During Cottonlandia’s annual meeting Sunday, it was clear the museum is coming out of a transition year but that the future is looking prosperous with the announcement of a $125,000 grant for a building addition.
The Mississippi Arts Commission grant is for constructing a multi-purpose room and meeting area, Executive Director Cheryl Taylor said.
“Anyone who has come in the museum during the Summer Discovery program knows we set up divisions for the different rooms and are all over the place,” Taylor said. “That makes it almost impossible for visitors to enjoy some of our exhibitions.”
The addition will cost around $325,000, so the museum will be preparing a three- to five-year plan to raise money.
“We need a road map, so we can get to where we are going and get it done,” Taylor said. “I am not one to give back money (from a grant).”
Taylor has also submitted another grant for an interactive exhibition about collecting the community’s history through photography, manuscripts, quilts and more.
Leath Johnson, treasurer of the Cottonlandia Board of Directors, reported a net loss of almost $30,000 during the 2009-10 fiscal year.
“This was an anticipated loss,” Johnson said. “With the cost of the search and hiring of a new executive director last year we knew there would be added costs. We ended having a larger staff while Cheryl trained and adjusted to the community. We kept three full-time employees and one part-time employee.”
For this year, the staff has been reduced to two full-time employees and two part-time employees.
The museum has proposed a balanced budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
While the museum was down last year, Taylor says it is still stable and not in financial strain.
For the 2010-11 fiscal year, she said the museum has already held a wildly successful Art and Antique Auction bringing in $15,500.
Helping to keep costs low, Friends of Cottonlandia, the volunteer workers, clocked almost 2,900 hours during the previous year. If the museum had paid for those hours, it would have cost about $20,000.
The museum conducted 36 tours for more than 1,116 people. The Friends gave the majority of the tours.
“We couldn’t do all that we do without this core group of volunteers,” Frank Warren said.
With one year under her belt, Taylor highlighted some of the improvements the museum has made including new collection software, which is a database cataloguing museum items, the revamping of the newsletter and a new membership brochure.
This past year, Cottonlandia also decided to hold free days on Wednesday. That brought an initial increase in visitors, and the museum will continue with free Wednesdays until further notice.
The museum also added to its collections from some of the art exhibits held throughout the year and donations from the community, including a 1940s Mardi Gras Ball gown, a firefighter’s collection of items and drawings done by international students after World War II. Taylor hopes to have these on display during the coming year.
The meeting also included the elections of upcoming officers and acknowledgements of supporters who have passed away during the last 12 months, including Mary Norman Brown, Will Long and T.S. Shuler.
Before adjourning, five longtime members were given director emeritus recognition. They are Helen Tucker Allen, Harper Johnson, Viola Sanders, Luke Schissel and Aven Whittington.
“This museum is an integral part of our community,” Schissel said. “Every community should archive its past and plan for its future. There is a lot to do here, and we need to treasure and work to see it through.”
• Contact Andrea Hall at ahall@gwcommonwealth.com.
