|
‘Young blood' sought for BBHC board - By Mark Heinz
This document was published online on Monday, March 19, 2007
With 11 of its 40 members turning 80 this year, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's board of trustees is seeking younger blood.
Getting more “diversity” on the board was one recommendation of a recent report on the BBHC by the national consulting firm Marts and Lundy.
Marts recently completed an extensive review of the BBHC's administration and operations.
“By ‘diversity,' they mostly meant age,” trustee chairman Al Simpson said.
The board's youngest members are in their mid-40s, he added.
The board already is responding to the recommendations.
“We're going to have a director's committee, and its purpose will be to recruit new members, primarily younger people,” he said.
The board also is considering raising the number of trustees to 50.
The purpose would be to allow for mentoring new members, Simpson said.
Boosting the number of seats would allow veteran trustees to remain on the board - so new members could work alongside them and “absorb some of that wisdom,” Simpson said.
There's a perception that younger people might not have been selected for the board because membership hinges on a prospective trustee's ability to make large contributions to the BBHC, Simpson said.
“We're not picking people because they've got money, but because they love the place,” he said.
“There are five or six members on the board now who can't do much at all in the way of contributions,” he added. “Giving $1,000 - or even $500 - a year would be too much for them, but what they contribute in the way of ideas and effort is valuable.
“When I first came on the board, I couldn't contribute a Nickel,” he said.
The BBHC is seeking new ideas, he added.
“If you have an idea that would be a good one, spin it on,” he said. “We're looking for people who are willing to invest a great deal of their time without any compensation.”
The perception that money is a prerequisite for membership could come from the fact that some older members have retired in good fortune and are able to give plenty of money to the BBHC.
“But without those contributions, we'd be sunk” he said.
Still, the report revealed the BBHC gets less money from trustees than its “peer institutions” among eight Western museums.
“Contributions from our board add up to about 20 percent of the BBHC budget,” Simpson said. “Every one of the other peer institutions has a contribution level above 50 percent.”
The Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, has a contribution level of about 90 percent, he said.
Another idea from the report is to appoint a board president to serve under the chairman.
“The chairman would remain highly visible and be involved in fundraising and similar tasks,” Simpson said. “The president would be more involved in day-to-day operations and planning.”
|
Popular Searches