Meet our Board: Karen Russell, Chairperson
In order to introduce our board members and volunteers to the NCW community at large, and to encourage others to get involved with the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center, we are embarking on a few new blog series in 2016.
The first is our “Meet our Board” blog series, and we thought what better to place to start than at the top?
So meet Karen Russell, board president and longtime museum supporter!
Here’s our short interview with her:
Q: How long have you been involved with them Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center?
A: I have been on the board for 3 and a half years and a volunteer at museum events for about 6 to 8 years.
Q: Why are you passionate about the WVMCC and what it does?
A: I believe every community needs to collect, store and protect its history and we are fortunate to be able to do it for the whole valley. And our museum has extended its mission to reach out to our valley’s different ethnic communities through some of its events. We also reach out to the young people in the valley with all of the educational opportunities we present. And our rotating historical and artistic exhibits provide the valley with a different look at the valley and the talent we have in the valley.
Q: What is your favorite museum event? Can you share a particularly satisfying memory or anecdote from a museum event in the past?
A: I love the Wine Gala because it brings people into the museum who may have never visited it or not visited it for a long time. I love the Family Christmas Day since it is an event designed to bring in all ages in a family group. And I love the Multicultural Day which honors and educates attendees about the variety of cultures in our valley.
My husband and I have worked at a project table at Family Christmas Day for several years. One year our project used glue guns which we had to use for the kids since they get hot. Not having worked with them before, we managed to burn and glue all of our fingers together which was funny to the kids and left an indelible memory for us. Now when asked to volunteer, we are guaranteed that there will be NO GLUE GUNS for us…
Q: What’s your vision for the WVMCC’s future?
A: Our new director has a vision to re-do our permanent exhibit so that it will be more chronological and more interactive. I’m very excited about this since when we travel, we always visit many museums and the ones we love are the ones who have created their exhibits this way. We’ve got a big fund raising job ahead of us to make this happen, but I’m confident the valley cares enough about the museum to support our vision.
