Strategic Plan: Part 4

At the recent Annual Membership Meeting the Museum launched the Strategic Plan that was developed through public input during May and June of this year. The plan includes four primary goals that the Board has approved as the direction to move forward toward developing an exhibit and opening the museum. The goals and objectives are not in any priority but all four must move forward in equal measure for the museum to be successful.


Strategic Goal: Sustainable Funding

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Secure Annual operational Budget

ACTION PLAN: Secure core funding partner at $75,000.00 annually

Secure programming grants of $50,000 annually

Secure $50,000 in annual government operational support

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Develop endowments for long-term funding

ACTION PLAN: Develop Museum endowment of $250,000 by 2013.

Develop Museum endowment of $2.5 million in 3-5 years.

Assist with development of $1.5 million endowment

for Native American education and outreach programming

in Imperial Valley

Strategic Plan: Part 3

At the recent Annual Membership Meeting the Museum launched the Strategic Plan that was developed through public input during May and June of this year. The plan includes four primary goals that the Board has approved as the direction to move forward toward developing an exhibit and opening the museum. The goals and objectives are not in any priority but all four must move forward in equal measure for the museum to be successful.


Strategic Goal: Professional Research, Curation, and Education Program

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Internal Research Program

ACTION PLAN: Complete re-inventory of all artifacts

Active conservation lab program

Olla research program

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Outreach Program

ACTION PLAN: Develop lecture program

Revive publishing program

Develop educational/training program for CRM in IV  

Strategic Plan: Part 2

At the recent Annual Membership Meeting the Museum launched the Strategic Plan that was developed through public input during May and June of this year. The plan includes four primary goals that the Board has approved as the direction to move forward toward developing an exhibit and opening the museum. The goals and objectives are not in any priority but all four must move forward in equal measure for the museum to be successful.

Strategic Goal: Voice of Native Americans Past and Present

Strategic Objective: Native Voice in Exhibits

ACTION PLAN: Exhibits written in both archaeological and native perspective

Tell the story with the artifacts, the story is the Native American story

Exhibits focused on meaning of the past and meaning of the present  

Strategic Objective: Re-develop Indian Fair
ACTION PLAN: Revive and Develop the Imperial County Indian Fair

Strategic Plan: Part 1

At the recent Annual Membership Meeting the Museum launched the Strategic Plan that was developed through public input during May and June of this year. The plan includes four primary goals that the Board has approved as the direction to move forward toward developing an exhibit and opening the museum. The goals and objectives are not in any priority but all four must move forward in equal measure for the museum to be successful.


Strategic Goal: Active, Dynamic Programs and Exhibits


STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Install interactive, informative exhibits
ACTION PLAN: Develop first class, professionally designed exhibits

Interactive exhibits based on latest exhibit standards

Fund first-class, professional exhibit of $500,000-$750,000  

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Active programming based on traditional craft production

ACTION PLAN: Hands-on coiled clay art pilot programing

Seminar on traditional crafts

Flint knapping program

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Active, Interpreted Exterior Exhibits

ACTION PLAN: Develop indigenous desert plant gardens

Develop exterior desert trails

Develop exterior signage

Develop hands-on archaeology park  

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Focus on Technology

ACTION PLAN: Technological focus in exhibits

Develop technology library/research center

Museum as a technological hub for local youth

37th Annual Membership Meeting

On Saturday, the museum held it's 37 annual membership meeting. The day was a celebration of our past members. The theme was Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, and we took the opportunity to honor individuals from the past who lived in the Imperial Valley.

A total of 56 guests joined us for lunch and the general meeting. Three new Board members were voted in for new terms and the membership voted to remove "college" from the legal name of the corporation.

After several more hours of work and the submittal of documents to all manner of government agencies, we will be known as the Imperial Valley Desert Museum Society, Inc..

The Strategic Plan for opening the museum was unveiled and presented.

The meeting ended with the screening of Songs of the Colorado, a wonderful documentary on the traditional songs of the Native peoples of the Imperial Valley. This was followed by a discussion by Preston Arrow-Weed.

Getting Ready for the Annual Meeting

Today, was a busy day at the museum. With lots of volunteers running around and making the museum feel vibrant. Well, maybe it was all of the color that was making the museum vibrant.

Steve and Marty spent the morning moving cases and cleaning things. Jimmy and Elanor came by to help. Helena and Susan came by with lots of family members in tow to get the decorations in place.

The museum looks great. Like it is set up for a party.

Tomorrow will be the 37th annual membership meeting of the Imperial Valley College Desert Museum Society, Inc.

See you soon.

Gift Shop...Plus Gifts!

We have been working hard to finish the gift shop before the Annual Membership meeting on Saturday the 15th. This week the gift shop became a reality.

This is the first installation of something that is part of the plan for opening.

Thanks goes out to Chuck, Marty, Steve, and Jimmy. A lot of volunteer hours went into making this a reality. This included two trips to the Borders Bookstore in San Diego a few weeks ago; installing fixtures; ordering shop product.

Last week Jimmy spent two days wiring all the cabinets. We bolted the cabinets to the wall. Then Marty did the hardest job of cleaning all the cabinets. And that is the truth. It was the hardest job.

Natalie, one of the archaeological interns, had worked before in retail, so we drafted her to set up the newly arrived museum logo products. She did an amazing job folding t-shirts, which did not make her happy, but she came through by making a makeshift t-shirt folding board out of cardboard. I don't think the shop will ever look as good again.

Coiled Clay Art in the Paper

Make sure you see the story about the coiled clay art project at Southwest High School that was the front page article in the Imperial Valley Press today.

The online version has a lot more photos!

See the Online Article by clicking here.

Coiled Clay Art at Southwest HS

Today was the first day of the coiled clay art program at Southwest High School. This is the second half of the coiled clay art project grant from the Imperial Valley Community Foundation.

For the next eight weeks the SAVAPA Art Club will be working with clay and investigating the shapes and styles of ollas in the museum's collection.

Today we took examples of the ollas from the Hammond/Butts collection into the classroom. I think this was the first time, in a long time, that artifacts have been out of storage and into the classroom. They went over great!

The Hammond/Butts collection was given to the college after the passing of Otha and Geraldine Butts. The collection was donated by their children. Included in the collection are several ollas that have been painstakingly puzzled together from hundreds of shards. This collection is numbered 2006-1, which means it was the first collection accessioned in 2006. It was brought into the new museum from storage, but no one could find any paperwork for the collection. This changed when Brenda received a call from the Hammonds asking about the collection, then she called the museum. She was able to described the collection, and it matched perfectly - another puzzle solved.

In the past months the museum has received several calls from people asking what is being done with the collection they donated to the college. Right now, the priority at the museum is to re-curate and inventory all of our private collections. No one collection is a priority over others. But the process is extensive and requires more money and staff.

We can say this, we know what is happening with the Hammond/Butts collection. It was the first collection in twenty years to be taken into a classroom and used as a teaching aid. And the kids loved it!