From the Executive Director
by Tom Drugan

Summer, 2003

Reunion:

If you missed the second annual 390th Memorial Museum reunion, as all but 75 of you did, you missed a very good gathering. Just ask someone who was here. Accommodations, activities and socializing were all great and those who attended told us they intend to come back again next year.

We are already planning the 2004 reunion. There will be new and different tours and other activities and a completely new approach to the Saturday night banquet. To take advantage of Arizona’s fabulous spring weather, our reunion next year will take place April 15-17, 2004. Please mark your calendar now and plan to join us for what promises to be an outstanding event.

We have a few of the high quality museum T-shirts available. These were acquired for the reunion but they are also proving to be quite popular with our visitors. The shirts are light grey with full color artwork. We also have some of the 2003 reunion pins left. You can place your order by using the form on page 18.

Volunteer in the spotlight:

All of our volunteers are very special people. It takes real dedication to commit a day or two every week to service in the museum. We spotlight at least one of these fine folks in every J Bulletin so that our members will gradually come to know all of them. This quarter we feature Gene Radtke who spends much of his time here in the research department. Gene has found a niche that he really enjoys while providing us with much needed help. Read about Gene on page 8.

Catalina Mountain Fire:

You may have read about the Aspen fire that is burning in the mountains near Tucson. This fire is quite close to town and has now burned over 82,000 acres. Several hundred homes in the foothills have been lost. Because of the terrain, the extreme heat and dryness plus strong winds, the fire has proved to be very stubborn and after three weeks is still only 75% controlled. We can see the heavy smoke and sometimes the flames from our museum, but there is no danger that it will reach us.

Membership:

We are gradually losing our older veteran members who have been so supportive over the years. It is critical that we replace them with new members. Over the last two years, we have been making concerted efforts to increase total Foundation membership. For the most part this has been a direct mail program. Our efforts have been reasonably successful as membership increased nearly 25% over that time period. We now have some 1,250 active and Life Members. Increasing the membership is crucial to the future of your museum. We will continue to try to attract new members but we need your help. Please tell your friends and relatives about the museum and the importance of our mission…a legacy of courage…and urge them to join us as sustaining members.

Summertime:

…and the living is easy, at least according to George Gershwin. Except in Tucson when the number of visitors declines. The three-four months of summer represent our slowest time of the year for visitors. The obvious result of this is lower merchandise sales and reduced contributions in our donation box. In short, cash flow suffers. If you plan a donation this year to your favorite museum, summertime is a great time to make that donation. We promise it will be put it to good use!

Talk to us:

All of us on staff at the museum are here to help you with any questions or comments you would like to make. And we are always open to constructive criticism and suggestions. Page 2 shows our contact phone, e-mail and FAX information. Let us hear from you!