Meeting Minutes
February 5, 2004

Present at the meeting: Dave Barnard, Bob Berkemer, Bob Dahlke, Connie Galep, Glenn Gehring, Jerome Johnson, Frank Kennett, Orv Nelson, Paul Peltier, Don Steffen, Robert Swanson, Annette Taylor, Kevin Thorie, Betty Verdon

Glenn Gehring projected the minutes from the previous meeting on the screen for review. There were no additions or corrections.

All in attendance introduced themselves.

Mailings
Bob Dahlke updated the members about the recent mailing to about 850 Stout alumni who graduated in 1950 or earlier. A personal letter with an "intent to donate" form, a return envelope, and a membership brochure were mailed on February 2, 2004. The Alumni Office was very helpful in printing the letters and return envelopes and postage. Sue Pittman, Dave Wiensch, and Sharon Droege from the Alumni Office worked diligently to help produce a first class mailing in a very short time. We thank them for their cooperation.

There was brief discussion about other people that we should contact. 1) all alumni through the Outlook Alumni publication, 2) Dunn County citizens through an extensive feature in the Dunn County News, Faculty and staff currently employed through electronic methods, 4) retired U W Stout faculty and staff perhaps through a mailing. The Public Relations committee will need to prioritize these and work on getting the information out about SHA.

Bob Swanson suggested that the same mailing that went to the alumni be sent to all current members of SHA. Bob Dahlke will take care of that.

 

Artifacts
Betty Verdon mentioned something about the Stout art collection.

Annette Taylor offered an official seal machine from Board of Regents of State Colleges -- 1866. The Seal stamper will be given to the museum.

Orv Nelson showed a sheet metal project which dated approximately 1950 from Floyd Keith's class.

Bob Bekemer distributed a "Statement of Goals and Long-Range Plans for Stout State College" dated 1963. He showed couple of other items as well.

Membership -- DCHS
Don Steffen made comment concerning the current membership brochure. He will have more printed as the need arises. As the cut-off portion of the brochure is returned, staff at the Rassbach Museum will place them in our mailbox in order that we have a complete up-to-date record of paid members.

Bob Dahlke reported that five people have sent monies totaling approximately $2,050.00 as of this date. Steve Cole is the treasurer for the Dunn Co. Historical Society and he will produce a financial report for our meeting if we request one. The DCHS sends out receipts and a thank you letter that may be used for tax purposes. Glenn pointed out that we need to ask for a volunteer to serve as treasurer for SHA.

Glenn Gehring reported his progress in the drafting of an agreement between the SHA and DCHS. That paper is attached to these minutes. We need to finalize that paper and present it to the DCHS board for their review.

Exhibits
Jerome Johnson told the group about his plans for a 40' long display case in the Tech Wing. The student project would develop over the next few years in stages. He described the design and the intent of the case including the types of items to be displayed.

Bob Berkemer spoke briefly about his desire to develop a working lab for use by retired faculty and staff. Many details need to be worked out.

Other Business
Glenn pointed out to members that we need to have one or two people work on By-laws and a Constitution for the Stout Historical Association. If anyone is interested contact Glenn.

Betty Verdon reported that Ellwyn Hendrickson is willing to make a presentation to our group. Ellwyn also restated his interest in working on a "Virtual museum." Glenn will ask Joe Hagaman to chair the Virtual Museum Committee.

The topic of telling the Dunn County folks about SHA came up again. We talked about advertising hard for a large meeting of all interested folks for April. At such a meeting we could ask Ellwyn to be the speaker, we would ask everyone to bring along a Stout related artifact, and invite the reporter from the Dunn Co. News as a way to help get the museum idea to people in Dunn county. We talked about doing this in conjunction with Stout Homecoming in the fall. No decisions were made.

The group felt that we should contact Ellwyn and have a presentation video taped/recorded. Don Steffen will contact Rosemary Jacobson and work with Betty Verdon to get this underway. We felt that it would also be wise to ask Ellwyn to do a personal interview and have it recorded.

The Oral History-Personal Interview Committee will be chaired by Kevin Thorie. He will meet with his committee some to set things in motion. Bob Dahlke circulated a sheet with names of people that were suggested to hold interviews with.

Orville Nelson reported that he is drafting a proposal for a grant from the Stout University Foundation. He needs data from Bob Dahlke, Roy Ostenso and others prior to Feb. 17.

There was brief discussion about using students to research homes in Menomonie that were built by Stout students years ago.

The next meeting for the membership is being planned for April. Meeting notices and agendas will be sent prior to that time.