There is a New Breeze Blowing…

… through Hearthstone and it’s not just because of the restored windows.

We have a whole host of new volunteers! This includes three new docents giving tours and seven (that’s right seven!) more waiting in the wings while they finish their training. Many of our new volunteers are high school students with a passion for history and helping their community. Some new volunteers just want to meet new people and we have plenty of great ones to meet. Many of our new volunteers, including 15 interns, are helping our curator Lynne not only with curation duties but also by taking over Christmas decorating.

And speaking of dedicated new volunteers, we will be adding six new members to our Board of Directors next month. They join us from academia, industry, non-profits, and other community-centered institutions from across the Fox Valley. Check out next month’s newsletter for a peek at their incredible bios.

Our new real-time accounting procedures have been in place and working perfectly for over a year. Combined with our new accounting firm, Fox Valley CPA who, and with the help of our new bookkeeper, our new treasurer, and our new on-line accounting, filed our taxes this month way ahead of schedule. This is the first time filing has been done without filing an extension since... well… since anyone can remember. Oh and by the way, the new accounting firm did this year and last year’s filing for half the cost of the prior firm. We can’t thank them enough.

Our just completed Murder at the Mansion mystery events set record after record. We hosted 175 guests (a record) over 7 nights (also a record). In fact, we had to add an additional night because ticket demand was so high. We generated $12,495 in revenue and $10,587 in net profit (both records too). And it’s all because of the hard work of our new volunteers and the unbelievable generosity of our great guests.

Much of this success stems from the incredible work of our new social media coordinator Marissa Miller, owner of Social Buzz Collaborative. Marissa handles all of our social media channels. Her work is simply incredible. One of our TikTok videos has 2.8 million views. Importantly, views turn into visits as witnessed by our mystery success.

Plus, we are marking our 40th anniversary with new tours all summer long that celebrate every aspect of our marvelous history and why Hearthstone is on the National Register of Historic Places. This includes tours on technology, the paper industry, architecture, and art. All in addition to our Nooks and Crannies tours, which are racking up impressive numbers, and our Summer on the Veranda series which continues through August.

Wow, that IS a new breeze blowing through the museum.

Rest assured we are going to keep the windows - literally and figuratively - wide open.

George Schroeder, Executive Director