2024 Newsflash #4--Published 12/9/2024
To Members and Friends of NBHS,
Welcome to the last issue of the NBHS Newsflash for 2024. 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
What a quick year it has been. It is hard to believe that I have been in this position for two years already. I was always told that as I got older time would fly. Little did I know that it would be at SpaceX rocket speed. I enjoyed meeting and speaking to those of you who attended our Annual Business Meeting last month. I was able to share with you our accomplishments over the past two years and, frankly, after I had listed them out, I was surprised at how much we did accomplish. Of course, none of those accomplishments would have been completed without the help and support of our FANTASTIC Board of Directors, our Docents and our members. And speaking of support, even though we all were running unopposed, I would like to thank you for your votes and your unanimous support to have us continue as your leaders for the next two years. It is with mixed emotions that there will be a change in our Board of Directors for 2025-2026--sadness in that I will miss Bill Baldwin and Michael Knight for their tremendous contributions to our Society, and then excitement in the addition of two new members, Sheri Wilson and Zach Bowden who will begin their two year term in January. We still have room for two more Director positions and would love to have any one of you step up to help guide our organization. After a very busy two years, I am looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish these next two years. In the meantime, please have a fantastic holiday season filled with joy and fun. As always, thanks for your support and see you next year.
Pierre Alix
THANK YOU
Thank you to Bill Baldwin, Past President and Michael Knight, Director for their unwavering support and contributions to our organization. For personal reasons they have both decided to "retire" from their responsibilities with NBHS. Both Bill and Michael were instrumental in making the museum what it is today. Bill has been a member for over 16 years serving as President for 10 years up till 2023. His knowledge of the running of the museum, the facilities and the membership is unparalleled. Michael, a lifelong resident of Titusville, has a wealth of knowledge that can't be beat. He has supplied the museum with many notebooks full of history from this area. His dedication to this documentation is priceless. We will miss both of these gentlemen tremendously.
MEMBERS
Welcome to the following new members who have recently joined:
Individual
Teresa Thornton
Malinda Villain
Family
Brenda, Michael & Colton Dornbusch
Lifetime
Megan, Michael & Miles Monroe
Paula & Miles Morrow
Thank you to the following members who have recently renewed their memberships:
Individual
Marlene Blankenship
Eric Christensen
Jean Collins
Johanna Jones
Joanne Register
Family
Katie McQuade & John Autry
Sandi & Randy Meyers
Lifetime Members
Pierre & Kathy Alix
Alligator Plumbing Supply & Service
The Ball Family
Jim Ball Family
Bill & Marian Blackwell
Virginia Blaetz
Dollie Boggs
Glen Bramblett-Gable
Lloyd Briggs
Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant
Neil Hartling
June Hodson
Dorothy Hudson
Carl & Ingrid Jones
Kerry & Janine Kennedy
Jacob & Carol Lechtner
Paul & Beverly Marsh
Joy Merckson
Megan, Michael & Miles Monroe
Mackenzie Morrison
Miles & Paula Morrow
Margaret Reichle & Family
David & Rebecca Rich
Debbie Shuler
Phil & Leslie Sims
Wills & Magi Sizemore
Evelyn Briggs Smith
Catherine Spencer
James & Sharen Talbert
William & Rachel Terry
Mary Jean Thompson
Laurilee Thompson
Joan Threlkeld
Bill & Natalie Walls
Herman Wattwood, Jr.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!!!
ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
Our Annual Business Meeting was held on Monday November 4, 2024 at Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant. After a delicious meal served by our Lifetime Business Sponsor, Dixie Crossroads, President Pierre Alix presented a slide presentation on the "State of the Museum" . He covered the accomplishments of the museum over the past two years and plans for the future. Following that a Special Recognition was given to our intern, Mackenzie Morrison. Next came the 50/50 drawing that was won by Debbie Coughlin who graciously donated her winnings to the museum. Finally the results of the election were announced and the new Board was introduced. A good time was had by all and we thank all of you who attended. We hope it was worth your while.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
At our Annual Business Meeting, President Pierre Alix presented our intern, Mackenzie Morrison with a Certificate of Appreciation for the outstanding work she has done for us this year.
Mackenzie approached us in June 2024 having just graduated from University of Florida with a B.A. in History. She wanted to gain some experience before embarking on a career and wondered if she could work at the museum. We gave her full rein to gain as much knowledge as she could in the time span she was with us. She worked almost every day we were open and took on projects with full gusto. She helped as a Docent, she worked on our artifacts and their signage, she helped create and install our front window displays, she coordinated our elections process, she brought new ideas to our staff, and took on any other tasks we could find. To say that she went "above and beyond" the call of duty is a big understatement. The Board of Directors was so impressed with her involvement that, along with her Certificate of Appreciation, we awarded her a Lifetime Membership to the Museum. It is well deserved and the least we could do. Unfortunately, Mackenzie's last day was December 7th. We will truly miss her....but she has an open invitation to come back any time. We wish her much success in her future endeavors.
ELECTIONS AND YOUR NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Elections are over, the votes are in and tallied, and your new Board is in place. Thank you to everyone who voted. Even though all of the Officers and Directors were unopposed, we still had to go through the process in case of any write-in votes. We also wanted to see how the electronic voting would go, as this was the first time we have done it this way. It was a success and here is your new Officers and Board of Directors for 2025-2026:
President
Pierre Alix
Vice President
Dr. Debbie Coughlin
Secretary
Lynda Siems
Treasurer
Brenda Dornbusch
Directors
Kathy Alix
Zach Bowden
Katie McQuade
Susan Nelson
Sheri Wilson
We still have openings for two more Directors. If you would like to get involved and help guide us to the future, please contact us.
IT'S RENEWAL TIME
For a lot of our members, December is renewal time. You should have received your renewal notice in your email (or US Mail for those who do not have email). When you renew, be sure to complete both the application and the payment form. If you are unsure when your renewal time is, check your membership card for your renewal date. We know it is a busy time of the year so we will send out a reminder in January if you forget. Thanks in advance for your support.
GIFT SHOP
It's that special time of the year (HINT: HO! HO! HO!). Make sure you stop in and visit our gift shop to get that special item for that special person, or a nice ornament for your tree.
VILLAGE INN FUNDRAISERS
We have begun a relationship with Village Inn Restaurant for fundraising opportunities. Village Inn will donate 10% of all sales that occur between 4pm and 9pm on our designated nights. Our "Dining for a Cause" night in October resulted in a donation of $270 and our November night resulted in a donation of $180. This is a real "no-brainer" for us as there is not much we have to do other than publicize the event. We are going to continue doing this on a monthly basis and look forward to your support. We do attend these events with our display board and our smiling faces. We enjoy meeting all of you who attend. Our next ones are Saturday December 21, 2024 and Thursday, January 30, 2025. Build up an appetite, mark your calendars and we'll see you there. (You can't beat their pies!!!!!)
OUR NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
Our new Facebook page is up and running and we are adding new followers every day. The simplest way to connect to our new page is go to our website, click the Contact Us tab, and click on the link for the Facebook page; or just scan and click the following QR code:
You will know you are at the correct Facebook page if the heading shows our new logo and says "North Brevard Historical Society Museum"
Please follow us to keep up with the latest information on our organization.
WEBSITE
Be sure to regularly check our website,www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org,to keep abreast of our events, workshops, volunteer opportunities and other museum information. Here is an easy QR code to scan to link to our website:
NEW ARTIFACT
We have recently acquired a new artifact that is amazing!!!
It is an Edison Disk Phonograph from the 1910s and it works!!! Thanks to member Stuart Bumpas for your generous donation.
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 final issue of NBHS Newsflash for 2024. 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.
From all of us at the North Brevard Historical Society & Museum, we wish you a very joyous holiday season and a prosperous new year! See you in 2025!!
TO KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'VE BEEN
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR BUSINESS SPONSORS:
2024 Newsflash #3--Published 8/23/2024
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:
2024 Newsflash #2--Published 5/25/2024
To Members and Friends of NBHS,
Welcome to another issue of the NBHS Newsflash. It is hard to believe we are almost through five months of the year. 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
2024 is passing by quickly and we desperatelyneed your help. First and foremost we need a Treasurer. This is a volunteer position. You would be responsible for banking, maintaining financial records and filing all required tax records. You would be an Officer and Member of the Board of Directors. You would be required to provide monthly financial statements to the Board of Directors. You would be fully trained and a lot of the work can be handled from home. The amount of hours necessary will depend on your personal needs and organizational skills. We are very flexible and will work with you and your availability. Temporarily I will be handling both President and Treasurer duties...however this is not ideal in any organization. If you are interested or know of anyone who would be interested, please let us know.
Secondly, this is an election year for the Officers and Board of Directors. We need an Election Coordinator to handle the election process. This is fairly simple and involves collecting nominations, sending out ballots, collecting and counting votes and providing the results. This will mostly be done electronically and we will provide you with all materials and means necessary to do this. You will mainly be the repository for all nominations and votes. If you are interested in doing this, please let us know.
Thirdly, we need Docents. Due to attrition, we are looking for volunteers who can spare one day a month, working a four hour shift welcoming our visitors to our museum. You do not have to be a long time Titusville or North Brevard resident nor do you have to be knowledgeable on our history. You just have to enjoy talking to people. We will train you to ensure you have the information you need to succeed.
Interested? Let us know and we'll get you started.
Finally, I would like to thank you all for your support. Over the past few months I have had an opportunity to meet some of you at our presentations, and I deeply appreciate your comments about the changes we have instituted over the past year and a half, and your passion for history. We are trying our best to make this a better organization for all, but as you can see from above, we need your help. Unfortunately we, your Officers and Board of Directors, can't do it all. This is YOUR society and YOUR Museum and we need your involvement for us to succeed.
Pierre Alix
NEW ADDITION!!!!
We have a new addition to our museum. Colonel Titus' Desk. Ed and June Titus (Ed is the great-grandson of Col. Titus) of Thomasville, GA contacted the museum and said they would like to donate the desk to us. With much excitement, we took a road trip to retrieve the donation. Arriving safe and sound back at the museum, we are now proudly displaying his desk along with a picture provided by Ed and Joan. They were also kind enough to give us a family history that dates back to 780. It is not totally complete, but is very interesting to see their history. As you can see from the picture below, it is in pristine condition (it should be noted that the desk did have to be refurbished after suffering through a hurricane in South Florida a few years ago). Stop by and see one of our prized artifacts!!!
NEW BUSINESS SPONSORSHIPS
We have sent out letters to some of our local businesses asking for their support for the museum and North Brevard history. An Annual Business Sponsorship of $100 includes the business featured in our newsletters, on our website and in the museum identifying them as a supporter of the North Brevard Historical Museum. A LIfetime Business Sponsorship of $1000 includes a listing in our newsletters, on our website, in the museum plus a listing on our plaque of 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. And also, please support our business sponsors when you can.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Keep an eye on your email and our website (www.northbrevardhistoricalmuseum.org) for upcoming events. Ideas we are looking at are get-togethers at the museum (game nights/presentations/social meetings), a possible historical homes tour, a craft fair, and others. We will be having our annual business meeting in November where our new or returning Officers and Board of Directors are announced and installed, along with an overview of 2024 and coming 2025. As our plans are finalized, we will inform you of the where, hows and whens.
PRESENTATIONS
On March 20th we held our first member event at the museum where we presented our "Tales of Titusville" slide show. We had an excellent turnout and the feedback was fantastic! Thank you to all who attended and we are glad you enjoyed the show. Since that time we have been in demand for this presentation. On April 12th we presented the show at Addington Place for their residents. On April 16th we did the presentation at the Titusville Public Library for the general public and had a much larger crowd than expected...much to our glee. Lastly, we just finished a presentation at the Brevard Room for our Brevard County Clerk of Court supervisors. All of these presentations were met with enthusiastic applause and kudos by the attendees. If you are a member of a group or organization that would like to have us conduct this presentation at a meeting or event, please let us know. Also, if you are interested in seeing this, and couldn't attend the member presentation or the one at the library, let us know. If we have enough interest, we will schedule another event at the museum.
If "Tales of Titusville" isn't enough, we have a new presentation titled "Who Came Down That Road". Dr. Debbie Coughlin, our Vice-President and educational guru, put together this presentation that focuses on Titusville's early history from prehistoric times to our town's founding. It is geared to children ages 5 to 15 (but is very interesting for adults as well) as part of our History Explorer program. This educational program will keep our youth occupied throughout the summer to become a History Explorer. See below for the dates of our presentations.
BY-LAWS
The Officers and Board of Directors have completed a revision of our by-laws which govern the operation of our organization. When by-laws are changed, they must be approved by our membership. Keep an eye out for an email from us that will have two attachments. One is our current by-laws and the other is our new proposed by-laws. We would very much appreciate it if when you receive these you peruse them at your leisure and then respond to the email with a YES I APPROVE or a NO I DO NOT APPROVE and the reason{s} you don't approve. These should be sent out within the next couple of weeks. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.
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.comand 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:
2024 Newsflash #1--Published 1/23/2024
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