Strategic Planning and Other Work at the Webster Museum

Museum volunteers are still hard at work

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PRESS RELEASE

(Submitted by the Webster Museum)

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Webster, NY - You might expect that your all-volunteer community museum would keep working during a pandemic. You would be correct.

When the Webster Museum reopens, you will see ample evidence that volunteers have been

busy. You will notice lighting improvements inside and out. You will see exhibit spaces

relocated and reorganized for better historical interpretation. You will see various surfaces

painted, polished and refurbished. You will see new items from our extensive collections on

display in our permanent exhibits.

Just as you may have noticed that the museum’s exhibits at Hegedorns and the public library have changed regularly during closure, you will notice new rotating exhibits in the usual cases at the museum itself. You may have seen volunteers as they continued to participate in community events such as the town’s Reverse Parade, the village’s Snowman Hunt, and the Webster Community Chest’s “PEEPS” Show.

Important and consequential work is happening invisibly as well. Board and committee

meetings continue by Zoom with consequent tasks completed at home. Our volunteer

webmaster continues to add new features and update favorites to the museum’s website, including photo galleries for the community to exhibit their talents. Collection inventories and document preservation continue. Collaborative research projects, plans for reopening when we can, and needed estimates for building repairs are all still happening, though in new and different ways.

And planning… soooo much planning.

The Webster Museum Board has been meeting since October 2020 to initiate, design and

undergo the rigorous process of self-reflection known as "Strategic Planning." This process is

intended to provide an organization with a structured way to examine its current philosophies

and operations and align them with contemporary culture as well as with its own mission and

vision for the future.

Despite the necessity of meeting by Zoom, Board Members have completed organizational and needs assessments, and surveyed its volunteers and members for suggestions. Multiple extra Zoom meetings to design the process resulted in four study groups currently at work before, during, and after more extra Zoom meetings to recommend actions to enhance the museum’s contributions to the Webster community. The Webster Museum Board expects this ongoing and cyclical "Strategic Planning" process to take about five years.

The work of Strategic Planning may be invisible, but the results are expected to be tangible. We look forward to more visibility when it is safe to invite you back for a visit.