Essex Heritage Considering
the Creation of a Membership Program
On December 16, 1996, United States President Bill Clinton signed legislation that was championed by the late US Senator Edward M. Kennedy that created the Essex National Heritage Area. The work that our elected officials from this State and this region did to accomplish that task is appreciated by all in this region who have benefited from this status. In the almost fourteen years since the legislation was signed to create the Essex Heritage Area much has been accomplished. A governance structure has been created to mange the Area, and hundreds of volunteers have offered their time and many talents to assure that the work of the Essex National Heritage Commission was successful. Numerous collaborative partnerships have been established from one end of this region to the other, and initiatives like the Partnership Grant Program, Trails and Sails Weekends, the numerous educational programs that have impacted educators from school districts across the region, the work on the Border to Boston Rail Trail conversions and the Essex Heritage Scenic Byway currently in the planning stage are just a few of the regional programs Essex Heritage has instituted by working together with volunteers from all thirty-four of the communities and the hundreds of not-for profit partners where links were established and maintained.
Over this last decade, the Commission has expanded its reach and impact, and has reached out to hundreds of volunteers and partners from other regional organizations and asked for help as an advocate for our work in this region. We are pleased that so many responded to that call and agreed to serve at one time or another as a volunteer for Essex Heritage. Those volunteers have offered time, advice and influence and as a result we have been more successful than we ever anticipated, but times have changed and we also need to change to meet new challenges. Funding to support this initiative from both the federal and state governments have been reduced over time, as both new Heritage Areas have been created nationally and economic times have limited the financial support we have received. We have been the beneficiary of much wonderful financial support from numerous businesses and individuals in this region who have recognized the impact we have had on the quality of life in the region we serve, but if we are to continue our efforts we must expand that support.
Towards that end we are in the process of creating a first ever “membership program” to help support these efforts. During the next several weeks we will be preparing material to help support this effort, and we will begin to contact our most loyal supporters to ask if they would consider joining this new membership program that will begin on July 1, 2010 at the start of the Commission’s new fiscal year. We hope that in the next several weeks you will look for information from us in the mail or log onto our web site at www.essexheritage.org to learn more about the Essex Heritage membership program. It is clear that in the future Essex Heritage will not be able to continue the broad based work of the Commission without this new level of support.
We would welcome any comments any of you might have about this new initiative and information about how to contact me can be found at the end of this column.
Essex Heritage Photo Safari’s Continue
Late last month Essex Heritage conducted one of its most successful Photo Safari’s at the wonderful Danvers Historical Society site at Glen Magna Farms. We had a spectacular day and the amateurs who had access to the most up-to-date equipment took advantage of some of the most photogenic gardens and historic architecture anywhere in this region. At the end of June, on the 26th a third session will be held at the Stevens-Collidge Place in North Andover where Cannon equipment will be featured, and then on July 18th at Long Hill Reservation in Beverly the final session for this year will be held, and at that event cannon equipment will be in use. These events are organized by Essex Heritage in partnership with Hunts Photo, Video and Digital in Melrose are held annually at some of the most spectacular sites in the region, and as always participants are able to use some of the best photographic equipment in the county at these events. To make a reservation for these final two events for this year, contact Emily.
In addition to a much broader use of the web site, Essex Heritage is also communicating using traditional methods like this monthly column and social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Linked in as well as using other non traditional methods like the Essex Happenings BLOG that I post information to three times a week that can be accessed at www.essexhappenings.blogspot.com.
Read more about the region from Tom Leonard on his blog.
Thomas M. Leonard is President Emeritus of the Essex National Heritage Commission, Inc., the nonprofit management entity of the Essex National Heritage Area, and can be reached by clicking here.