Letter to the Membership
Fall 2011
2011 was a year filled with activity that has built a sense of community for the Deltaville Maritime Museum & Holly Point Nature Park. It took over 30,000 hours of labor by volunteers, board members, interns and our employees to make the Museum-Park the success it is.
Events held in 2011 included: the Annual Easter Egg Hunt, Working Watermen's Weekend, dedication of the F. D. Crockett, eight Farmers' Markets and ten music events. Once again the Middlesex County first-graders visited the Park and a week-long summer art camp was held along with the Family Boatbuilding Week & the Great Skiff Race of 2011. Social events included the Members' Spring Gala, Annual Membership Meeting & Oyster Roast, and Friday socials in the waterfront Gary Pavilion. Other notable events included the very successful Holly Point Art & Seafood Festival, Scary Halloween in the Park, the Autumn Markets, and our year-end Holiday Market & Pierwalk.
Our regionally respected Museum has embarked on an ambitious effort to explain the Civil War as it affected the lives of Middlesex County residents during the period. In the displays are historical vignettes and artifacts from the period including a chair owned and used by Jefferson Davis. After the War it came into the possession of the family of John Singleton Mosby, the famous Confederate leader of the Mosby Rangers Cavalry, also known as the “Gray Ghost”. There are also discharge papers, a very rare document, from a Union Army ancestor of our Secretary Bill Gieg, documenting his service history throughout the War. These are some examples of what you will see in the displays as they unfold over the next five years. We expect this to be a major tourist attraction.
The Museum-Park provided numerous organizations a place to hold fund-raising functions and for county residents a venue to hold family picnics, weddings, and other gatherings at a modest cost. The gardens at Holly Point Nature Park bloomed and brought joy to county residents and visitors from all over.
The economic impact for the County of all these activities is well over one million dollars with over twenty-five thousand visits to the Museum-Park making us into a regional powerhouse.
The Museum-Park helped the initial fund-raising for the Deltaville Community Association by suggesting that companies and other organizations donate $1,000 to the tornado rebuilding effort.
In 2011 we emphasized building a stronger administrative component for our organization. This was done with the full implementation of our Past Perfect software that has led to better communications with our membership. Volunteers, interns, and workers managed activities and created brochures, booklets, emails, newsletters, news articles and advertisements in the Southside Sentinel. Much as of this was implemented by our administrative assistant David Moran and the summer interns. The interns received payment in the form of a scholarship of up to $3,000 paid directly to their respective colleges.
Membership is now over 1,000 with a continued emphasis on membership retention. Our revenues come from membership dues, activities, donations, and the sale of donated items such as boats. Our endowment is over $130,000 the value of improvements to our facilities is over $1,500,000. Improvements in 2010-2011 include the expansion of the Johns' Pavilion, where special events are held and nautical artifacts displayed. The Gary Waterfront Pavilion, refurbishment of the Tea House, outside restroom facilities, and a new roof on the Museum building.
The Museum-Park received several grants and major contributions. The State of Virginia License Plate Grant will help with educational outreach for the F. D. Crockett, and Middlesex County. The Blackwood Foundation contributed to the replacement of the roof on the Museum building, and the Gary family funded the new waterfront pavilion in memory of Bob Gary.
The F. D. Crockett has begun her goodwill visits representing Middlesex County and Deltaville with trips to the Leukemia Cup art show, Cape Charles, Poquoson's waterfront festival, Reedville Fishermen's Museum, the Buyboat Rendezvous, and the Oyster Festival in Urbanna.
Approval has been received from the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in the name of Deltaville Maritime Museum and Holly Point Nature Park and a new lease is expected to be signed with Middlesex County reflecting this change. We will continue to work hand in hand with the Deltaville Community Association to build a vibrant Deltaville community and look forward to an exciting future as we reach out and make new friends for Middlesex County, Deltaville and the Museum-Park.
Respectfully submitted by:
Robert D. Kates, President