Press Release, April 2016

NM Historical Society volunteers honored for 100 hours of service:

Diana Iden, Peggy Gilbert, Lori Heeter, Bonnie Hileman and

Diane Eshelman. (Not pictured: Arlene Deardorff, Lark Killingbeck,

and Jolene Reiff).

2016 NM Historical Society Volunteer of the Year

Jeanne Andersen with NM Historical Society President

Mary Chrastil.

Several NMHS volunteers who earned their 100-hour t-shirts in past years. Seated: Mary Chrastil, Gladys Airgood, Carolyn Reed. Standing: Jeanne Andersen, Joyce Joy, Karen Hewitt, Tom Brown, Paula Dee, Ralph Naragon, Becky Naragon, Carolyn Underwood, Loree Pritchard, Jane Ann Airgood, Nancy Schuler, Ruth Hawley, and Bernie Ferringer.

    NM Historical Society Honors Volunteers

April is National Volunteer Month. On April 27, the North Manchester Historical Society honored 68 volunteers at a reception at the NM Center for History. The volunteers served as docents, researchers, exhibit planners, fabricators and artists, Thomas Marshall House docents, board members, program planners, preservation group members, school day volunteers, administrators, and in many other capacities.

A highlight of the evening was honoring volunteers who have accumulated 100 hours of service. These milestone volunteers received a polo shirt with the North Manchester Center for History logo. Those reaching the 100 hour mark this year were Arlene Deardorff, Diana Iden, Diane Eshelman, Lark Killingbeck, Peggy Gilbert, Lori Heeter, Bonnie Hileman and Jolene Reiff.

The Volunteer of the Year award was given to Jeanne Andersen. According to NMHS President Mary Chrastil, "there was no question about who should receive this award this year. Jeanne stands above all the rest. Jeanne served as Center for History Director from 2000 to 2007, and she really understands how a museum works." Her key contribution this year is the hours and hours she has put in on exhibits—not only in researching and creating the new pre-historic and early settlers areas, but also improving already-existing exhibits throughout the building. A stickler for research and authentication Jeanne not only fabricates the actual exhibits, but spends hours planning, researching, and writing, which are all very time-consuming processes.

Mary went on to declare that "Also, Jeanne is our go-to person on computer programs. This spring, we upgraded our operating systems and software, linked our 5 computers and laptop more effectively, and even updated our basic museum software program. Jeanne took on this responsibility, and it’s gone really smoothly."

This year, volunteers recorded 8,541 hours of service from April 31, 2015 through March 31, 2016, the equivalent of 4.1 Full Time Employees. Total volunteer hours since the Center opened are 63,3372. Using the guidelines provided by The Independent Sector volunteer website, the 63,372 hours translate into volunteer services valued at $1,493,044. In other words, Historical Society volunteers have donated almost 1.5 million dollars of service since the Society began keeping records in 2000.

The North Manchester Historical Society includes the North Manchester Center for History, the Thomas Marshall House Museum and the Historic Homes Preservation Group. These groups are all not-for-profits who depend almost exclusively on volunteer support.