Roswell Museum Board of Trustees
Regular MeetingRoswell, NM · November 21, 2016
Minutes
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Monday, November 21, 2016
REGULAR MEETING AT 4:03 PM
CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order by Chairwoman Krantz at 4:03 pm.
ROLL CALL
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees convened with members Peggy Krantz, Jessica Parham,
DeAngela Velasquez, Nanette Schumacher, Jaime Barnes, Bill Siders, and Priscilla Ornelas being present.
A quorum was established.
Members absent: Tabitha Denny, Donovan Fulkerson, Jessica Ellis, Cymantha Liakos, Lorie Mitteer
Staff present: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director; Sara Woodbury, Curator of Collections and
Exhibitions; Cindy Torrez, Executive Director, RMAC Foundation.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Member Siders motioned to approve the agenda as presented. Member Parham seconded. A voice vote
was unanimous and the motion passed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Member Parham motioned to approve the minutes of the October 2016 Board of Trustees meeting.
Member Velasquez seconded. A voice vote was unanimous and the motions passed.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business to discuss.
CHAIR’S REMARKS
Chairwoman Krantz acknowledged the arrival of Caroline Brooks as Executive Director, and stated that
the Board is looking forward to working with her on the Strategic Plan in January. She also inquired
about upcoming holiday activities. Executive Director Brooks answered that she would discuss the
Holiday Open House and other event in the Director’s report.
MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE REPORTS
Curator Woodbury presented Membership and Event Coordinator Speer’s report for October.
Attendance and membership were both up in comparison to the previous year. 60% of the attendance
numbers for October came directly from the Art Block Party and Chalk Art Festival, with 2,861 recorded
in attendance. Executive Director Brooks noted that she had received slightly higher numbers (3,138),
but thought they might relates to the Planetarium attendance for that day.
DIRECTORS REPORT
Executive Director Brooks acknowledged her recent arrival at the Museum and provided a brief
professional background. She informed the board that Gabriela (Monique) Guerrero had resigned from
the Museum Store and that her last day would be next week. She mentioned that both her position and
the Store Manager position would be posted on the City Website in the near future. She discussed the
recent success of the annual Art Block Party and Chalk Art Festival, but based on staff feedback, would
like to refresh the event to include a more STEAM-based focus. She mentioned that the opening of
RMAC’s Roderick Mead prints, a bequest from the Marilyn T. Joyce Trust, would be delayed due to the
extensive matting needs of the project. Curator Woodbury provided a brief historical background of
Mead and his work. Executive Director Brooks discussed the recent repainting of the two museum
classrooms to create a more inviting space for students. She reviewed the ongoing status of the
Goddard cases, with one being finished, the second waiting for its new lights, and the third awaiting
deinstallation. Upcoming holiday events were discussed, including Holiday Make & Take, a collaboration
between the RMAC Foundation and Curator of Education Amanda Nicholson. Executive Director Torrez
discussed the event in greater detail, stating that the objective is to let parents drop off their children at
the museum to make crafts while they do their holiday shopping. Torrez thought the event needed
more advertising in the future, as initial attendance had been low, with only two students attending the
first event on November 19. She reminded the Board that the event is intended for children ages four
and up, and that interested parties should register directly with Curator of Education Nicholson.
Executive Director Brooks discussed other upcoming events, including a showing of Jurassic World on
November 26 in the Planetarium, the Holiday Open House on December 3, and an exhibit opening for
Roswell Artist-in-Residence Beverly Acha on December 16. Curator Woodbury provided a brief
description of Acha’s work. Chairwoman Krantz commended the Education Department’s activity but
expressed concern about overwhelming staff. Executive Director Brooks stated that she would be
meeting with staff individually to assess their professional satisfaction and address any potential issues,
interests, or concerns. Members Siders mentioned two of the labels in one of the Goddard cases being
out of order. Curator Woodbury stated that they had been fixed, but to keep an eye out for any other
discrepancies. The last point mentioned by Executive Director Brooks was that there is graffiti under the
bridge and there is an ongoing effort to remove it, whether by painting over it (undesirable because it
won’t match the painted concrete and becomes a bullseye for additional graffiti) or blasting it off, which
would be preferable.
FOUNDATION REPORT
Executive Director Torrez discussed last year’s annual appeal to create a mobile phone app for the Aston
collection, and stated that the app had been created. The app is available for Android devices; the
iPhone version will be available pending Apple’s approval. The current app has images and text only;
audio and video elements will be added. Executive Director Torrez discussed ongoing Planetarium
fundraising, stating that 12 of 96 chairs had been sold so far, and encouraged the Board to continue
selling chairs to the public, whether to individuals or groups. She hopes to have the funds raised by the
end of February. Member Parham mentioned adding more signage around the Museum about the
fundraising project, citing the current fundraising campaign at the Historical Society as an example.
Executive Director Brooks suggested putting conceptual drawings of the renovated Planetarium on
public view so that potential donors can begin to visualize the final project. Executive Director Torrez
expressed her hope to receive state funding in addition to grants and community donations.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business to discuss. Conversation turned to the Holiday Make & Take. Chairwoman
Krantz asked whether the event needed volunteers. RMAC Foundation Executive Director Torrez states
that Foundation members had already signed up to volunteer. Chairwoman Krantz and Member Barnes
suggested sending out flyers to increase awareness about the event, and to tie it in with the upcoming
Holiday Train event being held at the Spring River Park and Zoo. Executive Director Torrez recommended
that in the future the Make & Take should be linked to events such as the Potters’ Guild Art Show and
Holiday Magic show to promote the local economy. Chairwoman Krantz mentioned contacting the Fine
Arts League for potential greeters, and reminded the RMAC staff to inform the Board of Trustees about
other volunteer needs. Following the meeting, Executive Director Brooks briefly showed the repainted
classrooms to the board.
ADJOURN
Member Parham motioned to adjourn, member Siders seconded. A voice vote was unanimous and the
motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 4:48 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sara Woodbury, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions
Agenda
BOARD OF TRUSTEES AGENDA
Monday, November 21, 2016 at 4:00PM
Bassett Auditorium at RMAC
100 W. 11th Street
Chair: Peggy Krantz
Members: Jamie Barnes, Tabitha Denny, Jessica Ellis, Donovan Fulkerson, Cymantha Liakos,
Lorie Mitteer, Priscilla Ornelas, Jessica Parham, Nanette Schumacher, Bill Siders, and
De Angela Velasquez.
Staff Coordinator: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director, RMAC
RMAC Foundation: Cindy Torrez, Executive Director
A. Call to Order
B. Roll Call
C. Approval of Agenda (action item)
D. Approval of Minutes (action item)
1. Consider approval of the October 17 meeting minutes
E. Chair’s remarks
F. Membership/Event Report
G. Director’s Report
H. RMAC Foundation Report
I. Adjourn
Next Meeting: January 16, 2017 (holiday observed by city; possible rescheduling)
Notice of this meeting has been given to the public in compliance with Sections 10-15-1 through 10-15-4 NMSA 1978 and
Resolution 16-69.
NOTICE OF POTENTIAL QUORUM – A quorum of the City Council may or may not attend, but there will not be debate by the City
Council. The Council, acting as attendees to an informational presentation, will not be discussing public business and no action
will be taken.
If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other
form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or meeting, please contact Human Resources at 575-624-
6700 at least one week prior to the meeting or as soon as possible. Public documents including the agenda and minutes can be
provided in various accessible formats. Please contact the City Clerk at 575-624-6700 if a summary or other type of accessible
format is needed.
Printed and posted: November 16, 2016
dr DRAFT DOCUMENT
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Monday, October, 17, 2016
REGULAR MEETING AT 4:00p.m.
CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order by Chairwoman Krantz at 4:00p.m.
ROLL CALL
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees convened with members Peggy Krantz, Cymantha Liakos,
Jessica Parham, DeAngela Velasquez, Lorie Mitteer, Bill Siders, Jessica Ellis and Jamie Barnes being
present. A quorum was established.
Members absent: Tabitha Denny, Donovan Fulkerson, Priscilla Ornelas, Nanette Schumacher
Staff present: Laurie Rufe, Interim Director; Colette Speer, Membership and Events Coordinator, Cindy
Torrez, Executive Director, RMAC Foundation.
Guests present: Elizabeth Stark-Rankins, Director of Administrative Services, City of Roswell.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Member Siders motioned to approve the agenda as presented. Member Parham seconded. A voice vote
was unanimous and the motion passed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Member Parham motioned to approve the minutes of the September 2016 Board of Trustees meeting.
Member Siders seconded. A voice vote was unanimous and the motion passed.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business to discuss.
CHAIR’S REMARKS
Chairwoman Krantz acknowledged this was Interim Director Laurie Rufe’s last Board of Trustees Meeting
and recognized Rufe’s stability, vision. The Board would miss her and the strong leadership she
provided. She focused her comments around the Chalk Art Festival and Art Block Party, scheduled for
Saturday October 22, and remarked she hoped all were looking forward to attending and participating.
MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE REPORTS: Colette Speer presented the membership and attendance
report for September and indicated membership had been up in September from the same time last
year; similarly, the year-to-date dues was also increased from last year. Interim Director Rufe added
some statistics from the research library between fiscal year 2015-2016 and the current year in research
library acquisitions and activity (loans, research, circulation); the statistics showed that RMAC’s research
library is used often and is growing. This discussion also lead into the issue of the museum needing
greeters and docents. It was suggested that a greeter flyer be created and distributed. Colette Speer
indicated that a flyer had been done for both, separately, and RMAC would look into ways to get the
word out, particularly among students who might have service hours to fulfill.
DIRECTORS REPORT
Interim Director Rufe announced that former Registrar Laureta Huit had resigned to take a position at
the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. Preparator Nick Frederick has been promoted to the
Registrar position and Security Officer Brandon Strange was promoted to Preparator. Director Rufe also
addressed what a Registrar in a museum does; that person manages the collections, database,
insurance, shipping and receiving and research, to include tracking the items as well as preparing
condition reports. She pointed out that RMAC was looking for a new security officer to replace Brandon
Strange. Rufe focused, too, on the Art Block Party and Chalk Art Festival, which she said was being
spearheaded by Amanda Nicholson and Colette Speer. In terms of infrastructure, the bridge renovation
is nearly complete – with a ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for the 17th – and the roof is nearly done,
too. Finally, Rufe pointed out that a film crew from the National Air and Space Museum in Washington
D.C. had recently visited and Bill Siders was filmed in the Goddard Workshop for the webcast, “STEM in
30,” developed to engage middle school students in STEM topics. The show is set to air on October 26 at
9am and 11am on NASA TV and later on YouTube.
FOUNDATION REPORT
RMAC Foundation Executive Director Torrez discussed that the Foundation would be sending out its
annual appeal letter, which contained two inserts; one of those would promote the chair sale for the
Planetarium. She also announced that the Foundation would be doing a Mom’s Shopping day during the
holidays where parents could bring their child to the museum and then go to do their shopping; this is
planned for two or three Saturdays and isn’t so much a fundraiser as it is building relationships in the
community. Executive Director Torrez said that the Foundation would be doing a fundraiser in February
– Mystery at the Museum – around the Valentine’s Day celebrations, and which would include dinner
and a mystery event. In line with this, Torrez indicated that the Foundation would not be doing the
Kentucky Derby and that the event would be put to rest for a year; the Foundation board was ready to
do something different. In other areas of fundraising, the news of the Hubbard grant for which the
foundation applied, should arrive soon.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business to discuss. Conversation turned to a question about the connection between
Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program’s 50th anniversary celebration and Hurd/Wyeth exhibit. Interim
Director Rufe said that there were discussions going on that would connect the two, including RAiR’s
fiftieth anniversary and RMAC’s eightieth year; the RAiR exhibition would open on October 6, 2017
which is the Museum’s anniversary date. The Hurd-Wyeth exhibit would open during the yearlong
celebration of the Museum’s 80th anniversary. Members present discussed the need to advertise –
through magazines and articles to get some wide, perhaps even national, representation for RMAC.
ADJOURN
Member Parham motioned to adjourn. Member Siders seconded. A voice vote was unanimous and the
motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 4:42pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Colette Speer, Membership and Events Coordinator DRAFT DOCUMENT
Director’s Report to the RMAC Board of Trustees
November 21, 2016 Board Meeting
Submitted by: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director
1. Executive Director
I started officially on November 4 and it’s an honor to introduce myself to you as the new Executive
Director of the Roswell Museum and Art Center. I’m humbled and excited to lead this important
organization into its next chapter. I’m also immensely grateful to people like you, whose engagement
and support make the work we do possible. I hope that you will kindly interrupt me from some of my
daily tasks soon just to say hello.
2. Art Block Party and Chalk Festival
The Art Block Party and Chalk Art Festival took place on Saturday, October 22. RMAC staff members
Colette Speer and Amanda Nicholson did a great job in coordinating the activities. Highlights included
performances by Wise Fool, hands-on art activities, the Pecos Valley Jazz Festival’s School of Jazz and
music by Spice of Life, Art Car painting, Raku 2 Go demonstrations, Crazy Hair Salon, and the Chalk
Festival. Attendance was 3,138 and we had 60 chalk art squares created.
3. RMAC Foundation Updates
Annual appeal letters have been sent out. The focus for this year’s appeal is the Goddard Planetarium
renovation. Planetarium seat sponsorships are available for $500 per seat, and sponsors can choose
their seat for $100 more. Name plaques will be affixed to the seats for each sponsor. The Foundation is
also seeking corporate sponsors for donations of $1000 or more.
The Foundation is planning a series of Holiday Make & Takes in coordination with RMAC Curator of
Education Amanda Nicholson. The purpose is to allow parents to go holiday shopping while their child is
at the Museum making one-of-a-kind presents. The dates of the event are November 19, 26 and
December 10. Cost is per day and is $40 for one child and $10 for each additional child. To register,
contact Amanda at 624-6744 x22.
Save the date for the Foundation’s spring fundraiser, Mystery at the Museum. The event includes dinner
and an interactive murder mystery at the Museum. Tickets are $100 per person and the event will be
held on both February 11 and 14, 2017.
4. Exhibition and Gallery Updates
Preparatory work is underway for Roderick Mead: Looking Between the Lines, which will feature more
than 30 paintings and prints donated to the RMAC from the Marilyn T. Joyce Trust. Presently the last of
the new, acid-free mats are being cut for the works on paper, so they will have archival housing in the
future. The exhibition will be in the Horgan and Graphics Galleries November 18, 2016-February 12,
2017.
5. Facility Updates
In an effort to brighten up the classrooms, they have been repainted two exciting, kid-friendly
colors. Stop in and take a look!
Lighting and paneling replacement for the second Goddard case is underway.
6. Upcoming Events
November 18-February 12 – Exhibition: Roderick Mead: Looking Between the Lines
Saturdays, November 19, 26 and December 10 – Holiday Make & Takes
Wednesdays, November 23 & 30, 1:30 & 3:30pm – Planetarium Program: Walking with
Monsters: Life before Dinosaurs
Saturday, November 26, 1:30pm: Film in the Planetarium: Jurassic World
Saturday, December 3, 5-7pm – Holiday Open House (see our Facebook page for a full schedule)
Friday, December 16, 5:30-7pm – Opening Reception & Lecture: Roswell Artist-in-Residence
Beverly Acha
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