The Manitowoc County Historical Society held their 119th Annual Meeting on Thursday, March 13 at K-City Pub and Grill in Kellnersville. The annual event featured a business meeting, election of new Directors, and recognition of the organization's outstanding volunteers.
MCHS’ Education Coordinator, Jacob Novosad, welcomed the group to Kellnersville for the meeting. Living History Program Coordinator, Hannah Harvey, shared the importance of the power of historical spaces and how connections can be made from our past. Member and Volunteer Alex Brendemuehl shared a prayer before lunch.
Engagement Manager Devinne Fackelman welcomed the group after lunch and presented a series of Museum and Member Milestones, giving recognition to the museum members who have been with the museum for many years.
President Jennifer Johnson welcomed all guests in attendance and shared her enthusiasm for all that was accomplished in 2024. Members of the Board of Directors were introduced: Ryan Zunker, Vice President; Megan Bruckschen, Secretary; Matt Neu, Treasurer; Mike Johnson; Angel Johanek; and Dennis Tienor.
A financial overview was shared. To manage a museum the size of ours on an operating budget of approximately $260,000 each year is impressive. Membership dues continue to be a reliable source of support for the museum with over $21,000 in the past year, which is up about 3% from last year. Your membership support is key to our success.
Program fees and admission continue to be first rate with over $60,000 in earned income – which is consistent with 2023 numbers. We strengthened our school and youth program outreach to gain over $14,000 in group sales – an increase of almost 25% over 2023. We hope to grow this number in 2025 and beyond with our new education coordinator position.
Unrestricted donations allow us to grow and continue our mission delivery. Donations offset the costs of our youth programs, summer camps, and workshops. General donations allow us to keep our lights on, heat flowing, and staff energized and engaged. We received over $52,000 in unrestricted funds in 2024, compared to $17,000 in 2023.
Our membership is very generous. Our membership contributed over $270,000 in restricted gifts. The majority of these gifts were given to the Vetting Fund, Nennig Dance Pavilion, and the Meeme House project. Our Endowment Fund has done very well this year, with a year end total of over $849,000 with our basis of $607,000.Donations were also very generous to our Annual Appeal – totaling $43,000.
Expenses are minimal compared to the scope of what our museum tackles each year. We continue to keep costs down as much as possible. Much of our repairs to our historic structures are made possible by restricted donations to our Vetting Fund. Staffing is one of our largest operating expenses but without a team to make our mission possible, we wouldn’t have the first rate museum we have today. Staffing costs increased by almost 30% over last year. We did take out a construction loan to finish our Meeme House restoration. This loan, to not exceed $550,000, is speeding up the process and we will continue to fundraise and reserve bookings to make our payments. About $400,000 is still needed towards the $1.5 million project goal.
Executive Director Amy Meyer shared successes from 2024 including education and public programs, archives initiatives, and building restoration projects. The Annual Impact report is available for viewing on the Historical Society's website at ManitowocCountyHistory.org.
President Jennifer Johnson introduced incoming board of directors members: Dennis Tienor, candidate for a second term; Megan Bruckschen, candidate for a second term; and Mike Johnson, candidate for a first term.
In 2024, 8,118.25 hours of service were shared with the museum and Pinecrest Village. Volunteers with over 100 hours of service in 2024 were recognized: Aggie Schmitz (1,094.50), Dan Juchniewich (288), Diane Leonhard (161), Emmy Rebitz (119), Eugene Durben (275.50), George Baldwin (238.5), Hubert VandePas (200.25), Jim Day (196.50), Jim Steuer (210), John Bohlin (211.75), Mike Duescher (184.5), Phil Groll (471.5), Bob Coenen (101.5), Rob Harvey (101.25), and Tia Brandt (105.5).
The Square Nail Volunteer of the Year Award was given to Jim Day for all his efforts to research and facilitate the museum’s walking tours. He has also been working on cataloging the American Legion collection, did a presentation at Felician Village, and set up a Rahr-West ‘Tablesettings’ display on behalf of MCHS.
The Annual Meeting concluded with a fundraiser raffle that raised over $4,900 for the Manitowoc County Historical Society's mission. |
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