Doug4Cincy @doug4cincy - Tumblr Blog

A Simple Start, A Lasting Love: The Early Days of Us

Subject: Celebrating 50 Years of Blessings

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s hard to believe that today, September 14th, Kay and I will celebrate fifty years of marriage. Time has flown by, and reflecting on this half-century journey, I’m struck by how unexpected and blessed it has been.

In the spring of 1974, we both graduated from William Penn College, a small liberal arts college in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and by July 1st, I had started my first job as the Youth Minister at Carmel Friends (Quaker) Church in Carmel, Indiana. Kay joined me in Indiana in mid-August, preparing to teach third graders in the local school. As our wedding in September approached, we made arrangements to stay with different church families—me in a basement room at the head minister’s house, and Kay with the Rockhills, a kind family from the congregation.

As we began planning our life together, we were fortunate to find a small home within walking distance of Kay’s school. With me starting graduate school at Christian Theological Seminary and only one car between us, this was a perfect setup. However, the house wasn’t available until October, so we made arrangements to live in a 14-foot camping trailer parked on the edge of the church parking lot from the time we got married until we could move in.

School started for Kay, and I began my classes. We then returned to Iowa to be married on Saturday, September 14, 1974. It was an incredible evening filled with worship and celebration among family and church friends. Kay was the most beautiful bride, and after the ceremony and a simple reception of cake, punch, and mixed nuts, we left the Quaker Church in Legrand, Iowa to begin our very short honeymoon.

Our honeymoon took us from the Iron Man Inn & Suites in Iowa City to Galesburg, Illinois, and then 250 miles back to Carmel, Indiana, because Kay had to be at school for “Meet the Teacher Night” on Monday evening! Her fellow teachers welcomed her warmly, transforming the nurse's office into a bridal suite with festive decorations, which made our little trailer on the church parking lot feel a bit more like home.

In October, we moved into our first little home with all our possessions packed in a 4x6 foot U-Haul trailer. Since then, we have been blessed with 50 years filled with experiences we could never have imagined, both growing up on Iowa farms within strong Quaker communities.

Today, we’re living on our farm in Ripley and Cincinnati, surrounded by our son, his wife, our grandchildren, and so many friends. The greatest blessing of my life has been the privilege of being married to Kay. For our 50th anniversary, her one wish is to have a special dinner with our son Timothy and his wife Tiffiny.

So, tonight, Kay, Tim, Tiffiny, and I will celebrate this milestone with a quiet dinner at Boca on Saturday, September 14, 2024—the exact day we were married in the LeGrand Friends Church with a simple reception of cake and punch fifty years ago.

With gratitude for these 50 years,

Doug

#50th anniversary #quaker #william Penn university #Iowa #carmel

Paris tomorrow! With a delegation from the United States including many from Cincinnati. The United States National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-US) is bidding to host the 25th General Assembly of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in the US city of Cincinnati, Ohio. This video produced by Lightborne of Cincy shows the rich culture and great museums in Cincinnati. Wish us the best!

Key to success of exhibit development of Center was lots of input and very few decision makers. (There were six.)

Doug Shipman is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR). Doug was most recently a Principal in the Atlanta office of the Boston Consulting Group where he worked in the New York, Mumbai and Atlanta offices. He is the founding CEO and has been with the Center since the inception of the project in 2005. He currently serves on several Boards, including the Emory Alumni Association, the Harvard Alumni Association and the University of Georgia Board of Visitors. He has previously served on the Board of The Intown Academy charter school, Easter Seals of North Georgia, and the Butler Street YMCA.

#shipman #ctr4chr #AAM2015

Doug’s interview by American Alliance of Museums Re: his career & the future of museums.

Roving Reporter

February 2015

Your Roving Reporter By Betty Brewer, CEO

Betty Brewer invited Douglass McDonald to look back on his career as he retired from the Cincinnati Museum Center. Having significant accomplishments from his years in the field, she also asked him to project what we can expect for the future of museums.

How long have you been in the museum field and what prompted (or inspired) you to seek the “big chair”?

My museum “career” began 35 short years ago as a member of the Conner Prairie Board in about 1980. In 1983, Polly Jontz Lennon, my museum mentor asked me to join the staff where, after eleven years, I was a committed museum professional! In my first week as CEO of Genesee Country Village & Museum outside Rochester, NY I received a surprising phone call from Polly Jontz. She shocked me saying that she was retiring from Conner Prairie. She realized that organizations must change and they must constantly reinvent themselves to continue to be vibrant. She realized she didn't want to do that again. She retired that year leaving it to others to take the museum to the next level.

Over the past two years, we fought hard for the $208 million to restore Union Terminal, which included a $170 million voter approved sales tax. As we all battled every day for that victory, I wondered if I wanted to do what was required next. Thus, for me in 2015, as it was for Polly in 1995 twenty years ago, I felt it was time to leave it to others to take Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to the next level.

All who know my DNA know that there is no “big chair” in my future! I will be working on the Union Terminal restoration project and I hope (if asked) that I might be able to help other organizations grow strategically. Possibly the lessons of Cincinnati Museum Center, the public funding process, and merger with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center might be helpful to other organizations.

I realized last summer, I wanted to be doing some-thing, just not the CEO-thing every day! I wanted to choose what I do and not have to do whatever is required!

One of my greatest teachers and friends, the late Dick Palermo who was a consultant, told me that he loved consulting because it was teaching students who were much invested in learning. Peter Drucker addressed this saying, “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.”

I know you have loved your “job” and though retired, you’re still consulting. Still, looking back over your career, is there anything you would significantly change? Or is this one of those questions you hate?

I wish I had figured out how to live a balanced life but I always gave 100% to my work. In some respects I believe what we do is so very important that we must give all we can; when I began at Cincinnati Museum Center its very survival was uncertain—so many of us gave 100%.

While balanced lives are sensible, I also am thankful for those who are not balanced. Steve Jobs may be one of the greatest CEOs and innovators of the past quarter century; he changed the way we work, how we play, and how we learn. He is universally applauded yet he had his critics. He was harsh in his criticism of mediocrity; some saw him as an egomaniac and others, as a control freak.

So, what would I change? I believe museums change communities; they teach, they change people’s lives. They are vital to the human spirit. Thus, knowing that great achievements require great sacrifices, I wouldn't change a thing!

How did you prepare the Cincinnati Museum Center—its staff and Board—for your retirement?

Preparing the public for a CEO leadership change was not possible as we went through the process of merging the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center into the Cincinnati Museum Center organization and as we went through the highly public sales tax campaign.

The best thing we can do to prepare our organizations for change is to hire very talented staff and develop the leadership with varying and increasing responsibilities.

In October of 2007 and in January of 2008 I hired two very talented young, smart, articulate women. I told both of them they could be a museum CEO someday and perhaps CMC’s CEO. In 2013 Tonya Matthews became CEO of the Michigan Science Center and I was thrilled that the Cincinnati Museum Center board named Elizabeth Pierce as Interim CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Hire talented people who can step forward when you step aside.

When you look into your crystal ball, what do you see as the future of museums in the U.S.? In the world?

Museums must compete. Museums are a vital piece to our education infrastructure and yet they are seen as “extracurricular” and as entertainment venues where some learning takes place. Recognizing that my statement will be challenged, I believe museums are better positioned than libraries to address the educational needs of our communities. However the federal funding for libraries is six times that for museums and, in Ohio, library funding from the state is fifteen times that for museums and all performing arts.

I don’t believe we are competing with libraries; we are competing to be recognized for how we can change the world in which we live. The library comparison is to jolt us to understand we have a long way to go and this is not the time to be reticent.

Museums must go beyond the traditional definitions of curation. Curation is most valuable when we build upon our knowledge of works of art, historic and scientific artifacts, and research; and, as Jorge Wagensberg said, “to explain the real, we must use the real.”

Today the world seeks understanding and solutions. Museums must become teachers of families, adults and children. Schools teach science yet this learning is not enough; we only spend 9% of our lives in school. We never stop learning and today, the media and internet have become the teachers.

Museums are needed today more than ever. Museums curate content, museums speak the truth. There is one truth about vaccines—they save lives and don’t cause autism. Yet today vaccination rates are dropping; intelligent people who are highly educated regard all information as data for consideration. Read Michael Specter’s book, Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Harms the Planet and Threatens Our Lives and know that museums are critical; we must curate and inform the public that all data is not equal and that logic must be applied to science, our past and to deciding the future.

Do you have any advice for emerging professionals with aspirations of being executive directors/CEOs?

Being a CEO, you are in the midst of everyone and yet you are alone. Get away from everyone and think. Creativity and inspiration comes from the silence and contemplation, not a meeting. Know what is vital, what will change the future of your organization and be relentless and stubborn to pursue the few things that matter.

Being a leader is to chart a course of action not considered by others and then be persuasive and lead. While constantly listening and learning to make corrections in direction, leadership is not “group think” nor is it consensus. As Einstein said, “The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before.”

If others have placed confidence in your leadership, then lead!

Any other words of pith and wisdom you would like to share with your colleagues in the C-Suite?

Push the edge. These are important times; don’t measure success by dollars raised or the size of capital campaigns—change the lives of those in your communities. If your museum was to close, would there be a public outcry?

We are called to very important work; give it your all. I have been blessed to have spent most of my career at two great museums. The museum field is a special profession and we are all privileged to be part of it.

Change in my life will include many days on our farm just outside of Ripley, Ohio, with its connections to our childhood farm upbringings—its woods, pastures, bubbling springs, creeks, pre-civil war rock fences, an 1858 log cabin, barn and cottage which makes it a special place. There we experience what Henry David Thoreau described in writing, “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

I am looking forward to providing counsel to Cincinnati Museum Center on the Union Terminal restoration project but also traveling, tending to cattle and cropland on our farm, writing about some of my personal experiences, doing selected consulting, photography and writing about the future of museums and spending time with my family and friends.

Thank you for all of the wonderful museum colleagues/friends who have always helped me and inspired me.

Betty Brewer serves as President and CEO of Minnetrista, a 40-acre site with a museum, historic homes and gardens. She has held this position since 2005. Ms. Brewer has served the museum field for 30 years, including being a past chair of the Leadership and Management Professional Network and presenting sessions at national, regional, and state conferences and webinars.

Link to the original article and other museum management writings.

A new study says that U.S. cities have a “memory” dating back 25 years.

Do away with minimum contributions for nonprofit board members!

No more minimum contributions: Paying directors more is being advanced in the corporate sector. NGOs often require directors to “pay” with minimum contribution levels and the more elite the NGO the higher the expected contribution. This results in directors with less experience in changing organizations and very large boards to increase the number of director level philanthropic gifts. It may be time to challenge this basic theory. Does a director deliver more value with their philanthropic contribution or by giving more significantly more time, debating ideas and potential directions of the NGO in ways that advanced the entire organization? Board members should be selected based on their capacity to contribute to organizational transformation. Directors should be thinking and behaving like owners, they should make decisions as if their personal assets were at risk. I believe that philanthropy is driven by organizational excellence and by passionate advocates who believe the organization is growing and changing the world. Transformational growth of NGOs is never achieved by requiring minimum gifts. What would happen if NGOs required directors a significant personal time commitment to transformational NGO growth?

To be clear, this is not a proposal to ask for less of a director, it is to ask for more; more of the very highest level of leadership skills and for directors to act as owners driving results focused on the organization’s effectiveness and growth. - Douglass McDonald, founder NGOgro, LLC [email protected]

#NGO #nonprofit #governance #philanthropy #directors #boards

Our 16 Year Journey - Reflections on last day as CEO

Our 16 Year Journey

Sixteen years ago I arrived at Union Terminal via cab for a job interview. That seems like yesterday as well as so long ago. I was amazed and so proud to be named president of Cincinnati Museum Center, wonderful museums housed in one of America’s greatest buildings. I have now walked around this building for sixteen years and it is still magic.

Since those very first days I have dreamed of the full restoration of the amazing Union Terminal. The pursuit of this goal has been relentless, frustrating, filled with hopeful moments and enormous frustrations. This time is the pinnacle, the dream is being realized and it is an exciting moment for our community.

I wish Cincinnati Museum Center, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Edge of Appalachia and all the wonderful people associated with these organizations much success and very special blessings in the coming years. You are among the very best people I have ever known and there were many days it was from your faces and faith in me that I amassed the energy to move forward yet one more step.

Following is a chronology of our remarkable sixteen year journey. It is our journey, we traveled it together. Our challenges were overcome and our successes were achieved because together, as staff, trustees, community leaders and elected officials we persevered to do what many thought was impossible. Thank you so much, you have blessed me richly.

- Douglass W. McDonald

The Journey

1999 – April 6th Day One!

1999 – A new strategic plan and tactics developed to strategically guide CMC to overcome the FY1999, $2.3M deficit which consumed 26% of its endowment.

2001 – Opened a state of art $8M collections storage and research facility which was funded with a $6.5 million lead gift.

2001-Balanced first budget, in spite of violence in the streets that spring, which caused the loss of over a quarter of a million dollars as also the stock market "Tech Bubble" burst.

2002 – National Award of Merit given to CMC by American Association of State and Local History for Civil Unrest: Voices of our Community, exhibit and programs responding to 2001 Cincinnati riots.

2002 – President George H. W. Bush presented his case for the war effort in Iraq to the world from the Rotunda of Cincinnati Museum Center. Worldwide media covered the speech and while the world debated his position, everyone in Cincinnati knew that Union Terminal was a special place and the world knew it was beautiful and spectacular. After this event, John Kerry, 2004; Barack Obama, 2008; Joe Biden, 2008 and Mitt Romney, 2012 all made presidential campaign speeches at CMC.

2003 – Hamilton County voters overwhelmingly voted to support Cincinnati Museum Center’s occupancy of the community’s beloved Union Terminal resulting in balanced budgets every year since. Neil Armstrong made a rare public endorsement of the first new tax levy in twenty years.

2005 – Collaboration with American Jewish Archives and Hebrew Union College hosting exhibit From Haven to Home, a Library of Congress exhibition marking 350 years of Jewish life in America. The exhibition featured more than two hundred treasures of American Judaica from the collections of the Library of Congress, augmented by a selection of important loans from other cooperating cultural institutions.

· 2006 – Christie’s in New York held one of the most important book auctions of the decade was Cincinnati Museum Center’s Cornelius J. Hauck "History of the Book" Collection which brought $12,401,780, almost three times the estimate. The Hainhofer album, an illuminated manuscript on vellum and paper in German, Italian, Latin and French, from 1596-1633, sold for $2,368,000.

2006 – Neil Armstrong chose CMC as the place to donate and display his moon rock. National NASA and community dignitaries assembled to hear Neil deliver an amazing story of BOK (the rock).

2007 – In cooperation with National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International (AEI) LLC organized the exhibit Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship. The five-year U.S. tour had its world premiere at Cincinnati Museum Center. The exhibit told the compelling story of the Whydah, a real pirate ship that began as a slave ship, and the stories of the diverse people whose lives converged on the vessel. The exhibition featured actual artifacts recovered from the ocean floor. CMC was critical in organizing the story line and support after early race related problems with the exhibit in Tampa, Florida.

2008 – $2.4 million Eulett Center opens at CMC’s 16,000 acre Edge of Appalachia Preserve System, located in Adams County, Ohio, funded by the State of Ohio.

2008 – 75th anniversary of Union Terminal leveraged community awareness of Union Terminal’s history and building needs.

2008 – A magical evening opening the Freedom’s Sisters exhibit with Dorothy Height, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Sonia Sanchez, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Kathleen Cleaver all in attendance. The evening closed with a surprise performance by American singer-songwriter Chaka Khan!

2008 – Bodies the Exhibition opens, generating the highest attendance as well as the highest controversy and national media focus of any exhibit in CMC’s history. ABC News' "20/20" made controversial claims and the local media attention was unparalleled. Due to the careful process of vetting the exhibit and building community support from the religious and medical communities in advance of contracting to bring the exhibit to Cincinnati, the public supported CMC and the museum built credibility for how it managed the situation.

2008 – CMC provided leadership, with Doug as President, of The Ohio Statuary Hall Commission, working with the Ohio State Legislature Statuary Hall Committee to select an individual (Thomas Edison) to represent Ohio in Statuary Hall of the US Capital.

2008 – Designed and built the Freedom’s Sisters exhibit, a collaboration between the Smithsonian (SITES), Cincinnati Museum Center and Ford Motor Company Fund which brought to life 20 African American women, from key 19th-century historical figures to contemporary leaders, who fought for equality for all Americans. The exhibit toured major museums throughout the U.S. for 4-years and is now a permanent exhibit of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn.

2008-09 – During the Great Recession, balanced operating budgets while drawing less than 4% from museum’s endowment.

2009 – CMC was awarded the 2009 Institute of Museum and Library Service Award for Museums, the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries.

2009 – ForbesTraveler.com lists CMC as the 17th most visited U.S. museum.

2009 – Hamilton County voters overwhelmingly voted by 68% to renew an operating levy supporting Cincinnati Museum Center’s occupancy of the community’s beloved Union Terminal.

2009 – Set a new record level of contributions in one year of $12 million, including three $1 million endowment gifts, as well funding toward Union Terminal restoration Project 1.

2009 –The acclaimed exhibit America I AM: The African American Imprint premiered at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Jan. 15, 2009 beginning a 4 year, ten city national tour. The 13,000 square feet exhibit, a partnership with Tavis Smiley, Arts and Exhibitions International (AEI) and Cincinnati Museum Center, toured the United States and celebrated nearly 500 years of African American contributions to the nation. The exhibit took visitors through a journey from struggle to triumph to celebration through artifacts, documents, multimedia, photos and music.

2010 – Created Informatics Department leading museum in social media and technology through major restructuring and minimal additional expense.

2011 – Completed an $11 million restoration project of historic Union Terminal, the home of Cincinnati Museum Center meticulously restoring some of the most significant architectural and art features of the building.

2011 – Duke Energy gifted The Duke Energy Holiday Trains, on display in downtown Cincy since 1946, to Cincinnati Museum Center to ensure the trains and beautiful historic displays will stay in the Greater Cincinnati area for all of Duke Energy’s families, friends and customers to enjoy.

2012 – At the request of Robert A. McDonald, CEO of Procter & Gamble Corporation, developed a plan resulting in the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center becoming part of CMC.

2012 – Cincinnati Museum Center accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

2012 – Financial operating results of CMC are best in CMC’s history.

2013 – CMC VP of Museums, Dr. Tonya Matthews, is named CEO of Michigan Science Center, Detroit, Michigan.

2013 – Disney Institute consultation process developed Building Organizational Excellence (BOE) program to drive a culture of excellence, establish clear quality standards and a Common Purpose of “We create meaningful experiences, inspiration and lasting memories for all.” for Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

2013 – Dr. C.G. Newsome announced as new President of National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

2013 – Financial operating results of CMC are second best in its history.

2013 – Freedom Center presents International Freedom Conductor Awards to civil rights activist Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth (posthumously) and New York Times columnist/activist Nicholas Kristof. Together, they represent a continuum of leaders who fight for the human dignity and human rights of all people.

2013 – The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center became accredited by the American Alliance of Museums for the first time.

2013 – The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center completes its first year as a part of the Cincinnati Museum Center organization with a balanced budget, a growing endowment and national recognition for its programs addressing human trafficking.

2013 – CMC working with other community leaders, including The Greater Cincinnati Foundation & The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, created an independent task force to address the needs of Music Hall and Union Terminal.

2014 – $50 million record endowment value. Grew from $5 million in 2005. (Includes externally held dedicated trusts)

2014 – Cultural Facilities Task Force (CFTF), chaired by Robert A. McDonald succeeded in Union Terminal being placed on the ballot to benefit from a sales tax.

2014 – For the first time in 17 years CMC has no debt.

2014 – International Freedom Conductor Awards presented to Nobel Peace Prize Winners Lech Walesa of Poland and Nelson Mandela (posthumously) of South Africa.

2014 – Louise Nippert’s $9 million estate gift (added to a $1 million 2009 gift) makes her CMC’s largest donor.

2014 – Robert A. McDonald, the retired Chairman, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble and current US Secretary of Veteran Affairs is announced as the chair of a Cultural Facilities Task Force comprised of other corporate CEOs and an inclusive Blue Ribbon Panel of community leaders.

2014 – From 1999 – 2015 over $350 million has been raised for endowment, operations and capital projects.

2014 – The United States National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-US) decides to bid for the 2019 General Assembly of the International Council of Museums to be held in Cincinnati, OH. If successful, 3-4,000 museum professionals from over 100 countries will attend the General Assembly in Cincinnati. The last General Assembly was held in the United States in New York City over 50 years ago.

2014 – Issue 8 passed! A sales tax which is projected to raise $180 million towards the $212 million Union Terminal restoration.

2015 – January 15th Day 5764! (498,009,600 seconds!)

2015 – CMC VP of Marketing, Communications, Collections & Research, Elizabeth Pierce, is named Interim CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center & the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Exhibits from 1999 to 2015

Our exhibits have become nationally recognized as we pursued world-class exhibits drawing large local and regional visitation as well as being profitable.

Mysteries of Egypt, 128,224 visitors (1999)

Titanic: The Exhibition, 161,000 visitors (2000)

Saint Peter and the Vatican, 184,000 (2003)

Nicholas & Alexandra: At Home with the Last Tsar and His Family, 36,000 visitors (2005)

Space: A Journey to our Future, 25,000 visitors (2005)

Titanic: The Exhibition (Second Showing), 133,000 visitors (2006)

From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America (2005)

Pirates: The Story of Slave Ship Whydah, 106,000 visitors (2007)

Lima Company memorial exhibit (2008)

Bodies: The Exhibition, 309,000 visitors (2008)

Freedom Sisters (2008)

Dinosaurs Unearthed, 115,000 visitors (2009)

Lost Egypt (2009)

Race: Are We So Different (2009)

Women & Spirit (2009)

America I AM: The African American Imprint (2010)

Titans of Ruyang (2010)

Art Of Caring (2010)

Gold: The Exhibition developed by the American Museum of Natural History made its final stop at Cincinnati Museum Center (2011)

Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt (2011)

Inspired by Anne (2011)

Duke Energy Trains added to Holiday Junction exhibit (2011)

A Day in Pompeii (Spring 2012)

Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times (Fall 2012)

Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana (2013)

Women Hold up Half the Sky (2013) NURFC

Diana: A Celebration (2014)

And Still We Rise (2014) NURFC & CMC

Mummies of the World (2014)

Sue Ann Painter's interesting article in AEQAI. ÆQAI (pronounced ‘I’ as in ‘bite ‘ and ‘qai ‘ as in ‘sKY’ ) is a Cincinnati-based e-journal for critical thinking, review and reflective prose on contemporary visual art.

Moving on to Farming - Family - Union Terminal restoration

Dear friends,

Almost twenty years ago, in an early morning phone call on one of those chilly summer mornings in the Finger Lakes region of NY state, I received a surprising phone call from my museum mentor Polly Jontz, President & CEO of Conner Prairie where I had just ended 13 years of wonderful and fulfilling work.

She shocked me by telling me that she was retiring from Conner Prairie. She realized very well that organizations must change and they must constantly reinvent themselves to continue to be vibrant.

As she had thought about what was required next for the museum, she said, “I just don’t have it in me to do it again.” She retired that year leaving it to others to take the museum to the next level.

It is for me today, in 2015, as it was for Polly in 1995. Time to leave it to others to take Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to the next level.

Thus, I am announcing to you that yesterday I submitted a letter to our Board Chair, Francie Hiltz, stating that, “It is with both a heavy heart as well as an uplifted spirit that I announce my intent to retire following our corporate Annual Meeting January 15, 2015.”

In this transition, I will stay engaged with CMC and the community, as the CMC board has engaged me as a consultant with the sole focus assisting in the restoration of Union Terminal (UT).

Since 2012 I have wondered what the right timing would be for me to step aside. In 2013 having completed the merger with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and had selected its new President, the prospect of retirement became more and more a consideration. My reservation was that I knew that I didn’t want to just stop, that I wanted to make sure I left things at CMC “finished.” As I talked about this to a few friends and confidants, I realized I wanted to be doing some-thing, just not the CEO-thing every day!

With Bob McDonald’s leadership of the Cultural Facilities Task Force, (CFTF) 2014 took off like a rocket ship. There wasn’t a moment I wasn’t fully engaged in the process. I believed this was our one and only chance to get Union Terminal restored. We could leave no energy unexpended, leave no “gas in the tank.”

Doing the UT project right is absolutely critical and is something for which I have a great passion. I also realize that being fully engaged in this project and as well as being CEO would be the wrong decision for me, for my family and if I overextended myself, the wrong decision for CMC.

While I do want to make sure the Union Terminal project is done correctly, as we have planned for over ten years, (and I want to make sure the design facilitates success for the museums), I don’t want to continue all that is required of a CEO, all that I have done for the past 16 years.

This UT project will be the fulfillment of my dreams and aspirations at Cincinnati Museum Center. While the building is amazing, the opportunities created by the right design of the “New Museum Center” is more exciting because the right design will create a platform for an amazing museum of arts, culture and science.

In October of 2007, I hired a very talented young, smart articulate woman, Elizabeth Pierce. I have always believed she could be a museum CEO someday and I am thrilled that effective January 16, 2015, the Board has elected her Interim CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center and National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Today I appointed her Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately, to facilitate a smooth transition of our museums.

Elizabeth is smart, has great instincts, knows museum administration and has a passion for this organization.

Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center have never been financially healthier than they are today. In 2014, for the first time in 17 years, CMC had no debt, CMC’s investments and externally held beneficial trusts has grown over tenfold in the past 9 years, from under $5 million in 2005 to almost $50 million today. There was a two year period when our debt exceeded our cash and investments!

In 2013, the Freedom Center balanced its budget for the first time in history and CMC’s past three fiscal years have been its best in its history.

This solid base, with talented staff and over $210 million now raised for the restoration of Union Terminal makes this a good time for change.

Change in my life will include many days on our farm just outside of Ripley, Ohio, with its connections to our childhood farm upbringings; its woods, pastures, bubbling springs, creeks, pre-civil war rock fences, an 1858 log cabin barn and cottage which makes it a special place. There we experience what Henry David Thoreau described writing, “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

I am looking forward to providing counsel to the board but also traveling, tending to cattle and cropland on our farm, writing about some of my personal experiences, doing select consulting, photography and writing about the future of museums and most importantly, spending time with my family.

On January 15, 2015, at the Cincinnati Museum Center Annual Meeting I will address the current and emeritus board members as CEO for the last time.

I wish Cincinnati Museum Center, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and all the wonderful people associated with these organizations much success and very special blessings in the coming years.

To all of the wonderful people who have been a part of Kay’s, Tim’s and my life in Cincinnati, we pray that God blesses you and that you experience the fullness of God’s love.

As I have learned in life and from so many in Cincinnati, to know our purpose is a simple matter of creating blessings for others. Thanks to all of you who have blessed us so richly.

Doug

Douglass W. McDonald 1301 Western Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45203 P: 513 287 7006 F: 513 287 7011 [email protected] http://www.cincymuseum.org Follow us on Facebook and Twitter http://www.facebook.com/cincymuseum http://twitter.com/cincymuseum

#Union terminal #Cincinnati Museum Center

Good morning, my name is Casey Thompson and you have my vote. I simply wanted to share a quick story and why I’m voting yes and urging others to as well. Sorry to respond so late but you have my permission to use this email if need be to encourage others to vote yes along with me. I was five when my parents divorced and didn’t quite comprehend what was happening nor did I understand the toll it took on me until much later in life. Seeing one’s father only a few days a week is tough for any child and parent. I can tell you that Union Terminal was a place we frequented often together. It provided an opportunity for my father and me to engage in positive and educational experiences together. It also helped to blunt the sharp and painful reality of the situation our family was in, even if only for a few hours. It was a place of bonding and a chance for us to share in and develop common interests in science and society. Those experiences were priceless. We still talk about them today 20 years later. Watching Omnimax films, examining fossils and discussing the endless wonders of our world. To deny a population of these experiences is irresponsible and selfish. We all benefit from educating our younger generations as they are the future and directly impact the direction of society. Keep up the great work and know you have my vote and my family’s vote next week! – Casey Edward Thompson

Often we think of museums as “nice to have” community amenities. This past week we received the following letter from Casey Thompson. This letter reminds us why we believe museums are so very important. - Doug

#Union Terminal #Issue 8 #Museums #Cincinnati Museum Center

I just supported YES ON 8 - Save Union Terminal on @ThunderclapIt // @myunionterminal

Today our team posted this photo and caption on Cincinnati Museum Center’s social media platforms. Perhaps you will be interested in the story behind this flag which hangs today in the Union Terminal Rotunda.

“On this day we remember those we tragically lost and we honor those who courageously risked everything to save another.

In response to the attacks on September 11, 2001, our President & CEO, Doug McDonald, with the help of businessman Carl Lindner, brought this flag to hang on the face of Union Terminal for all of Cincinnati and the world to see. This flag is our constant reminder of the heroism of our first responders and that this nation will forever stand united in the defense of freedom and liberty. #NeverForget”

On September 11, 2001, as we were all sitting in shock, management was spending time with our security team who were on high alert realizing that in Cincinnati; Union Terminal was one of the most visible landmarks with large crowds and a relatively unregulated entrance.

The shock began to convert to anger and then to patriotic pride. We decided we wanted to find the largest flag possible and put it on the front of Union Terminal to make a bold statement of patriotism to our community and to the world. Our team started making phone calls to find a really large flag. The largest size was 40 x 60 feet and we found just a couple in the country. We wanted to put it up the next day but there were no airplane flights allowed and thus, overnight shipping wasn’t possible.

Finally a flag was found in Northern Ohio and our team resolved that they would drive to get it taking turns driving to have the flag on Union Terminal the next day. In the end, ground transportation continued and they were able to ship it to us that night.

The total cost of the flag was a little less than $2,500. I mentioned to a staff person that I was going to call Carl Lindner and ask him if he would be willing to underwrite the cost. I received a response that this wasn't a big enough amount to bother Mr. Lindner and Cincinnati Museum Center could certainly pay for the flag from our budget. I explained that sometimes you give people the honor of making a gift, it isn't always about need. Mr. Lindner instantly said he would be honored to pay for the flag and I suspect he was proud each time he saw it as well.

These photos were taken at the Cincinnati Community Day of Remembrance ceremony on September 11, 2002. The museums were all opened the public for free that day as the two large hook and ladder trucks were positioned in front of Union Terminal with our large US flag suspended between them.

Today this flag hangs in the Cincinnati Union Terminal Rotunda and has instilled the spirit of freedom and the love of America to millions of people who have seen it since that day13-years ago.

#9/11 #9/11 memorial #usa #oldglory #Cincinnati Museum Center

• “Why would anyone not want this building on the ballot? • “We come here once a year to get together with our family. It is always a good time. • “I’ve never seen a place with so many options in one place.” • “I have been coming here for years. It is great to see security officers walking through here now.” • “This is the best place to come to. The price is right.”

Carla Ott, one of the special Cincinnati Museum Center / Duke Children's Museum staff members lets me know what visitors tell her. Here are this weeks comments.

#@saveouricons @cincymuseum

The REAL position of the Cincinnati Museum Center Board of Trustees regarding ICONTax. (Not the rumor)

The Cincinnati Museum Center Board of Trustees met the afternoon of August 13, 2014 and issued following statement:

“Cincinnati Museum Center Board of Trustees is abundantly grateful to the community for the continuous support for Cincinnati’s Union Terminal. We recognize the Cultural Facilities Task Force for their tremendous leadership in addressing the urgent needs of Union Terminal. We thank the Board of County Commissioners for placing a $170 million sales tax ballot issue before the public, which if approved, would advance the preservation of Union Terminal in an unprecedented manner.

The Board is actively considering the implications of the Commissioners Policy Resolution related to this upcoming sales tax ballot issue and have asked management to gather additional information before reaching a definitive position.

As we were in the beginning of this process, we remain committed to the full restoration of both of our community’s icons; Music Hall and Union Terminal and as such, we will work with the Music Hall Revitalization Corporation, the County, City and Cultural Facilities Task Force to achieve this outcome.”

Union Terminal’s history of reviews, evaluations and evaluations of evaluations.

2007, a 900 page comprehensive Master Plan of Union Terminal was completed. The project was contracted by Hamilton County and managed jointly with Cincinnati Museum Center.

2009, The Hamilton County Tax Levy Review Committee (TLRC) hired CR Architecture and Messer Construction to conduct an independent evaluation and pricing of the Master Plan. This was paid for by Hamilton County Taxpayers.

2009, the Hamilton County and Cincinnati Museum Center executed an operating contract which called for the development of a Union Terminal Capital plan, to work with County staff in the development of a revenue and cost scenario in order to build a complete financing plan for the repair of Union Terminal and which would identify alternative revenue sources for the capital plan.

2011, over $10 million dollars (Only 38% were County Levy Funds) were spent on repairing one section of Union Terminal. This project, managed by Hamilton County and bid exclusively by Hamilton County purchasing rules allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the extent of problems related to the Union Terminal building envelope and the extent of the damage to structural steel.

2012, the 2009 pricing and scope by CR Architecture and Messer was updated and reported to the TLRC as part of the TLRC’s Mid-Term Review of Cincinnati Museum Center. This pricing and scope review used the finding of the competed $10 million repairs.

“The Cincinnati Union Terminal is at a critical juncture in its life-cycle. As illustrated in this report, the amount and severity of deterioration of the facility will continue to increase progressively. If these critical system deficiencies are not addressed, the facility will continue to deteriorate at a rapid rate until a catastrophic system failure occurs. The most effective and cost efficient expenditure of tax-payer money is to address these problems holistically and in the near short term.”

– CR Architecture, May 11, 2011

2013, the UT building issues were addressed by the TLRC as part of the operating levy renewal. TLRC Chair Cooney wrote, “We believe that the Cincinnati Museum Center will continue to need funding from some source at the end of this levy tin order to continue property maintenance.”

2013, from September thru November the TLRC’s independent, taxpayer funded consulting team of Benefactor Group (nonprofit consultants) and Rea and Associates (certified public accountants) conducted a thorough review of the operations of the Cincinnati Museum Center.

November of 2013, the TLRC mandated an independent community review of the entire Union Terminal project to be presented to the TLRC by July 18, 2014.

December of 2013 Bob McDonald agreed to chair the Cultural Facilities Task Force (CFTF) which exceeded John Silverman’s expectations (Chair of TLRC CMC committee.). This study included the museums leaving Union Terminal for a new building, relocating to the Masonic Center, and repairing Union Terminal.

During this time Bob McDonald met with all three commissioners two times and John Silverman, the TLRC CMC Committee chair who drafted the TLRC document served as a member of the CFTF. County management also participated in the CFTF meetings. 5,000 professional hours were engaged in this process plus the committee member’s time.

June 23, 2014, almost a month before the report was due, the CFTF reported their findings to the Hamilton County Commissioners.

July 1, 2014, the Hines Corporation, an international development company with experience in building museums and concert halls was hired to conduct another independent evaluation and pricing paid for by the taxpayers.

July 8, 2014, ten days before the report was due, the CFTF reported their findings to the TLRC.

July 21, 2014, The Hines Corporation delivered their report to the TLRC.

July 23, 2014, A public hearing is conducted in Sharonville.

July 28, 2014, A public hearing is conducted at the County Administration Building.

Douglass W. McDonald, July 23, 2014 (Statement to Hamilton County, Ohio Board of County Commissioners)

John Maynard Keynes said, “Ideas shape the course of history.”

The essential question to all of us as leaders is, “what difference will we make.” At the end of our era of leadership or at the end of our existence, did we create a variance in the natural trajectory of that for which we were responsible?

It is not just a great idea that shapes the course of history, it is the leaders who take hold of the great idea and when opportunity presents itself; great leaders step forward. That moment is here, it is now, and it is before you.

The Cultural Facilities Task Force led by Robert McDonald exemplified distinguished leadership. They stepped forward, created a great idea and made personal sacrifices bringing the idea to you.

Restoring Union Terminal is the foundation for Cincinnati Museum Center’s becoming one of America’s greatest museums. Union Terminal and Music Hall are treasured and share our community’s soul.

This plan will change the natural trajectory of our community and its citizens forever.

Today, we ask you to permit our citizens the right of self-determination, to decide their own course of history at the ballot box.

This is, as Keynes said, an idea which will shape the course of our history.

John Maynard Keynes said, “Ideas shape the course of history.” The essential question to all of us as leaders is, “what difference will we make.” At the end of our era of leadership or at the end of our existence, did we create a variance in the natural trajectory of that for which we were responsible? It is not just a great idea that shapes the course of history, it is the leaders who take hold of the great idea and when opportunity presents itself; great leaders step forward. That moment is here, it is now, and it is before you. The Cultural Facilities Task Force led by Robert McDonald exemplified distinguished leadership. They stepped forward, created a great idea and made personal sacrifices bringing the idea to you. Restoring Union Terminal is the foundation for Cincinnati Museum Center’s becoming one of America’s greatest museums. Union Terminal and Music Hall are treasured and share our community’s soul. This plan will change the natural trajectory of our community and its citizens forever. Today, we ask you to permit our citizens the right of self-determination, to decide their own course of history at the ballot box. This is, as Keynes said, an idea which will shape the course of our history.

Douglass W. McDonald, July 23, 2014 (Statement to Hamilton County, Ohio Board of County Commissioners) Commissioners)

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