Newsletter

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To Members and Friends of NBHS, 

Welcome to another issue of the NBHS Newsflash.   We hope you are all doing well.   In the event this wound up in your spam folder, make sure you allow emails from titusvillehistory@gmail.com.  


MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

WOW!  Time is flying by.  It's hard to believe that it is almost September!  This issue is chock full of important information, so please read it carefully.  Have your calendars ready to mark down the dates of our upcoming events.  I am really looking forward to our Annual Business Meeting in November where I will have the opportunity to share with you our accomplishments over the past two years and what we have planned for the future.  And speaking of the future...the future of the Society and the Museum is always on the top of our minds and also one of our big concerns.  There is always going to be history. It is important that this history, both good and bad, is preserved and passed on to our future generations so they may learn from it.  That being said, we need your help in ensuring that our Society and the Museum continues. With this being an election year in our organization, please keep in mind how you may help us out:  volunteer for some events, become a docent, work on a committee, or serve on our Board of Directors helping to guide us into the future.  I (We) will welcome you with open arms!


Pierre Alix


MAY HE REST IN PEACE
It is with much sadness and heavy hearts that we learned of the passing of Herman Wattwood, Jr.  Herman passed away on  August 13, 2024 at the glorious age of 95.  Herman was a Lifetime Member of the North Brevard Historical Society & Museum and was a long time member of the Board of Directors.  He was instrumental in guiding this organization for many years.  He was a lifelong resident of Titusville and would regale you with amazing stories of his lifetime and the North Brevard area. Herman was employed by the US Postal Service for 35 years, first as a rural carrier delivering mail to the residents living on the north end of Merritt Island before it became Kennedy Space Center, and then later as Assistant Postmaster in the Titusville office.  He was actively involved in a number of boards and committees in the North Brevard area and supported and encouraged the youth in our area.  He was a loyal supporter, a true historian, an esteemed colleague, and a true friend.  He will be sorely missed.




NEW MEMBERS
WE ARE SUPER HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THE ADDITION OF OUR NEW TREASURER!!!  Please welcome Brenda Dornbusch.  Brenda joined us in June and has enthusiastically taken on the role of Treasurer.  With her bookkeeping background she has been able to adapt herself to our financial world while adding her own expertise to our system.  Welcome Aboard, Brenda.  We are glad to have you.


We would also like to thank our outgoing Treasurer, Linda Siano, for all her years of service to our organization. Her superb accounting skills and attention to detail kept us on the right track.  We will miss her and wish her much success in her future endeavors.


Let's give an enthusiastic welcome to our intern Mackenzie Morrison.  Makenzie recently graduated from University of Florida with a BA in History and decided to "decompress" for a while before she heads out on her career.  Luckily for us she wanted to volunteer at our museum to get some experience in the industry.  She works almost everyday that we are open, helping to docent when needed and working on various projects throughout the museum.  She brings us a "fresh" view on history and an amazing work ethic.  We are NOT looking forward to the day she leaves us.


We would like to welcome our new members that have joined us this year:  Gary & Mary Folsom, Mareitssa Griggs, Jacob Horvath, Madeline Morris,  Past and Presence Tours, LLC, Nancy Praver, Ann Rafferty, Natalie & Nora Rathweg, Chad & Jude LeBlanc,  Rob Smith, Jr., and Marilyn Taylor.  We would like to give a special shoutout to Leslie & Phil Sims who upgraded to a Lifetime Membership.  Thank you all for your support and helping to preserve history.


NEW BUSINESS SPONSOR
Since our last Newsflash, we have acquired a new Business Sponsor...Past and Presence--Titusville's Ghost Tour Company.  Please visit their website at www.pastandpresencetours.com. They are a fascinating addition to our wonderful city.


If you work for a business, or know of a business that might like to support us, please refer them to our website for further information and enrollment. And also, please support our business sponsors when you can. 


ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
Our Annual Business Meeting will be held on Monday November 4, 2024 at Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant.  The meeting is essentially in three parts. Part one will be a dinner with the Officers and Directors beginning at 5:30pm.  Food and beverages would be at your own expense and we would love to have you join us for a great meal and conversation.  Part two is the actual business meeting which will begin promptly at 7pm.  A "State of the Museum" talk will be given by our President and NBHS election results will be revealed.  Part three will be an encore presentation of the "Tales of Titusville" which will immediately follow the conclusion of the business meeting. It is a "must see" if you haven't had an opportunity to view it before.  RSVP's will be required for each part so Dixie Crossroads and we can plan accordingly.  A special email will come out at the end of next month with all the details and how to reserve your spot.  Mark your calendars now so you don't miss this exciting event.  We want to see everyone there!!


ELECTIONS
Every two years the Officers and Directors positions are up for election...and this is the year!  The process this year will be different since we have gone to mainly electronic communications.  It will occur in two parts.  Part one will be the solicitation of nominees for the open positions.  Once the list of nominations is finalized, part two will be the electronic voting for those candidates.  The results of the election will be announced at the Annual Business Meeting in November.  Last minute voting will be available at our Annual Business meeting for those who were not able to vote earlier.  Those few members who are on US Mail only, will receive the nomination sheet and ballots in the mail. The positions that are up for election are:  President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and seven Directors. Mackenzie Morrison, our intern, will be handling the nominations and tabulating the votes, thus keeping the current Officers and Directors out of the process.  The Solicitation of Nominees letter will be sent out mid-September.  It will contain all the details on the open positions and how to solicit your responses.  Please consider running today!!


WE ARE COOL!!!
We just replaced our A/C unit and air handler that cools/heats Room 3 and part of the back office.  Unfortunately the old unit was "down for the count" and due to its age could not be repaired.  However, it is nice and cool now so be sure to stop by during these hot summer days and enjoy a refreshing museum experience.


NEW GIFT SHOP ITEMS
We have added some new items to our gift shop.

Come on in and see new items.  Secretary Lynda Siems, who is also our Gift Shop Coordinator, has made some fantastic card holders for your special game night and, to go along with them, she made our NBHS koozies to keep that beverage cold as you trounce your opponents during your favorite game.  If you purchase one of the books we have for sale, you can get a free NBHS bookmark to keep your place.  And don't forget that special NBHS Christmas Tree ornament...the holiday is only a few months away.  Check out our website to see these items in closer detail, along with all the other items we have for sale.


MINGLE AT THE MUSEUM
On July 16,2024, we held our Mingle at the Museum.  A number of our members attended and had the opportunity to converse with our Officers and Directors, meet other members, participate in 50/50 drawing, and share in some tasty snacks and beverages all the while touring through the museum at their leisure.  It was a great time had by all and a big thank you to our members who participated.  We enjoyed meeting you and look forward to doing this again.  A special thanks to Director Susan Nelson for the excellent snacks and beverages and to Treasurer Brenda Dornbusch for handling the 50/50.


WE HAVE A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE!!!
FINALLY!!!  After a lot of agonizing attempts to try to recover our old Facebook page (and all resulting in failure) we decided to start a brand new page.  Natalie Rathweg, our Media Coordinator, has been instrumental in setting up this new page.  Our old page was North Brevard Historical Museum; our new page is North Brevard Historical Society Museum.  Please follow us to keep up with the latest information on our organization.


FALL CRAFT FAIR
As a fundraising event the North Brevard Historical Society & Museum is sponsoring a Fall Craft Fair to be held on Saturday October 5, 2024 from 9am to 3pm at the Trinity Lutheran Church, 3671 S. Hopkins Ave, Titusville, FL  32780. Proceeds from this event will be shared with Trinity Lutheran Church for allowing us to have the event on their property.  The funds we raise will come from the fees the vendors pay to participate in the fair.  Our success depends on the number of vendors participating.  Please contact anyone you know who might be interested in participating and refer them (or yourself if you would like to participate) to our website www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org under our EVENTS tag for further information and registration forms.  Thanks in advance for your help on this.  The more (participants) the merrier (we are)!


FUNDRAISING COORDINATOR
We are seeking a member who would be interested in being a Fundraising Coordinator.  We are looking at, possibly on a quarterly basis, to partner with a food service or retail business to sponsor a North Brevard HIstorical Society & Museum day/night, whereby a certain percentage of sales on that day are donated to the museum.  We are aware that other organizations have done this as fundraising activities and would like to give it a try.  The Coordinator would be responsible for contacting the businesses and working out the details.  The Officers and Board of Directors are "stretched pretty thin" at this point and would appreciate help in this matter.  If you are interested, please contact us at our email--titusvillehistory@gmail.com.


PRESENTATION
We are presenting our "Tales of Titusville" slide show again at the Titusville Public Library.  This is open to the general public and will begin at 6pm on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.  If you haven't had an opportunity to see this, please stop by.


BY-LAWS
The Officers and Board of Directors would like to thank all our members who responded and voted on the changes to our By-Laws.  They were overwhelmingly approved and are now in place.

WEBSITE

Be sure to regularly check our website,www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org,to keep abreast of our events, workshops, volunteer opportunities and other museum information.


BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS
The Board of Directors meet monthly, typically on the third Monday of the month, starting at 10am.  Visitors are welcome to attend these meetings.  We only ask that you let us know ahead of time if you would like to attend.  Meeting space is limited and this way we can ensure there is room for you.  Contact us through the website or our email if you would like to attend.


WHEW!!! That is it for this issue of NBHS Newsflash.  If you have any questions or concerns, contact us through our website or email us at titusvillehistory@gmail.com and we will respond as soon as we can.



Thank you again for all of your support.  It is deeply appreciated.  




TO KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'VE BEEN


PLEASE SUPPORT OUR BUSINESS SPONSORS:

To Members and Friends of NBHS, 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  We hope you had a great holiday season and welcome to the first edition of the NBHS Newsflash for 2024.   In the event this wound up in your spam folder, make sure you allow emails from titusvillehistory@gmail.com.  


2023 END OF YEAR STATISTICS
2023 was our "rebuilding year".  We made a lot of changes to our museum and business. We designed a new logo to better reflect the museum of today. We changed our days and hours of operation.  We are now open on Wednesdays thru Saturdays from 12 noon to 4pm.  This has paid off for us as we had over 2200 visitors at our museum!  We upgraded to LED lighting for a brighter operation with greater efficiency.  We developed a new website, www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org, that received over 3000 hits!  We refined our membership database to keep better track of our members and their memberships.  We have gone to a digital communications format to provide faster communications with our members and resulted in a tremendous cost savings (in time, labor & materials) from printing and mailing.  We relocated and enlarged our gift shop, adding special items featuring our new logo. We enhanced our memberships with membership cards and coupons for a gift shop item. We developed a presentation called "The Tales of Titusville" which is a 30 minute slideshow about the history of North Brevard and the museum.  We had our successful fundraiser, the Indoor Sidewalk Sale, which was followed by a Garage Sale.  All this was accomplished by a group of ten individuals, affectionately known as your Board of Directors, who tirelessly devote their precious time to ensure that history,  the museum and your membership will endure forever.  THANK YOU ALL TO A JOB WELL DONE!!!!


MEMBERSHIP
2023 ended with 130 Active Memberships (26 Lifetime, 1 Business Sponsorship, 43 Family, 60 Individual).  We had 19 new memberships and we had 6 non-renewals.  HOWEVER, it should be noted that we are waiting on renewals from 33 memberships that expired at the end of December 2023.  Please check your membership cards to see if you are one of the memberships that expired in December 2023.    After February 1st, you will be listed as Inactive and will no longer receive communications from the museum.  You can renew online at our website, www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org, you can print the membership form at the website, or you can stop in at the museum and pay for your renewal.  We would love to have you continue your relationship with the museum and support the history of our area.


BUSINESS SPONSORSHIP
We have changed our Business Sponsorship membership.  An Annual Business Sponsorship will now be $100.  This membership will include the business name and logo (if provided) in our newsletters, on our website and in the museum identifying your business as a supporter of the North Brevard Historical Museum.  We have added a LIfetime Business Sponsorship for $1000.  This will include a listing in our newsletters, on our website, in the museum plus a listing on our plaque of our Lifetime Members.  If you work for a business, or know of a business that might like to support us, please refer them to our website for further information and enrollment.  


UPCOMING EVENTS
We will be participating in Pioneer Days on Saturday February 10.  This is a great annual family event held at the Sam's House/Pine Island Conservation Area.  Admission is free.  Be sure to stop by our exhibit and say hi.








Keep an eye out for an email from us next month announcing our first member event for 2024.  Preliminary planning looks like we will be showing our "Tales of Titusville" presentation with a special game to test your "historical skills" and memory.  We will conduct these events a few times during the month of March with various days and times to try to accomodate our diverse membership.  Final details will be in the email invitation you will receive next month.


PRESENTATION
Last year we received some requests from the community for the Historical Society to come to their meetings and do a presentation on the history of the area and the museum.  We really did not have any formal presentation in place and decided that it was important for us to develop something formal to accommodate these requests.  So Dr. Debbie Coughlin, Vice-President, Lynda Siems, Secretary and Directors Katie McQuade, Michael Knight and Herman Wattwood got together and developed a Powerpoint slideshow titled "Tales of Titusville".  This is a 30 minute presentation about the development of North Brevard and Titusville from the beginning to modern times.  It is not an all-inclusive presentation, as that would involve too much time to cover, but hits on the major highlights that brought us to where we are today.  We even included a bit of the history of the North Brevard Historical Society & Museum.  It is a fascinating story that describes events that put "Titusville on the map".  The great thing about this presentation is that it is fluid...we can make changes as needed to accommodate different audiences.  If you know of any groups or organizations that would be interested in having us give a presentation, please let us know.  A BIG KUDOS to Debbie, Lynda, Katie, Michael and Herman for a job well done.  It is even more exciting to know that they are working on more presentations for the future.  We'll keep you posted.


ELECTIONS
Like the rest of the country, this is an election year for the Historical Society too.  Our Officers and Board of Directors are all up for reelection.  Because they should not be involved in the election process, we need a volunteer(s) to coordinate this process.  It would involve soliciting interested candidates, putting together the ballot and distributing it to our membership, tallying the votes and announcing the winners at our membership meeting in November.  We will help you throughout the process to make sure you have all the means necessary to accomplish this task.  If you are interested, please let us know.


DOCENT APPRECIATION
On January 9, 2024 we had a Docent Appreciation Luncheon to give thanks to our docents for all of their hard work throughout 2023.  The luncheon was held at the Blue Heron Restaurant at The Great Outdoors.  Besides some great food and camaraderie, they were given many thanks and a talk by Pierre Alix, President, on a wrap-up of 2023 and what's coming in 2024.  Following that they were shown the slideshow "Tales of Titusville" and received a small token of our appreciation for their service.  When you visit our museum, please be sure to thank our volunteer docents for their time.


WORKSHOPS
Dr. Debbie Coughlin, our Vice-President, is a retired educator who is conducting HiSTORY Workshops for kids at the museum.  These are very fun educational workshops covering different themes.  The feedback from these have been outstanding!  If you have a child between the ages of 5-9, check out our workshops section of our website to see what is available.

OPENINGS FOR VOLUNTEERS

Do you like to volunteer?  Are you interested in helping to support history and our museum?  Can you spare some of your precious time to help us grow?  We are always looking for volunteers to work with us.  Go to our website, www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org, click on the volunteer tab and see what opportunities are available and how you can be of help.



WEBSITE

Be sure to regularly check our website,www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org,to keep abreast of our events, workshops, volunteer opportunities and other museum information.


BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS
The Board of Directors meet monthly, typically on the third Monday of the month, starting at 10am.  Visitors are welcome to attend these meetings.  We only ask that you let us know ahead of time if you would like to attend.  Meeting space is limited and this way we can ensure there is room for you.  Contact us through the website or our email if you would like to attend.


That is it for this issue of NBHS Newsflash.  If you have any questions or concerns, contact us through our website or email us at titusvillehistory@gmail.com and we will respond as soon as we can.



Thank you again for all of your support.  It is deeply appreciated.  Let's look forward to a great, fun 2024!!




TO KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'VE BEEN

  To Members and Friends of NBHS, 
Hope you had an enjoyable July 4th and welcome to our third edition of the NBHS Newsflash.  It has been four months since we last "flashed" and your Board of Directors have been working very hard to build up the museum, your membership and our future. In the event this wound up in your spam folder, make sure you allow emails from titusvillehistory@gmail.com. 

 
2023-THE YEAR OF REBUILDING

You, our members, are very important to us and we want to assure you that you have not been forgotten or taken for granted.  We know you haven't seen much in museum activities for our members, however rest assured we are working on this. This is the "Year of Rebuilding".  Our focus the past six months has been the enhancement of our facilities (new lighting, new gift shop, new hours of operation), efficiency of communications (new logo, new website, rebuilding our social media,  electronic vs. printed communications) and enhancing our membership (electronic vs. printed, new perks).  The second half of the year we will focus on planning for 2024.  Events and activities take time to plan and we hope to have a number of these available to you throughout the next year.  We appreciate your patience and understanding on this and look forward to providing you an exciting 2024.

MEDIA

Our new website at www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org has been a big success.  We have had a lot of views.  Our visitors and members have used it to keep abreast of museum news and like the ease of using the website to sign up/renew a membership, make a donation or to contact us..  The ability to make your membership payments and donations at our website using your credit card or PayPal is fast and easy.  We are looking to add Apple Pay in the fall and will keep you apprised if and when this becomes available.  We would love to hear feedback on your likes, dislikes, and items you would like to see on this site.  Visit often to keep abreast of what is happening at the museum.
We have a new volunteer who will be presenting a social media campaign to the Board of Directors at our July meeting.  We are excited to see what she has planned and look forward to venturing into the social media world. We will keep you abreast as things develop.
Did you all have a chance to see us featured on the new electronic sign at Titusville City Hall?  It was pretty cool!

GIFT SHOP
A big THANK YOU to all our volunteers who helped "reorganize" the museum so that we could set up our new Gift Shop.  And a special thanks to Lynda Siems for managing our Gift Shop and using her creative genius to make a very professional presentation.  Along with books, posters, ornaments, cups, dvds and other items, we have added very sharp looking polo shirts and tshirts adorned with our new logo. New items will be arriving soon.  Be sure to stop by and see what we have to offer.  The best part is that your membership gets you special member pricing on most of our items and we accept cash, credit cards and Paypal.

WORKSHOPS

Dr. Debbie Coughlin, our Vice-President, is a retired educator who is conducting HiSTORY Workshops for kids at the museum.  These are very fun educational workshops covering different themes.  The feedback from these have been outstanding!  If you have a child between the ages of 5-9, check out our workshops section of our website to see what is available.

MEMBERSHIP
We appreciate our members and the support you give us.  Over the past few months we have been discussing ways to enhance your membership to give you some "bang for your buck" besides the joy of supporting a worthwhile organization.  We have put together the following perks for our members (some of it is old, some is new).

INDIVIDUAL/FAMILY/BUSINESS MEMBERS
Membership card--emailed as a .pdf file, one for each member, contains your membership information (type & expiration date), used to recognize your support/membership and to avail                                            yourself of the Special Member Pricing at our Gift Shop
Museum Decal--a coupon will be emailed as a .pdf file which you can exchange at the museum for a 4X4 decal bearing our logo. One per membership.
Special Member Events--will take place throughout the year, current ideas under consideration are field trips, guest speakers, game day/night.  If you have any suggestions, please let us                                                     know.
Newsflash/Newsletters throughout the year to keep you abreast of museum news.


LIFETIME MEMBERS
Membership card--laminated card for each member, used to recognize your support/membership and to avail yourself of the Special Member Pricing at our Gift Shop.
One Museum Decal, One NBHS Museum T-Shirt, One NBHS Museum Keychain-- a coupon will be mailed, along with the membership card(s), to redeem at the museum for these items.
Name(s) on a plaque at the museum recognizing our Lifetime Members.
Special Member Events--will take place throughout the year, current ideas under consideration are field trips, guest speakers, game day/night.  If you have any suggestions, please let us                                                     know.
Newsflash/Newsletters throughout the year to keep you abreast of museum news.

We are planning to send you your membership cards and coupons towards the end of July or the beginning of August.  We hope you like them.
We have gone to a full twelve month rolling membership versus a calendar year membership.  We did the best we could with the records we found to determine what month and year you joined the museum. Because the records were not very detailed the majority of you will be up for renewal at the end of December.  However, some of you will have different renewal dates.  Be sure to look at your membership cards when you receive them to see what month you will be up for renewal.  If you think it is wrong, let us know.  You will be informed of renewal time, by email or letter, during your last month of membership.

NEW LOGO

In our last Newsflash we mentioned our new logo.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

FUNDRAISER !!!

We have decided on our one fundraiser for 2023 and we need your help and support.  In September (date still to be determined) we are going to have an "Inside Sidewalk Sale".  We have accumulated a lot of items throughout the years and due to space limitations, duplications, needing to make room for other items, we thought we would put these up for sale and use the proceeds to support our future growth. Now comes your part.  Do you have any items that you could donate to the museum for us to sell?  It is an easy way to support us and get rid of those items that seem to be taking up space.  The only caveats we have are they must be in working order and we will not accept any clothing.  So search through your house, see if you have anything to donate and let us know.  As we get closer to the date, we will provide you with more information.  As always, thank you for your help in this matter.

VOLUNTEERS

We are still looking for Docents.  If you love history and are willing to work one four hour shift per month, please contact us through our website and let us know of your interest.
Sadly we were informed by our Treasurer that she needs to "retire" from her position with us.  We are looking for someone who would be interested in becoming our Treasurer.  You would be an Officer on the Board of Directors involved in the leadership of this organization. You would be responsible for the safe-keeping of the Society funds and financial records.  You would deposit all monies received and disburse all funds that are owed. You would attend monthly Board of Directors meetings and present the latest financial statements.  You would process and complete all financial and tax reporting forms.  If you have an interest, know of someone who might be interested, or want further information, please contact us through our website.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS

The Board of Directors meet monthly, typically on the third Monday of the month, starting at 10am.  Visitors are welcome to attend these meetings.  We only ask that you let us know ahead of time that you would like to attend.  Meeting space is limited and this way we can ensure there is room for you.  Contact us through the website or our email if you would like to attend.
WHEW!! That is it for this issue of NBHS Newsflash.  We hope we haven't overwhelmed you with all the information.   If you have any questions or concerns, contact us through our website or email us at titusvillehistory@gmail.com and we will respond as soon as we can.

Thank you again for all of your support.  It is deeply appreciated.  We hope to see you soon.

TO KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'VE BEEN