An ad hoc committee, consisting of members of the Boards of Directors of the James Madison Museum and the Orange County Historical Society, will explore the potential for a more formalized collaboration between the two entities.
The architect of this effort, Mike Saxton writes, “we want to explore how win win collaboration can improve both organizations’ abilities to accomplish their missions.” Saxton pointed out that the historical society and the museum have different approaches to collections; one is document oriented, the other artifact oriented. “The first item on the committee’s agenda is to develop a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding collections,” he said. Saxton cautioned that the committee does not propose merging the two entities. Rather, he hopes “to achieve the best of both approaches through collaboration rather than integration.”
Call for Volunteers
In the spirit of this collaboration, Jessica Cifizzari of the Museum writes, “As we move forward into our next chapter, with Shannah Mort as our Acting Executive Director, we invite anyone, who might wish to be more involved, to volunteer at the museum. We have a variety of opportunities, and we welcome the insight and support of our community. We need help cataloging items, organizing, and staffing the desk.”
If you are interested or would like more information, contact OCHS Volunteer Coordinator May Saxton at OCHistVolunteers@gmail.com.