American Alliance of Museums gives highest national recognition after lengthy process

CANTON, OHIO – The Pro Football Hall of Fame, after a stringent review process, has achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums.

Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments,funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. Alliance Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement.

Developed and sustained by museum professionals for over 45 years, the Alliance’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability. It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable to provide the best possible service to the public.

The Hall of Fame joins a list of just over 1,070 of the estimated 33,000 museums (a mere 3%) in the United States to earn AAM accreditation.

“The accreditation from our peers in the museum industry validates that the entire team at the Hall of Fame demonstrates professional excellence daily that aligns with our important mission to honor the heroes of the game, preserve its history, promote its values and celebrate excellence everywhere,” stated Pro Football Hall of Fame President David Baker.

“I commend Executive Director Joe Horrigan, the entire dedicated staff and the leadership provided by our Board of Trustees at the Hall who’ve been working for years to achieve this historic distinction.”

To earn accreditation, the Pro Football Hall of Fame first had to go through a lengthy and rigorous process that included Core Document Completion and Verification, a year of self-study, and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers.

“Accredited museums are a community of institutions that have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to excellence,” said Laura L. Lott, Alliance president and CEO. “Accreditation is clearly a significant achievement, of which both the institutions and the communities they serve can be extremely proud.”

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2017 ISHY winners announced

The International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) is pleased to announce its 2017 Communication Award winners. The eight winners were presented the ISHY trophy Oct. 19 during the Evening of Champions dinner at the group’s annual conference hosted by the Woman’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ winning entry of their book titled St. Louis Cardinals, Uniforms and Logos – An Illustrated History was also voted upon by conference attendees as the “Best in Show” overall winner.

The Communication Awards program was established to provide recognition for excellence in publications by all member sports museums, halls of fame or sports heritage organizations, regardless of size or budget, based upon a competition evaluated by ISHA members and communications professionals.

The 2017 ISHY winners are:

• Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame – St. Louis Cardinals, Uniforms and Logos – An Illustrated History
• National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame – 44^th Annual Induction Banquet Program
• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum – 2016 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program
• World Golf Hall of Fame – The Tower Magazine
• Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame – Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame Rack Card
• Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame – Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame Activity Booklet
• World Golf Hall of Fame – Celebrate Golf’s Greatest Legends
• BC Sports Hall of Fame – The Importance of the BC Sports Hall of Fame

The International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) has named the executive director of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame as the recipient of the prestigious Schroeder Award.  Sheila Kelly, (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) was recognized during ISHA’s Oct. 19 Evening of Champions dinner at its annual conference, which was held in Knoxville, Tenn., at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Presented periodically, the W.R. “Bill” Schroeder Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor presented by the International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) and is awarded to individuals for meritorious service of lasting nature in the sports heritage industry.

“Sheila has distinguished herself as an outstanding museum leader and strives for excellence in all aspects,” ISHA President Susan Wasser said. “Her engaging leadership skills, passion, dedication, and ingenuity have transformed sports heritage within Saskatchewan. We are thrilled to be able to honor Sheila with this award and provide her this well-deserved recognition.”

“I am humbled and honored by this recognition awarded by my peers,” Kelly said. “It was certainly not something I expected. It serves as a reminder that this industry and the people in it are a very big part of my life both personally and professionally.”

Kelly has served as executive director for the Hall of Fame for 28 years. During her tenure, she has impacted sports heritage from the local to the international levels by developing the Hall of Fame as the leading sports heritage association in her province.

Additionally, she is credited with nurturing the development of multiple satellite halls, sports museum and sports heritage research projects. Multiple books about amateur sports have been published under the auspices of SSHF during her tenure.

Diane Imrie, executive director of Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, called Kelly “a respected museum professional and a sought-after leader … Kelly has demonstrated a willingness to help out whenever called upon by colleagues.”

Kelly has served as the President of the Museums Association of Saskatchewan (1999-2001); the Canadian Association for Sport Heritage (1995-98); and International Sports Heritage Association (2009-2010).

Under her leadership, the SSHF took more of a museum focus and substantially increased its permanent collection. On behalf of the Hall of Fame, Kelly secured a formal agreement with the Province’s most successful sports team, Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, to house its entire collection.

She has overseen the rebranding of her organization including the development of a new logo and an ISHY Award-winning website, among others.

Working with a small staff and limited resources, Kelly engages volunteers and members of the SSHF and to partner with community organizations to meet desired outcomes. Among the non-traditional collaborations is the co-publishing of a limited edition exhibition catalogue with a local art gallery and providing pre-concert activities for the Regina Symphony Orchestra Kids Concert Series during the presentation of “The Hockey Sweater.”

 “Such innovative programming ideas have brought new audiences into the world of sports heritage that help break down barriers of preconceived notions of the role that a sports hall of fame can play in a community,” Imrie said.

The official presentation of the Schroeder Award will take place on October 19, 2017, at “An Evening of Champions” as part of ISHA’s annual conference, hosted this year by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville.

Kelly earned a bachelor of arts in archaeology and a master of arts in anthropology and archaeology from the University of Saskatchewan in 1985 and 1987, respectively.

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With hurricane season in full swing, here are some reminders from  the Heritage Emergency National Task Force. Please share this information widely.

• Track storms via the National Hurricane Center, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.
• Gather your staff and review your disaster plan today. No disaster plan? Put that at the top of the to-do list once the hurricane passes (and hope you didn’t need it this time).
• If you have a disaster plan, make sure everyone has a printed copy to take home. An electronic version may be useless if you lose power.
• Make sure staff, volunteer, and board contact lists are up to date. Determine how you will communicate with one another before, during, and after the storm.
• Make sure your insurance and disaster recovery vendor contact information is readily available.
• If you don’t already have up-to-date images (photographic/video) of your facility’s exterior and interior, including storage areas, now’s the time to take them. Being able to illustrate how your building and collections looked before damage will be helpful if the need arises to pursue recovery financing.
• Back up electronic records and store the back-ups off-site or in the cloud.
• Secure outdoor furniture, bike racks, book drops, etc. – anything that can become a projectile in strong winds.
• Move collections that are in areas vulnerable to flooding – i.e., the floor, the basement – or susceptible to rain – near windows or under roofs.
• If you have time, cut lengths of plastic sheeting to be able to throw them over shelves or equipment should the building envelope be compromised.
• Know the location and shut-off procedures for water, electricity, and gas.
• Download the free ERS: Emergency Response and Salvage app, based on the Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel, http://www.conservation-us.org/emergencies/ers-app.
• Review individual or family plans. You’ll feel better attending to your organization knowing that your loved ones are safe.
• For tips on what to do before, during, and after a hurricane, go to https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes.
• Keep this 24/7 hotline number handy: 202.661.8068. The National Heritage Responders, a team of trained conservators and collections care professionals, are available 24/7 to provide advice.
• Download FEMA’s “After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures” fact sheet, with tips and resources for individuals and institutions, https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/113297.
• Familiarize yourself with the disaster declaration process in case one is declared for your state, https://www.fema.gov/disaster-declaration-process.

If you have any questions, please contact the Heritage Emergency National Task Force directly at [email protected].

FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution co-sponsor the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, a partnership of 42 national service organizations and federal agencies created to protect cultural heritage from the damaging effects of natural disasters and other emergencies.

July 8, 1867 marked the 150th anniversary of the Paris Crew’s astonishing victory at the World Rowing Championship in Paris, France. Their win, just seven days after Confederation, made the New Brunswick based rowers the first Canadians to win an international sporting event.  The “Saint John Four” overcame remarkable odds to defeat the much better trained and equipped Oxford University crew and by doing so became Canada’s, and New Brunswick’s, first sports heroes. The crew was comprised of Elijah Ross, George Price, Samuel Hutton, Robert Fulton –three fishermen and a lighthouse keeper. In celebration of this significant historical event, the NB Sports Hall of Fame (NBSHF) spearheaded the delivery of initiatives to commemorate this 150th anniversary.

The New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame undertook various commemorations activities to tell the story of the Paris Crew; including:

• On site exhibition featuring numerous artefacts pertaining to the Paris Crew story and the history of rowing in New Brunswick
• The development of a portable traveling exhibit that was featured at notable community events across the province
• Three 20 minute vignettes performed in front of the NBSHF and other communities chronicling the story of the Paris Crew
• A re-enactment that was staged on the Saint John River on July 8 2017, the 150^th anniversary of the Paris Crew’s victory

In order to carry out our Paris Crew project, we graciously received funding from the the Government of New Brunswick Commemorations Fund, International Sports Heritage Association Exhibit Grant, the Canada Heritage Community Stories Grant, and the City of Fredericton.

The New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame increased awareness and exposure of the 150^th anniversary of the Paris Crew through heightened online presence, social media, grass-roots communications and engagement with local media. Through the Community Stories Program, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame will further increase awareness of the Paris Crew anniversary through the online exhibit entitled The Pairs Crew of Saint John, New Brunswick: Canada’s First International Sports Heroes.

At the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, our mission is to preserve and celebrate our sports heritage to inspire greatness. Our vision is to honour the best and inspire the rest. For more information please visit us at http://nbsportshalloffame.com/, like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NBSportsHallofFame/, or follow us on Twitter @ NBSHF.

The New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame is thrilled to announce that the various activities held throughout the summer of 2017 have reached over 11,850 people, to date.