TAM Needs You! 

The Tennessee Association of Museums is looking to fill a few board positions – and we need you!

Two available positions – Vice President, West TN (represents the West TN region) and Development Chair (works with exhibitors and sponsors for the conference each year) –- are filling vacant positions that will expire March 2020. These two-year commitments are renewable once the term is complete.

Additionally, we are looking for a Membership Chair (develops membership recruitment and strategies) and a Technology Chair (assists with the website and other technology uses for the organization). These positions are three-year commitments that would expire in March 2021.

The board meets four times a year, twice in Middle TN and twice at a TAM conference site.  Additionally, we have monthly calls. To learn more about TAM's mission check out our by-laws at http://tnmuseums.org/bylaws.

If you are interested in helping TAM fulfill its mission, please contact the TAM President, Ken Mayes, at ken.mayes@amse.org.

Tennessee Museums Represented at Museum Advocacy Day

Tuesday, February 27 was Museums Advocacy Day in Washington, DC. Hosted by the American Alliance of Museums, this day brings people from across the country to Capitol Hill to advocate for the issues important to museums. Important topics for 2018 included funding for IMLS, NEH, and NEA, the charitable tax deduction, and the important contributions museums make to the local economy. Susan Edwards, Executive Director for the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, and John Dichtl, President and CEO, and John Marks, External Relations Coordinator, for the American Association for State and Local History represented the state of Tennessee. For more information on how you can advocate for museum issues in DC and at home, explore resources from the AAM website or attend the session at the upcoming TAM conference. It is important that we make our voices heard.

Upcoming Program: The Road to Suffrage: Knoxville 

Tennessee figured prominently in the quest for woman suffrage when a young man’s vote in the Tennessee Legislature, August 1920, changed the course of political history for Tennessee and the nation. The public is invited to a free program at the East Tennessee History Center on Sunday, March 18, 1–4pm, as leading scholars discuss the suffrage movement in Tennessee and the important work of the women who rallied to win the support of the people and the legislature. A Woman Suffrage Teacher Workshop exploring the history of woman suffrage through historical background, resources, and classroom strategies will also be held on Saturday, March 17, 9am–3pm. For more information about both programs, click here.

It's Finally Here! The TAM Annual Conference 2018!

Next week – on March 21–23 – is the 2018 Tennessee Association of Museums Annual Conference, and we hope that we will see you there! Check out the schedule of sessions and events here. This year's guest speakers include Hobart Akin, the cultural resources and exhibits specialist for Tennessee State Parks; Ashley Berry, supervisory park ranger at Shiloh National Military Park, overseeing the daily interpretive operation of the Corinth Unit; and Cheryl Wills, veteran anchor for Spectrum News NY1 and author of three books about her great-great-great-grandfather Sandy Wills who fought in the Civil War.

The conference will be held at Pickwick Landing State park near Shiloh, the site of one of the most intense (and storied) battles of the Civil War.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

To register for the conference, click here.

CONFERENCE HOTEL

The hotel for the 2018 TAM Conference is the Inn at Pickwick Landing State Park. It looks like the conference hotel is now fully booked; if you are looking for other hotel options, try Comfort Suites in Jackson; Econo Lodge in Jackson; the Double Tree in Jackson; and the Americana Inn in Henderson (731-989-0111).

CALL FOR CONFERENCE VOLUNTEERS

The conference still needs volunteers to help with a variety of tasks, and a volunteer schedule/sign up is now live on the website here. This is a great way to be part of the conference team, and if you volunteer for 2 hours, you can attend the conference for free on the day that you volunteer. Please note that this does not include meals or evening events, which can be purchased separately.

TAM AUCTION DONATIONS

TAM always holds a silent auction and a live auction during the conference, and we are asking you to help us with auction items! As always, we are looking for items that will intrigue bidders – for instance, books, tickets to events, clothing, works of art, pottery, and bottles of wine from Tennessee wineries are always favorites. "Experiences" like weekend getaways, cultural attraction packages, hotel stays, and dinners at local restaurants are also quite appealing. To find out more and to let us know you will donate something to be included in the TAM Conference auctions, please complete this form. All proceeds benefit TAM and the services it offers its members. Your support is greatly appreciated!