Where We Are Now.

by John Mayer
ACM Executive Director

Dear Friend of the Museum,

A temporary display and placeholder in the Industrial History Center with our Bailey Whalebone Roadwagon. We are beginning to work on program and exhibit plans for our new venue!

Little by little things are starting to begin again. It is great to see activity in our community - slowly and with great care. At the ACM we too are starting to prepare our office for opening.

Our goal is to have a regular schedule in our office by early July. We are following the guidelines of Mass.gov and are hopeful the trend will continue to show progress in controlling the COVID epidemic. That said, our remote work will continue. Our team with program assistant Bonnie Brady, our Board and volunteers have been incredibly productive. See below for a few details.

Another Grant Award. We have been awarded a Research Inventory Grant from Mass Humanities which will provide funds needed to acquire a software program designed for cataloging museum collections. The program - PastPerfect - will also help us share information about the collection on our website. And it will do much to improve how we are managing historical materials in the collection. The project will begin in July. Progress!

Programs. With this support and through our efforts to look to the future, we are creating our program calendar and will soon confirm dates for events to be offered virtually and in person (when possible). In July, Bonnie Brady and Courtney Jordan will open an Aperture on Amesbury exhibit in Amesbury City Hall. In August, we are planning a virtual Family Stories Program to be hosted by Meryl Goldsmith. And in September we will hold our Annual Meeting. Dates and details will be coming soon.

Fun. While our Family Day in the Millyard was postponed until next year - the Youth & Family Committee, led by Board member Pat Boyle-Steed, has developed an expanded plan for the event in 2021. We will include more activities and demonstrations, many that will support our school programs. As part of this planning the committee developed a playful map of the millyard that will locate activities and highlight historic features. Local designer Shannon Carroll created the map.

Members! Thank you to our 2020 members. To date, we have 191 businesses, families and individuals who have joined with us. Here is our current Members List - thank you! to all who have joined. Please contact me if we missed your membership form. And if you are not a member, would you consider becoming a member today? Your membership truly makes a difference and helps us continue our work. Click here to join us online or here for a form to mail. Why not?

Volunteers! The ACM is truly a community organization. Our Board, committees, work groups, project teams and many others - all volunteers - shape what we do and define who we are. It is impossible to thank everyone in this newsletter. If you are interested in getting involved, please send me an email. We would like to add to our Development, Program and Finance Committees, and always like to know who is interested in the ACM.

All of us involved with the ACM thank you for your interest and support. Together we look forward to great things ahead. As always, please reach out to me with any thoughts or questions. More to come - Onward!

Sincerely yours,
John Mayer
Executive Director
jmayer@amesburycarriagemuseum.com