MINUTES OF THE BARNES AREA HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATION MEETING
OF MAY 17, 2008
The meeting was held at 9:00am
at the VFW hall. The breakfast meeting started with the meal provided by the
volunteers from our group. These volunteers were Dave and Carol Pease, Bob and
Linda Oberstar and Dean and Lu Peet. Thanks to all who donated their time and
food for this meeting.
President Dave Pease called the meeting to
order after the meal was finished.
Members present were Dave
Pease, Carol Pease, Bob Oberstar, Linda Oberstar, John Amend, Ariel Amend, Mike
Bowes, Jon Harkness, Quentin Ruprecht, Helen Ruprecht, Dean Peet, Lu Peet and
special guest Gordon Lund. It was noted that a quorum was present.
The agenda is as follows:
Call the meeting to order
Approve minutes of the last
meeting
Approve Treasurer’s Report
Correspondence
Guest Speaker-Gordon
Old Business:
1.
Land Issues and
VFW offer
2.
3.
Sales for
Memorial Day weekend
4.
Papers filed for
Organization with the State Historical Society and the State of
5.
Authors and
Artists event for Riverfest in June
6.
Flea markets-July
Pie Social
New Business
1.
Garage / Building
specs and quotes
The agenda was then rearranged
to accommodate the guest speaker, Gordon Lund.
Jon Harkness introduced the
guest speaker, Gordon Lund. Jon gave a brief biography of Mr. Lund. Mr. Lund is
a resident of Barnes and is a fund raising consultant with more than 15 years
experience. He also gives lectures on this subject at the college level.
Mr. Lund spoke on several
points that he wanted to bring up to the group:
1.
Where he sees
BAHA now
2.
Our missions
3.
Long range plans
4.
Case statement
5.
Champions
6.
Gifts
7.
Jan Seymour
comments
Mr. Lund asked why we were
doing what we are doing. What is the goal of our group and what have we done so
far. There was discussion on all of this. We indicated that our mission
statement said that BAHA wants to preserve and educate the people about the
history of the Barnes area and also to build a museum for this purpose. We have
had successful fundraisers during the past two years to build up funds for the
museum.
Mr. Lund suggested that we
have a long range plan. A five-year plan is common he said. He spoke on what
resources we would need. These are people, money and time. As far as the museum
is concerned, we need to define what this means to us. Why do we need a museum
and who will want to come. When approaching donors, we will want to include
future plans and dreams. The long range plan could have built-ins for
endowments.
The case statement was
discussed. This is done with a campaign. Jon Harkness asked what this involved.
Our plan should be simple, one or two pages. It should contain a map of where
the museum will be, along with an architect’s rendering of the building. Our first efforts should be easy. As we get
larger audiences, we can do some more involved plans. The usual time frame for
this is ten years. The first five years are for development. We can get
pledges, etc. and then announce it to the public. There should be a feasibility
study done. Personal calls on individuals should be made. Linda Oberstar said
that this approach worked very well for the Centennial Celebration. She got a
lot of response to her individualized appeals.
Mr. Lund then spoke on what
champions, suspects and prospects are.
These are influential people you want involved in the project. Champions have AIL- 1. Ability; 2. Interest;
3. Linkage. There was discussion on how do we reach these people, the
key individuals and key organizations like the Town Board, church, bank, etc.
The Wisconsin Foundations Guide (foundations in
Gifts and money-We need to
raise one-half of the money from ten or maybe fifteen sources. There should be
a gift table from top to bottom. Mr. Lund commented on the statement of Jan
Seymour that fees of the fund raisers are usually based on a percentage of what
is taken in. Mr. Lund said that this is not usually how this is done. Bremer is a good fund raiser, he said. Naming
is something to consider. This is usually done if at least half of the
projected funds come from a single source.
The members had questions for
Mr. Lund. Jon Harkness asked if there should be a committee for a Capital
Campaign for getting donors and for getting people involved. Insiders also have
to be givers. Mike Bowes had concerns on how successful we will be. Lu Peet
asked how we can combat the negative comments. We need to show people how we
can benefit them. Quentin Ruprecht said that the elk could be a center of
attention. We could take that centerpiece and build on that. We could use a
“tree” form for donations. Students from the UW are available to help with the
activities of the museum. We have to document what key interests are there for
the museum. There was discussion on the elk and that this had some staying
power. Mr. Lund said that partnerships are important (
The group thanked Mr. Lund
for his interest in our group and for his informational message.
The regular meeting was then
continued.
Secretary Lu Peet handed out
the minutes of the April meeting to the members. Motion (Jon Harkness / Helen
Ruprecht) to approve the minutes as presented. Call for discussion.
Motion
carried.
Treasurer Linda Oberstar said
that she did not have a formal report for this month. The report was pretty much
what it was last month except for some money spent on stamps ($103.98-Forever
Stamps), accountant consultation ($35.00), licenses and fees: Department of
Regulation and Licensing-Incorporation Filing ($15.00), Department of
Administration and Gaming- Raffle License ($25.00) and the breakfast for the
guest speaker in April at Maki’s Restaurant ($8.71) for a total disbursement of
$187.69. In addition, two new memberships were added ($40.00) and one book ($27.60)
was sold. The CD’s have not changed. The new balance is $7,543.84. Linda will
have a complete report for the next meeting. Carol Pease examined the bank book
and statement and all is in order.
Correspondence: Carol Pease
said that there would be a Behind Fences exhibit at the Cable Natural History Museum
in Cable,
Old Business:
1.
VFW Land-Dave
Pease said that we would have to get Duke Marten to do the surveying of the
property at the VFW site as Len Peterson said he could not get the information
needed for the survey. This is evidently a county issue with the surveyors.
There was discussion on the pros and cons of the land. The decision will depend
on the survey results.
2.
Airport
Observation Building-There was discussion on the condition of the building. Bob
Oberstar and Mike Bowes inspected the site. They came to the conclusion that a
lot of work had to be done to the building to make it acceptable for BAHA. This
would include rewiring, heating, structural condition improvements such as beam
work-wider doorways, etc. The maintenance on the outside of the building would
also be expensive, as it needs a lot of work. The recommendation was to support
looking at getting a new building and not expending the money to fix up the
existing building.
3.
Sales for the
Memorial Day weekend-The Don Hartman estate has donated about fifteen pickup
truck loads of items for the sale. One load of books will be donated to the
Friends of the Library. There was discussion on eventually placing a plaque
stating the contribution in the memory of Don and Margaret Hartman in the
museum. The exact form of the memorial is still to be decided, but this will be
done. We will meet to mark and organize the items for the Ertel house and the
Ruprecht’s house for the Hartman items. Tuesday and Wednesday before Memorial
Day we will meet at the Ruprecht’s to mark the Hartman items. We will have
signs up at the corner of
4.
Papers filed for
State and Historical Society-Lu Peet reported that all paperwork that needed to
be filed has been done. We are awaiting the new raffle license and the State of
5.
Authors and
Artists event for Riverfest-Lu Peet has received confirmation from about twelve
exhibitors for the event. She will open the town hall on the afternoon prior to
that Saturday so that the exhibitors can set up their displays. There was
discussion on who would man the table for the BAHA at the event. The following
schedule was worked out:
9:00am
to 11:00am-Lu Peet (Lu will also get there early to help with any set up issues
and
to get the signs out)
11:00am to 1:00pm-Helen Ruprecht
1:00pm to 3:00pm-Mike Bowes
3:00pm to 5:00pm-Linda Oberstar
BAHA will have the Centennial Book and note
cards for sale, as well as membership information.
Lu Peet will return at the close to clean
up and close the town hall.
6.
Flea Markets and
July Pie Social-More discussion on these events will be held at the next
meeting.
New
Business:
Garage
and Storage Building-Quentin Ruprecht handed out the BAHA Storage Building
Concepts paper that he had compiled. This included the ideas, general needs and
cost estimates for the proposed storage-work garage. Quentin also handed out a
comparison chart of what the estimated costs and concerns would be for the
three buildings-Ertel building renovation, steel building-stick built building.
(See 6 attached pages). Quentin said that this may bring to light some ideas on
what we want for a building at this time.
Motion
(Helen Ruprecht / Bob Oberstar) to adjourn the meeting. Call for discussion. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00pm. The next meeting will be held at 9:00am
at the VFW hall on Thursday, June 19, 2008.
Respectfully
submitted,
Lu
Peet
Barnes
Area Historical Association Secretary
Dated
this 8th day of June 2008