NEWS

Florida Historical Society takes over Brevard Museum

Pam Harbaugh
FLORIDA TODAY

The Florida Historical Society officially expands its reach today when it takes ownership of the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science.

“We think it will be a very positive thing for both organizations,” said FHS executive director Ben Brotemarkle.

Not only will the FHS now have a museum facility to help educate the public about the history of Florida, but the museum will become a “destination museum” for residents and tourists, he said.

Moreover, the change in ownership should provide long-term financial stability to the museum, said its immediate past executive director, Nancy Rader.

The museum has an annual operating budget of about $200,000. The Florida Historical Society has an annual operating budget of about $700,000. The museum had been struggling month to month to stay open until two years ago, when it received a large endowment from Mary Helen Anderson, a founding member of the 45-year-old institution.

However, Rader saw the money “going down.”

The idea to involve the FHS first came up in early summer when Lee Bailey, the president of the museum’s board of trustees, approached Brotemarkle.

Bailey, who teaches humanities on the Cocoa campus of Eastern Florida State College, previously worked at the Rollins College philanthropy center. The museum board considered a list of other nonprofits and universities before approaching the Florida Historical Society.

“I’m very familiar with that dynamite board the Florida Historical Society has,” she said. “It was a great fit.”

Both boards voted unanimously for the takeover.

“They were sort of suffering from a perilous financial condition,” said Tom McFarland, the FHS finance committee chairman. “(They) were not gaining new members and not successful in grant funding.”

Currently, the museum has about a year’s worth of funds left, he said. That means the Florida Historical Society needs to “get on the ball right away” and raise money to “make sure this is a success.”

While the museum owns its building, the city of Cocoa owns the museum’s land. The county leases the land to the museum for $1 a year. The FHS has no immediate plans to try to purchase that land, said its former chief financial officer Juliet Fletcher, who currently serves as director of development and fundraising.

“It’s an exciting time for us,” said Len Lempel, president of the FHS board of directors. “There are real opportunities with this museum. It gives us another structure to showcase the Florida Historical Society.”

Currently, the FHS Discover Florida lecture series and the Archeological Institute lecture series are held to a maximum of 70 attendees in its Library of Florida History in Cocoa Village. Moving the lectures to the museum would allow the series to grow.

The FHS will hire a museum design consultant, though no immediate changes are planned.

The museum’s new director, Bruce Piatek, is also the director for the Florida Historical Society’s Archeological Institute. He has a long history in the field of science and natural history museums. He ran the Florida Agricultural Museum in Ormond Beach for 20 years and was in charge of grants and trails for Volusia County’s parks and recreation department.

“The physical plant is in good shape,” he said. “There is a potential for professional growth.”

He said the museum and its outdoor trail system deserve to become a destination for local residents as well as tourists. In addition to bringing in new exhibits and sprucing up current exhibits, Piatek plans to reach out to the community for ideas on short-term and long-term strategic planning.

Brotemarkle said no changes will be made to the museum’s name nor its heart.

“Although we are going to very carefully refresh and upgrade some of the exhibits, we’re not coming in and making too many sweeping changes,” he said. “We’re respecting what has been done already. This is an acquisition, but we also look at it as a partnership with the people who have been so passionate about this museum and are emotionally invested in it.

“From my perspective, it would be foolish of us to not bring those people along and do everything we could to make sure that they do stay involved in the museum. It’s these people who have made it what it is, and it’s a great museum.”

Contact Harbaugh at 321-242-3717, pharbaugh@floridatoday.com or twitter.com/pharb.

NASA exhibit

What: A gala opening of an exhibit with NASA Hubble Telescope photographs and a limited showing of artist Jackson Walker’s painting “They Called It La Florida,” on loan from the Florida House in Washington, D.C.

When: Nov. 14

Where: Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science, 2201 Michigan Ave., Cocoa

Cost: To be determined

Contact: 321-632-1830 or 321-690-1971