10-22-20 Conrad Mansion Board of Directors MinutesConrad Mansion Museum Board of Directors Meeting
Oct. 22, 2020 4:00 online via Zoom
Members present: Carrie Nelson, Everit Sliter, Diane Medler, Mary Pat Murphy, Teri Iwersen,
Jessica Treweek, Mark Schickendantz, Sue Corrigan, Tia Robbin, Courtenay Sprunger, Katharine
King, Chris Vick, Cate Webber and Museum Director Brit Clark.
Committee Reports:
Nominating Committee: A call for volunteers was made to nominate members for Exec. Officer
elections. Cate, Sue, Mary Pat and Jessica will serve on this committee.
Finance: Everit shared that the PPP (Payroll Protection Program) application was submitted to
First Interstate and forwarded to the Small Business Administration which has 90 days to review
and all should be forgiven. The forms were filled out multiple times due to changing rules.
Marketing: Diane shared that there is still some credit with the Interlake that we can use for
advertising. Thanks to Brit and Courtenay for putting together information for the press junket.
Promotions will go through fall. Snow Ghost's work on the Mansion website looks terrific.
Maintenance: Mark S. shared that the fire protection was the last item taken care of on the
maintenance list.
Director's Report:
Brit shared that the 2020 Tour season ended on Oct. 15t". What a season! The Mansion was
fortunate to open and close on our traditional dates, but we saw half of our normal visitors this
year. We had a few out of state visitors, but no Canadians. Brit was happy to report no Covid
cases at the Mansion. Contact tracing was offered but fortunately not needed. The garden
projects for the summer were completed and Joni will be back next year.
Decorating outdoors will begin November 16t". Volunteers needed. If you can't make the 16t",
there will still be decorating throughout the week. The Mansion plans to make the decorations
extra special this year to provide some spark and joy for the community.
Traditional Christmas events like the Valley Voices Christmas Choir will not perform this year
due to Covid. Board members shared some ideas and solo performer recommendations, but it
is late in the season.
Other Business:
Teri Iwersen shared that at the beginning of the month, she had a special visitor- the
goddaughter of Michael Cimino who directed the movie Heaven's Gate in 1980. Teri gave
kudos to Robert and Brit for making the tour of the Mansion a special experience.
Board members complimented Brit and Robert for successes this season. They stepped up to
the challenge of an unprecedented year.
Strategic Planning:
A brief review of last year's meeting with non-profit facilitator and consultant Ned Cooney
showed that we saw outcomes from the discussion. Staffing structure was revisited, Brit is
currently taking non-profit training, we have concerted marketing efforts.
This year, due to a rising number of Covid cases, we have opted to address our strategic
planning meeting topics in online Zoom meeting installments instead of our usual workshop
style meeting.
Proposed Tour Format Modification
Discussion:
Brit was happy to do whatever would work with tours this year. It looks like the effects of Covid
will last and Brit is feels like it is getting harder to recruit new guides. She would like to offer
self -guided tours at the Mansion.
Benefits of self -guided tours:
• Visitors go at their own pace and look at what they want to look at.
• More flexibility for tour starting times.
• Wouldn't have to rely on staff as much. Some guides don't want to work full time.
• Audio recording could be in multiple languages or offer different tracts (for example a
tour geared to local visitors and one tailored for out of town visitors, or focused on
specific topics like architecture, the family, etc.)
o Mark S. would like to expand on the cost of adding audio recordings. He
suggested grant funding likely available.
• If phone apps are used, there is nothing to disinfect.
• Provides a way to avoid oversized tours (which are kept smaller due to Covid)
Challenges/Concerns of self -guided tours:
• How do guests pay for tours? (Online)
• How will self -guided tours affect online reviews?
• How many volunteers needed? Jessica asked if there was a way to recruit college
students as volunteers.
• How to ensure Museum is safe and still functional for guided tours?
• How do they learn about the house? It is important to preserve the "experience" and
educational part of tours.
Moss Mansion experience and advice:
• Brit has spoken with the director of the Moss Mansion in Billings. They switched to self -
guided tours a year or two ago. They use Plexiglass barriers to keep museum safe and
do a "sweep" to ensure that small valuables are not accessible. Tia asked if the Moss
Mansion installed additional cameras. No, but they did install Plexiglass on closets. They
haven't reported theft.
• The Moss Mansion said that signage in rooms is the trickiest aspect. They use primary
and secondary signs. Staff wise, the Moss Mansion has more staff and volunteers than
we do. It would require getting a volunteer program up and running.
• Diane asked about admission prices at the Moss Mansion. They charge $15 for guided
tours and $12 for self -guided tours. Christmas tour rates are higher.
• The Moss Mansion doubled their tour income after moving to self -guided tours. It is not
an equal comparison however since we are starting from a point of more tour income to
begin with.
Brit said she would like to keep a guided tour option open, likely one tour per day, but mainly
accommodate "self -serve" tourists. Cate suggested using Christmas as a time to get this up and
running, or establish smaller increments. The Christmas tree does not lend itself well to
Plexiglass protection.
Katharine suggested that when we look at the timeline required to implement this and the tone
of discussion with no strong dissent that we entertain a motion. Sue Corrigan moved that we
allow Brit to create a self -guided tour program with evaluation. Jessica Treweek seconded. 11
votes in favor.
Upcoming topics and meeting dates:
The next steps for the Garden Project, Memberships, and Grants will be topics for our next
meetings.
Next Board Meetings:
• November 17t" at 4:00 via Zoom
• December 15t" at 4:00 via Zoom
Meeting Adjourned 5:16