2019 GCHA President’s Report

B. Travis Wright, MPS presented his 2019 GCHA President’s Report for the Grand County Historical Association on November 9, 2019.

The Grand County Historical Association (GCHA) has had an incredible year of growth, learnings, and successes. Since our last annual meeting, the GCHA has hosted, co-hosted, and been a presence at over 50 events in and around Grand County; and staff have attended several meetings outside of the county including learning sessions in Steamboat Springs as well as a field trip to Denver to witness History Colorado’s decision regarding historic designation of the Kremmling Depot.

GCHA’s membership is at 202 and both members and non-members alike have enjoyed new and unique events this year, including History on Horseback hosted by the GCHA, the Colorado Headwaters Land Trust, and the Linke family. The event was a true-to-life experience taking horses and wagons up and over Cottonwood Pass. The GCHA has applied for a record number of grants as of 10/31/2019. We’ve received $20,943 in total and we’ve worked hard to modernize our messaging with grants that have been awarded, including a newly renovated website as well as a new commercial paid for by grants from the Grand County Tourism Board.

Shanna and Travis attended a workshop in early summer on building world-class boards and we all have been working diligently to reshape the GCHA in a way to guarantee not only our future success and viability, but also to ensure that our mission makes history relevant and accessible to all. We, as a board and staff, are focused on the preservation of history, historical artifacts, and historical buildings in Grand County, Colorado, through the use of technology, advocacy, recruiting new board members, and fund-raising efforts. The Board of Directors are directly responsible for the operations and budgets of four museums (one is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, another building received historical designation in September 2019 from the State Historical Fund), the adoption and adherence of professional museum standards, a workable accessions policy, and the restoration and appropriate interpretation of historical artifacts and structures.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

B. Travis Wright, MPS background image