) was a partnering organization with AAM for their Advocacy Day, and I was honored to be CAM’s official delegate in Washington.

Back to the future on the DC Metro

Sunday and Monday were filled with site visits and advocacy training. We learned about the inner workings of Congress, heard directly from Senators, Congressmen and Congresswomen, staff members and lobbyists, researched legislation, developed our messages, did our homework, and rehearsed, rehearsed, and rehearsed!

On Tuesday, I boarded D.C.’s electric rail system (the excellent Metro) and headed up to Capitol Hill. Along with William Harris of the California Science Center, Elsa Bailey of the National Science Teachers Association, Jenny Benjamin of the Museum of Vision, and Mari Lyn Salvador of the San Diego Museum of Man, we met with the offices of Congressman Xavier Bacerra, Congressman George Miller, Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Senator Barbara Boxer.

We asked each of them to support the reauthorization of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and for increased funding for museums, including the creation of a new Federal Formula grants program that will create a new source of funding for museums across the country (like ours!).

Museums deliver significant economic impact: we are a $14.5 billion industry, and invest over $1 billion annually to support education. Museums are, literally and figuratively, a critical part of our country’s infrastructure. Like roads and bridges, we have buildings and collections of physical objects that need constant care. And like roads and bridges, our collections bind our communities together; they are the stuff that forms our heritage, our culture, and our collective American identity.

As if the switch from Pacific Time to Eastern Time and back again weren’t enough to manage, I barreled headlong into two other events later that same week…

Board Member Reuben Smith talks with Solano County Supervisor John Vasquez

And Like A Good Neighbor…
On Thursday, the Western Railway Museum played host to enXco for the dedication of their Shiloh II wind power project. I was delighted to be joined by Board Member Reuben Smith who really stepped up and into the critical role of public ambassador to welcome guests and to help us put our best foot forward.

Shiloh II is the latest project to be completed in the Solano Wind Resource Area. The Western Railway Museum and our historic right-of-way form the western boundary of the Wind Resource Area. Shiloh I saw the installation of modern turbines south of Little Honker Bay Road; Shiloh II brought turbines north of Little Honker Bay Road.

enXco has been a good neighbor to the Western Railway Museum over the past few years, consulting with us on their plans for development of the wind resource area, listening to and acting on our input into the process, and supporting the museum’s mission to preserve and interpret our electric railway heritage.

L-R: enXco Vice President Joe Fahrendorf, Western Railway Museum Executive Director Phil Kohlmetz, and General Wesley Clark (ret.)

Their original plan was to host the dedication ceremony underneath one of the new turbines, accessible via a series of dirt roads. Given the recent spate of wet weather, I offered them the use of our parking lot and Visitors Center as an alternative site. They were delighted and deeply appreciative of the chance to avoid trying to do an event in a muddy pasture while still enjoying a great view of the wind farm. I was exceedingly pleased to be able to return the good will by offering our site for their event.

[insert photo: DSC_7499.jpg and add caption: “L-R: enXco Vice President Joe Fahrendorf, Western Railway Museum Executive Director Phil Kohlmetz, and General Wesley Clark (ret.)”]

Over 250 VIP’s attended the dedication, including keynote speaker General Wesley Clark (ret.), Senator Lois Wolk. Senator Alex Padilla, Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, Michael R. Peevey (President of the California Public Utilities Commission), Supervisor John Vasquez, Supervisor Mike Reagan, Rio Vista Mayor Jan Vick, and representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric, RePower turbine manufacturers, and Mortenson Construction.

It was tremendously valuable that each of these influential people make the connection between California’s newest renewable power project and our Western Railway Museum. The guests at the event represent the political world, the business world, local landowners, our neighbors, and funders. Not only are we located adjacent to the project, but we have a unique story to tell about energy and transportation.

I hope that a new exhibit now in development (with Reuben Smith, John Holt, and Tim Feldman’s help) will help our visitors connect the past we preserve with the present we all live in. The opportunities for us to grow are substantial if we continue to be “good neighbors” by increasing our engagement with our local communities, advocating for our institution, and providing meaningful information and experiences to our visitors.

Senator Leland Yee presents Phil Kohlmetz (CAM Board Member and Chair of the CAM Legislative Committee) with a Senate Resolution proclaiming May as California Museum Month

California Museums Conference in San Francisco

To round out my “advocacy week,” Board Member John Holt, volunteer Wayne Monger and I attended the annual California Association of Museums conference, held this year in San Francisco. This conference is an excellent source of information and inspiration for paid staff and volunteers alike, and I was happy to attend with two of our volunteers.

CAM conferences are PACKED with overlapping sessions (20/day) that deal with collections care, exhibitions, volunteerism, funding, financing, board development, education, and adult programming (to name just a few).

Using a “divide and conquer” approach, John, Wayne, and I tried to go to as many different sessions as possible. Some of the topics included “After the Strategic Plan is Finished, Then What?” “Customer Service and the Visitor Experience: Tools of the Trade” “Teaching Sustainability to Visitors: Green Museums Set An Example” and “Aging and Ageism in Museums.”

California State Senator Leland Yee made a surprise visit to the conference to present us with a resolution proclaiming May as California Museum Month. He spoke candidly and eloquently about the need to support museums across the state because we are the stewards of history and culture. Clearly, he “gets it” and I couldn’t have been more pleased and proud to be a Californian.

The conference made the ABC7 evening news on Thursday 2/26, and National Public Radio’s Scott Shafer (host of The California Report) spoke at the Director’s Luncheon on Friday 2/27.

You can read more about the conference on CAM’s blog, including an entry from me at:
http://www.calmuseums.info/blog/