Division employees and volunteers recognized at end-of-year meeting
During an end-of-year staff meeting on Dec. 11, 2017 at the St. Jones Reserve, the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs honored its employees and volunteers who helped make 2017 a noteworthy year for the agency.
Zwaanendael Museum historic-site interpreter Andrew Lyter drew the attention of the assembled staff members with a stirring bagpipe performance followed by division Director Tim Slavin who began the program by honoring three employees who had been promoted within the agency during the past year—Dan Davis, Tammy Dayton and Dominique Martucci. Noting that vacancies within the division had started to open up after a period when hiring was frozen by state government, Slavin announced that in January 2018, the agency would be welcoming Laura Walsh as the new curator of collections management and Sara Clendaniel as the new volunteer services coordinator.
After Slavin presented a 10-year service award to Tammy Dayton, division staff members came to the podium to honor their colleagues by bestowing Extra Mile Awards to Andrew Lyter for his actions beyond the call of duty in support of the Zwaanendael Maritime Celebration; Jim Shilling for his many years of volunteer service at the Johnson Victrola Museum; and Business Services Team members Tammy Dayton, Dominique Martucci and Jan Rettig for stepping up their efforts after two fellow team-members departed the division during the course of the year. Finally, Slavin and Deputy Director Suzanne Savery presented a congratulatory graphic, signed by division staff members, to Cherie Dodge-Biron who left the division after many years as the manager of the Business Services Team.
Following the awards presentations, leaders of the division’s teams discussed recent accomplishments and upcoming plans including the following:
–Achieved accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums
–Cleared and organized the Island Field site
–Repurposed restrooms at the New Castle Court House Museum
–Celebrated the 250th Anniversary of John Dickinson’s “Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania”
–Removed a damaged silver maple at Woodburn and developed plans for replacing the tree
–Presented new exhibits and special programming at the division’s five museums
–Developed a new division logo
–Accessioned 200 boxes of artifacts from the Avery’s Rest archaeological site into the collections of the State of Delaware
–Eliminated water infiltration at Hale-Byrnes House
–Completing a new State Historic Preservation Plan
–Planning for improvements to the lightkeeper’s house at Fenwick Island Lighthouse
–Planning for paperless processing of invoices
–Conducting renovations to the Buck Library at Buena Vista
–Completing the inventory of the collections of the State of Delaware by consultants from AECOM (Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, Operations and Maintenance)
–Developing a report on the effects of sea-level rise on historic properties in Delaware