Here Comes May!
Where does the time go? It’s already a week and half or so past our annual banquet and we’re flying through May! So it’s time for our semi-regularly scheduled blog post. Here’s what we’ve been up to lately:
Our 16th Annual Banquet: In our last blog post we talked about the Banquet coming up; now we can report that it has happened. The Banquet was April 28 at the Cedar Rapids Marriott and went very well! We had record attendance, a great emcee to keep us on track during the night (Rick Coleman of KWWL), an exceptional keynote speaker (Randy Moore of Iowa American Water), and even a presentation by our own Director of Education Michelle Poe about the AAMI’s education and outreach programs. The evening also included socializing, dinner, carnival games, a round of BINGO, and examples of the AAMI’s education programs and traveling exhibits. We also released our 2011 Annual Report, which will soon be posted on our website.
Burlington Program: For our readers in Burlington, make sure you have May 15 marked down on your calendar. Michelle will be coming to town to give a presentation called “The Only One”, which is based off our 2012 temporary exhibit of the same name. Together, you will explore the experiences of Iowans who have been the only African Americans on sports teams, in classrooms, at work and more. The presentation will take place on May 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Burlington Public Library (210 Court St.) and is partnership between the AAMI and the Des Moines County Historical Society.
Women’s Conference Planning: We’ve begun planning the 2012 History Makers Gala (Thursday, Sept. 27) and the Iowa African American Women’s Leadership Conference (Friday, Sept. 28). Something we’re really working on this year is ramping up our marketing and publicity. But we need your assistance! Where’s the best place to distribute posters, fliers, etc. – churches? Barber and Beauty shops? Community Centers? Send any ideas to Development Assistant Grant Stevens: Click here to view email address. We look forward to hearing from you!
Fun Fact:
This week, all of our tours were from outside Cedar Rapids! We have students from Cedar Falls, Central City, and Waterloo visiting.
The 2012 Annual Banquet!
Here at the AAMI, the staff have been spending a lot of time lately preparing for one of our larger events – our annual banquet. This will be our 16th Annual Banquet (the Museum started having a Banquet even before we had a building to call our own!), and this year’s theme is “Shaping Your Legacy.” The Banquet will take place Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the Cedar Rapids Marriott (1200 Collins Rd. NE). Our Master of Ceremonies will be Rick Coleman, Sports Director for KWWL (Channel 7), and our keynote speaker will be Randy Moore, president of Iowa American Water and Iowa Civil Rights Commission Member.
Something several people have asked us is “Why do you have a banquet?” The Banquet exists for two main reasons:
1. To celebrate the accomplishments of the past year
2. To raise money for our educational programs
Part of the Banquet will be commemorating our accomplishments in 2011 – reaching 52, 126 individuals through 307 programs, adding two new staff members, putting on an award-winning educational event (Journey to Freedom), being financially sound as an organization, etc. You get the picture. The Banquet is a chance for us to look back on what we did in 2011 and tell our supporters what they have to look forward to in 2012.
The Banquet is also an important fundraiser for the Museum. Funds raised at the Banquet go directly to helping us pay for some of the less glamorous (but still very important) parts of providing educational programs – buying more craft supplies for Learning Safaris, totes for Traveling Trunks, and hands-on activities for our exhibits. These funds are vitally important to the AAMI’s consistent efficient operation, and this is why the Banquet is so important.
Have we convinced you to come to the Banquet? You can purchase tickets ($45.00 each) by calling Katherine Smith at 319-862-2101 ext. 216 or by e-mailing her: Click here to view email address. Hope to see you on Saturday!
We’re back and the Puppets are coming!
Lately, we haven’t been very good about blogging here at the AAMI. But…in our most recent issue of the The Iowa Griot, we started a “Connect with the AAMI” box, which includes info about how to keep in touch with us on-line. Facebook (African American Museum of Iowa), Twitter (@BlackIowa), our e-mail list (sign up on our website) and our blog are all mentioned so we decided we had better start blogging more consistently. Grant Stevens, our Development Assistant, will be in charge of blogging (he has a calendar and everything), so contact him (gstevens@blackiowa.org) if you have ideas for topics, links to other great blogs, etc.
Lately, the hot topic at the AAMI has been puppets! Specifically, the Eulenspiegel Puppets and our two upcoming FREE puppet shows this Saturday (March 31, 2012)! The AAMI is collaborating with Eulenspiegel Puppets and the Johnson County Historical Society (JCHS) during a three-day residency with area students culminating in two free performances of “Immigrant Stew at the Chat ‘N’ Chew” this Saturday – 10:30 a.m. at the AAMI and 3:30 p.m. at the JCHS (Coralville, IA). The shows tells a story that is humorous, touching, and quite timely as we welcome immigrants into the rural Midwest. Cathy Schmidt-McGillicutty is the proprietress of the local café, the Chat ‘N’ Chew, and is upset because her daughter wants to marry a member of Mexican immigrant family. She confronts her prejudice as flashbacks play out scenes from her own family history. Watch a video here.
One of the great things about the three-day residency is that it allows local students to take part in the show! Student who are puppeteers learn how to manipulate their puppets, say lines, and then on Saturday they perform in both shows. Students who are playmakers (students can be both) have the opportunity to design and create a working puppet while taking a look at their own family’s history during a multi-day workshop. AAMI Director of Education Michelle Poe and Assistant Educator Tenika Johnson will assist during the workshop and have been coordinating the event. We hope to see you on Saturday!
A special thank you goes out to this program’s financial supports: Eulenspiegel Puppets, the Great America Leasing Donor Advised Fund of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, the Iowa Arts Council, and Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The AAMI is located at 55 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401. The JCHS is located at 860 Quarry Rd., Coralville, IA 52241
Hello!
Hi Folks -
My name is Grant Stevens and I’m the new Development Assistant here at the African American Museum of Iowa! This is a new position at the the AAMI and I’ll be doing a variey of things – fundraising/grant-writing and membership recruitment, but also some marketing/public relations tasks as well. I graduated from Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA) in May with a double major in Political Science and American Studies. I’ve been interning with the Marion Chamber of Commerce and the Marion Arts Festival since January of 2010 and been volunteering with several other area non-profits. I’m very excited to be working here and with such a fantastic staff. I look forward to seeing you at the museum!
Grant Stevens
