BEHIND THE SCENES...
I thought I would use my first blog on our fabulous new website as a way to take you behind the scenes. So much work goes on behind the scenes to keep a museum such as ours up and running and it just wouldn't be open at all if it wasn't for our amazing team of volunteers.
We have had an interesting year since April 2024 when we started the transition to a totally volunteer-led organisation.
MEET THE TEAMS:
There are many different teams who all have specific roles to play - collections, events/fundraising, finances, admin, shop sales, tourist information point.
The COLLECTIONS TEAM of 3 is headed by Margaret Coward, along with Brian and Julie. They have their own blog on this website, so you can always keep up with what they are doing. They perform the vital work of maintaining the collection in the right condition, and are always on the lookout for visiting insects who might want to come and live with us! Our collection shows what a very varied and interesting history the village of Combe Martin has, and is regularly updated with new artefacts and exhibitions during the year.
One of the main regular FUNDRAISING events is our fortnightly COFFEE MORNING (held every other Tuesday throughout the year). This brings many of the local community together with a chance for a chat over coffee and cake and these coffee mornings contribute around £200 a month to museum funds. Our hardworking team is headed by Jan Jones, who has been a volunteer at the museum since it opened.
Our Treasurer, Fran Beaumont audits our accounts and keeps an overall eye on the finances, insurances etc., and the day to day FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT is carried out by Ingrid Hardiman who works tirelessly to balance the books and pay all the bills.
The EVENTS/FUNDRAISING committee is run by Jenny Easton and the small committee meets regularly to plan a programme of events, some of which are held in the evenings and others in the afternoon. Have a look at the EVENTS section to see what is coming up next.
The Museum houses the local TOURIST INFORMATION POINT in reception, which has available a great variety of maps and information books and leaflets for visiting holiday-makers and locals alike. And we have recently revamped our SHOP SALES AREA. Nicky and Sheila have worked hard to make this so attractive and it is now stocked with some lovely gifts and has a large selection of greetings cards, some of which feature photos from our own collection. Do come in and have a look next time you are passing.
Helen runs our SECOND HAND BOOK SALES which brings in a lot of villagers throughout the year and she takes a selection each month to the FARMER'S MARKET in the village hall.
We have 7 Trustees who meet regularly to discuss the overall running of the museum and who make any administrative decisions that are needed. There are always several of them at events or working as stewards in the Museum during opening hours, so any concerns or ideas can be raised with them. The Chair of Trustees is Shirley and she heads up the management team, dealing with the day-to-day correspondence, emails etc.
I hope that this has given you all an idea of what goes on behind the scenes and what our wonderful group of volunteers gets up to. The volunteers will be writing their own blog on this site, so look out for stories from them.