Page 4 - 2019 Annual Report

A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
th
Anticipation of the Athenaeum’s 150 Anniversary has provided a
wonderful focus for the Board of Trustees this year. When we look back on
the last 150 years, we admire the ambition of Horace Fairbanks in creating
the Athenaeum and Art Gallery. His gift to the town of St. Johnsbury remains
largely unchanged. The succession of people involved in the care of the
building and the devotion to its original purposes—which included a public
library, reading room, and lecture hall—allowed all of us to use and enjoy the
building as people did years ago. “Preserving the Past” for future generations is
part of our goal; looking ahead is the other part.
It has been fun to imagine what the Athenaeum will look like in another fifty
or one hundred or 150 years, and to plan for that. We have done that within
our six trustee committees, in meetings with representatives from the
community, with professional strategic planners, and by doing some dreaming
on our own. What we have imagined is exciting!
Using remote solar power can make the Athenaeum a cleaner and greener
building. Providing a place for wet and messy projects for children, for small
summer concerts, book groups and other meetings would be possible with the
addition of an enclosed pavilion in back of the Athenaeum. Imagine a sound
booth where patrons could record music, listen to broadcasts, or practice their
instruments. Improved lighting in our art gallery will greatly enhance the color
and details of paintings. Restoration and repair of the beautiful gold picture
frames throughout the Athenaeum will preserve their beauty and value. The
development of a center for rare and important books will allow greater access
to items that we already own but have no place to display. The outside of our
building needs to have the bricks re-pointed, and the granite and slate repaired
and/or replaced.
We imagine a greater dependency on digital formats in the future. Some
archival materials, including many unique historical items, can be digitized for
preservation and access. Our patrons need more computers for research and
use. Increased staff time is needed to provide more hours that the Athenaeum
can be open to the public, and to expand our services, including more
programming and community outreach.
And yes, we still will be buying and displaying books, providing quiet spaces
where people can read, larger spaces for meetings or enjoyable and educational
programs. We are dedicated to providing warm, cozy, familiar places for all ages
to enjoy.
All of this will take time and money. A more robust endowment will help us
with our plans to “Promise the Future.”
Whether your interests tend toward “Preserving the Past” or “Promising the
Future”, we hope that you will want to support the Athenaeum as we approach
our next milestone. Your past gifts have contributed to a successful 150 years.
We have survived and thrived with your support. Thank you.
Mary Swainbank
Board Chair
2019 ANNUAL REPORT GOES ONLINE
It’s hard to think back to January 2020 when we began working on the 2019
Annual Report. We had already chosen the cover and color scheme, and had
just closed the financial books when we began to hear stories about the virus
in China. Like most of us, I wasn’t too concerned: Asia is a long way from our
wonderful Northeast Kingdom.
Then, two months later, we shut our doors.
We had enjoyed a strong year fundraising, with our Annual Fund at $74,000
and another successful Gala in May. We already had the 2020 Gala nearly sold
out in record time. And then all our plans were in limbo. We canceled the Gala
and all of our scheduled spring events for adults and children alike.
When the staff returned to the Athenaeum in April—before we reopened to
the public—the Athenaeum was strangely quiet. Had the Athenaeum been
closed for so long before? How much longer before we could admit our patrons
and visitors?
In May we reopened according to Vermont safety guidelines, but attendance
was low for awhile. Things have picked up lately as we increase our hours and
services. We’re moving carefully to ensure a safe and secure return to normal.
We ran a fundraising drive to make up for the loss of Gala income, and our
wonderful patrons gave more than $8,500. In order to reduce expenses, we
moved the Annual Report to this online format. We’ve received CARES ACT
support, grateful help from Vermont Community Foundation, and are devoted
to enhancing patron experience by putting our resources into library materials,
real and virtual. We hope to print the Annual Report again in the future: we
believe this is an important document for our donors and part of the history of
the Athenaeum.
Thank you for your support of the Athenaeum—financially and emotionally.
We will survive this crisis, and will continue to serve the public as we move
th
closer to our 150 Anniversary in 2021.
Scott Davis
Development Officer