Roswell Museum Board of Trustees
Regular MeetingRoswell, NM · February 27, 2017
Minutes
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Monday, February 27, 2017
REGULAR MEETING AT 4:00 PM
CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order by Chairman Siders at 4:00 pm.
ROLL CALL
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees convened with members Donovan Fulkerson, Lori Mitteer,
Jessica Parham, Priscilla Ornelas, Nanette Schumacher, and DeAngela Velasquez, being present. A
quorum was established.
Members absent: Jamie Barnes, Tabitha Denny, Jessica Ellis, Peggy Krantz, and Cymantha Liakos
Staff present: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director; Sara Woodbury, Curator of Collections and
Exhibitions; Colette Speer, Membership and Events Coordinator; Nicholas Frederick, Registrar; Cindy
Torrez, Executive Director, RMAC Foundation.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Member Parham motioned to approve the agenda as presented. Member Mitteer seconded. A voice
vote was unanimous and the motion passed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Member Parham motioned to approve the minutes of the January 23, 2017, Board of Trustees meeting.
Member Velasquez seconded. A voice vote was unanimous and the motions passed.
NEW BUSINESS
Executive Director Brooks discussed the Strategic Planning Workshop, which took place on February 6
with staff, Board of Trustees members and Foundation board members; she reviewed the session
because only some Board of Trustees members had been able to attend. She said that the members
would receive the draft-notes and suggested that those who are interested in discussing the topics from
the workshop or being involved later get in touch with her. She anticipated that the plan would be
finalized and approved in April.
OLD BUSINESS
Curator Woodbury presented the Jim Stoker work, Chert and Limestone, Guadalupe River Bottom,
Cypress Needles in October, 2014, oil on linen, 34” x 48,” which the Board of Trustees had agreed to
review in the last session. She reminded everyone that Stoker is a San Antonio artist who was a student
of Elmer Schooley. She discussed still being on the fence about the work because, though it fits with the
Museum’s mission, there is a definite concern about storage. Executive Director Brooks invited
members to take time to review the painting up close. Members discussed Curator Woodbury’s storage
concern and the importance of the acquisitions in light of the small amount of space the Museum has.
Executive Director Brooks stated that if the acquisition was not approved, the Museum could still
consider doing an exhibition in the future to focus on Schooley and his students. A written vote was
taken and the acquisition was not approved.
CHAIR’S REMARKS
Chairman Siders kept his comments brief and addressed the agenda to proceed with the reports from
others.
MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE REPORTS
Membership and Event Coordinator Speer presented reports for January. Membership numbers for
January were down, but she could report that they would be up significantly next month. Attendance,
too, was slow in January.
DIRECTORS REPORT
Executive Director Brooks began with landscaping progress. She, Pam Davis, Sandra Barraza along with
Member Velasquez, Curator Woodbury, and Foundation Board Director Ivan Hall had met concerning
landscaping ideas. Ongoing concern for the new plantings is the current irrigation and obtaining quotes
for that project. She also met recently with former Roswell Independent School District Superintendent
Tom Burris and Arsenio Romero and had an excellent meeting regarding partnership and projects
between the district and the museum; Specifically RISD agreed in conversation to send seven instructors
to develop school curriculum connected to the collections while working with Amanda Nicholson, the
Curator of Education, and to continue to support maintenance of planetarium equipment owned by
RISD. Executive Director Brooks looks forward to meeting with Interim superintendent Susan Sanchez to
revisit these topics. The report touched on the progress of the Art and Science Festival for which the
Museum has received a grant; discussion is ongoing about dates for the festival in light of the
Planetarium renovation. The festival will be important in developing how science can successfully be a
part of the Museum. The report reviewed new Museum programs coming up in the next few months:
(1) the Sunday conversations in the galleries, which will be curator talks for an audience interested in
daytime events and will allow the public to become familiar with the collections, (2) a film series, which
will focus on a children’s series in June with selections from the Seattle International Children’s Film
Festival and then will turn to films for adults in January of next year, and (3) a series of after-hours
evening events for adults and families, beginning with a STEAM night event for families in May. Finally,
the report addressed the recent National Endowment for the Humanities grant for which the Museum
applied; this Creating Humanities Communities grant, if funded, would bring programs and partnerships
to the Museum and would add a scholarly component with lectures and workshops to such exhibitions
as the Hurd/Wyeth exhibition. The grant request also included a component regarding digital
storytelling. If the grant is not funded, the Museum will pursue other grants to enable all or some of the
programs to move forward. The report concluded with a reminder of current exhibitions and events on
the horizon.
RMAC Foundation Report
Executive Director Torrez talked about the Foundation’s fundraiser on February 12 and 14, both of
which were a success, not only in terms of being well-attended (sold out), but also in terms of building
relationships. Though it wasn’t a large fundraiser, there were 74 attendees on the 12th and 72 on the
14th, which were the limits that could be accommodated with catering. Member Ornelas asked if there
would be additional fundraisers this year, and Executive Director Torrez said that there may be a
Planetarium fundraiser and silent auction in conjunction with the renovation and re-opening. She
commended Neverland Theater Company for their contributions to the fundraiser and said the
Foundation would work with the group again.
ADJOURN
Member Schumacher motioned to adjourn and member Mitteer seconded. A voice vote was unanimous
and the motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 4:50 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Colette Speer, Membership and Events Coordinator
Agenda
BOARD OF TRUSTEES AGENDA
Monday, February 27, 2017 at 4:00 PM
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 January 23 meeting minutes
E. New Business
1. Review of Strategic Planning Retreat
F. Old Business
1. Acquisitions (action item)
G. Chair’s remarks
H. Membership/Event Report
I. Director’s Report
J. RMAC Foundation Report
K. Adjourn
Next Meeting: March 20, 2017
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.
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Printed and posted: February 23, 2017
Director’s Report to the RMAC Board of Trustees
February 27, 2017 Board Meeting
Submitted by: Caroline Brooks, Executive Director
1. Strategic Planning Workshop
A workshop to gather ideas for the 2017-2020 RMAC Strategic Plan was held on Monday, February 6
from 10 am – 3pm in the Bassett Auditorium. Representatives from the staff, Board of Trustees and the
RMAC Foundation attended and the workshop was open to the public. Discussion topics included a
review of the 2013-2016 strategic plan, building community, capital improvements, financial structure,
and marketing. Working from the notes of the discussion as well as the 2013-2016 strategic plan, a new
plan will be drafted for further review and presented for approval by the Board of Trustees in March or
April.
1. Staffing - Museum Store
We received a good number of applications and interviews are currently underway for the Museum
Store Manager. We hope to have someone in place by the end of February.
Fantasia-Renee Ramirez, who joined our staff as a Museum Store Clerk in December, is transferring to
the Roswell Public Library. While she enjoyed working at the Museum, the hours were going to be more
conducive for her at the library. The open position will be posted soon. In the meantime we are trying to
cover Fantasia’s hours with our current staff.
2. Landscaping
Pam Davis from the Garden Club and Sandra Barraza from Master Gardeners met with staff, a City
grounds person, and representatives from the Board of Trustees and RMAC Foundation to discuss the
Museum’s landscape and planting needs. Some good ideas came out of the meeting and we’ll be
following up in the next couple of weeks to finalize a plan.
3. Meeting with RISD
I met with Superintendent Tom Burris and Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Arsenio Romero at
the end of January. We discussed RISD’s continued support of the annual maintenance of the vintage
starball for the planetarium as well as a potential collaboration between RISD and the Museum for
school tour curriculum development this summer. They were also excited about the new science and art
festival and look forward to RISD being involved. With the recent change in the superintendent staffing,
I’ll be trying to meet with Susan Sanchez in the next week to confirm our collaborative efforts.
4. New Science and Art Festival + Planetarium Renovations + Grand Re-Opening
The planetarium renovations are being scheduled to take place around mid-July through August.
Currently, the Museum is considering scheduling the new science and art festival for spring 2018 to
allow time for needed planning and community collaborations. A festival committee meeting will be
held in the next couple of weeks to verify the date. However it is likely that we will not be having the
festival in October 2017 as previously discussed. As a result I would like to work with the RMAC
Foundation, Board of Trustees and Museum staff to plan a planetarium grand re-opening such as a VIP
evening event and family activities for some time in September or October 2017.
5. Programming
Museum staff have been meeting to discuss programming plans for 2017. As a result, we are
developing:
A Sunday “conversation” series presented by the curatorial staff. The initial focus will highlight
objects and donors represented in the exhibition Collecting Roswell.
A summer film series with international children’s films.
After hours events targeting young professionals.
A scholarly lecture series in 2018 for which we recently submitted a National Endowment for the
Humanities grant.
Updates will be provided as events are confirmed.
5. Maternity Leave
Just a reminder that I will be away from about March 7-mid April for maternity leave. Around March 20,
I’ll be working part-time from home and at the Museum periodically.
Upcoming Events
Wednesdays, February 1, 8, 15 & 22 – Planetarium Programs at 2 and 3:30 pm
Friday, February 24 – Consistent Variety opens (no reception). Exhibition presents a diverse
array of silkscreen prints from the Museum’s collection.
Saturday, February 25, 1:30 pm – Showing of the critically-acclaimed film Gravity in the
Planetarium
Friday, March 17 – Collecting Roswell: The Donors of RMAC opens (no reception). Exhibition
highlights the major donors who have contributed to the formation of the Museum’s core
holdings.
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