Nebraska Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission
Meeting Minutes
February 16, 2006
Mahoney State Park: Peter Kiewit Lodge, Cedar Room
Commissioners in attendance: Hull, Hornbaker, Mitchell, Moulton, Slader, M. Smith, and Wehrbein.
Staff in attendance: Emanuel, Swenson and Bastemeyer.
Special Guests/Advisors in attendance: Bat Shunantona, Vic Gutman, and Bob Pawloski.
Commissioners not in attendance: Johnson, gaiashkibos, Ruth, R. Smith, Stokes.
A quorum was satisfied.
Chairman Ron Hull called the meeting to order at 9:16 a.m.
Hull asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the January 20066 meeting. Michael Smith asked that Tony Schmitz name be corrected in the minutes. Wehrbein moved to approve the minutes with the name correction and Slader seconded. Unanimous voice approval.
Chairman Report:
Hull stated Judi gaiashkibos contacted him and asked if the commission would be interested in sponsoring a table for the First Annual Chief Standing Bear Breakfast on May 12, 2006. Hull brought the question to the whole commission for a vote. A roll call vote was taken. Motion to buy a table for the First Annual Chief Standing Bear Breakfast was approved; Moulton abstained.
Slader asked if Judi gaiashkibos would like to have the bust of Chief Standing Bear for the event. Hull asked Slader to contact gaiashkibos to inquire if she would like to borrow it for the day.
Hull continued by stating that the executive committee decided to limit the Native American Art Show to just the four federally recognized Nebraska tribes and the Otoe-Missouria tribe. The event will stay at the Nebraska Arts Council’s facility in downtown Omaha.
Emanuel stated that the show will hang from September 8-23. There will a reception on September 7 or 8 and on September 9 there will be Native American vendors outside the facility. There will not be cash prizes for the artists, just the prestige of being in the art show.
Gutman stated that his company will perform the administrative work of organizing the art show. Ricehill’s responsibilities include: recruiting the artists, organizing the jury of the art, and the installation and take down of the art exhibit. Gutman’s office is developing a timeline to make sure the event stays on schedule.
For the Friday, September 8 school field trip day, Gutman stated that the Joslyn has permitted the commission to use their facility, which can hold up to 900 people. The event may have to be broken into two sessions one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Priority will be given to Native American and Title I schools.
On Saturday, September 9 activities and programming will be held at the Joslyn, Durhan Western Heritage Center, Omaha Children’s Museum, National Parks Service, Laurtizen Gardens, and the Nebraska Arts Council. The venues will be opened free to the public from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. A trolley service will also be available to take visitors to each location. Gutman expect approximately 8-10,000 people. The Omaha Symphony and Brule have the evening of September 9 saved on their calendar for a performance at Lewis & Clark Landing. The commission should get a response from the Peter Kiewit Foundation by March about the grant proposal. If the Peter Kiewit Foundation chooses not to fund the symphony performance a fundraising campaign could be mounted in Omaha.
Gutman also stated that he will be meeting with the Iowa Western Trail Heritage in Council Bluffs, IA to discuss joint marketing.
Swenson stated that he spoke to a representative from the Henry Doorly Zoo. The zoo is interested in participating in our Omaha event, perhaps by showing the Lewis & Clark IMAX movie.
Gutman responded that the zoo may not be inclined to do it for free.
Hull expressed a concern that having something at the zoo may draw people away from the downtown activities.
Hull directed the commissioners’ attention to a draft outline of the September events. He called a motion to endorse the draft outline of the September 2006 plans and budget. Dr. Mitchell 2nd the motion. Roll call vote was taken. The commissioners approved the motion unanimously.
Executive Director Report:
Swenson reported that Corps II is confirmed to be at Ponca for the kick-off event on September 2-4.
Swenson also stated that he spoke with Mark Monson, Chair of the Iowa Lewis & Clark Commission. Monson stated that his commission is struggling. The Iowa Commission has always struggled with funding and they would appreciate help in marketing their 2006 events.
Swenson challenged the commission to think about legacy projects. Swenson stated an inventory of assets needs to be created (i.e. written material, digital material, photos, etc.) for information and archiving purposes. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has already compiled a small inventory list that can serve as a starting point. He asked the Commission to consider a possible event of this nature in the future so that Nebraska can identify all items and partners. Swenson also asked the Commission to consider keeping a small fund available within the Friends group that could be used to offset expenses of future Lewis and Calrk trail meetings or projects after the Commission sunsets in 2007. This would greatly assist those state agencies that may be charged with such legacy projects.
Coordinator Report:
Bastemeyer reported that she mailed almost 400 letters to Nebraska schools on February 1, 2006. There has been an overwhelming response. 35 schools have contacted her about participating with an approximate 1,486 total attendees, but to date no Native American schools have contacted her about attending.
Roundtable Discussion:
Bob Pawloski suggested that the Commission consider what will happen to their website in the possible scenario that LewisClarkandBeyond.com (formerly GNET) at the Peter Kiewit Institute not get refunded with Challenge Cost Share. The NE Commission web site is hosted at PKI free, as a added 'benefit' from their L&C funding from NPS.
The commission asked Pawloski to investigate what options the Commission has, including costs for sustaining the web site.
The meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m.