The first big snowstorm reminds us all that the year is coming to a close and a new one is just weeks away. It is a natural time to begin to reflect on the ups and downs of the past year. Here at the Nature Museum we are taking a look at how well we have met our goals for 2007. I am jubilant to report that we have had a gangbuster year.
In January 2007 the Nature Museum Board and Staff decided to focus on three areas for the next year: fundraising, connectedness and space concerns. Let me fill you in on a few of the highlights of 2007. The Nature Museum Board and Staff produced our first major fundraising event called “A Night Out for Nature”. This sold-out event raised substantial funds to support our environmental educational work as well as connecting us more strongly with Grafton and neighboring communities. The positive ripples from this fun and educational evening are still being felt by the Museum. Board members and staff worked tirelessly on the many details of putting together such a big production. An offshoot of this diligence was that we coalesced into a much stronger and more focused team. We all feel even more confident about our strength as an institution as we approach goal setting for next year.
In 2007 the Museum branched out both in adding new programming topics and in holding programs in new locations (part of our space issue too) to reach more deeply into neighboring communities. This year we began to co-sponsor a monthly Astronomy Night at Vermont Academy. We held a discussion group on sustainability in Saxton’s River. We co-sponsored a wonderful cloud program with the Rockingham Library and a garden design class in Chester to name just a few of our outreach educational offerings held outside Grafton.
During 2007 we welcomed two new board members who fill important roles for our organization. Will Danforth is our new treasurer. Will, who is best known as a local singer-songwriter musician, had a previous career in the financial industry and brings all his analytical experience to bear when perusing our budgets and numbers. Claudio Veliz is an architect and astronomer whose passion for both topics are invaluable as we look at our space issues and develop new programming about the universe and beyond. Look for Claudio’s course in astronomy to begin Fall 2008. Space within our building is still a focus area which continues to be high on the priority list for 2008. We are bigger than our four walls can contain and how we resolve this problem will be one of our big questions to answer in the coming months. We will be developing an assessment team whose task it will be to identify our building needs and options.
All in all we have had a wonderfully active and productive year and look forward to 2008 with a renewed sense of dedication to linking people with nature and each other. As a board we have developed into a hard-working team ready to tackle whatever issues face us in 2008. I am proud to preside over such an inspiring group of individuals who continually show their love for the earth by donating countless hours to the work of the Nature Museum. I am grateful for all of you, our friends, who so generously support our mission of connecting children and adults with the wonders of land, sea, and skies. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Laurie Danforth
