Formed in 2014 as a way to share resources and better promote their respective collections, programs and events, the NH Heritage Museum Trail will welcome Jeff Barraclough as president in 2019.
Director of Operations at the Millyard Museum in Manchester, one of the founding institutions of The Trail, Barraclough said he anticipates a strong 2019, highlighted by a collaborative program with Granite State Ambassadors. He said the partnership will foster deeper relationships between the Ambassadors and participating museums “to provide stronger word-of-mouth marketing exposure.”
“We will also continue growing other initiatives to make The Trail and museums on it more visible,” he said.
He described New Hampshire as fortunate with “so many world-class museums within a short distance of one another.”
“Our goal is to make more people aware of these important cultural resources and encourage residents and tourists alike to visit these museums and see all they offer,” he added.
Outgoing President, Mike Culver, who spearheaded The Trails’s formation as executive director of the Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro, said he is excited at the progress that has been made.
“We have been very successful in promoting our museums, so successful that the NH Travel and Tourism Department places our Trail brochure in every national and international tourism package they send out,” he said.
He cited other accomplishments, including a collaborative web site that links site visitors to every individual museum’s web site and an “aggressive press release program.”
“We have worked hard to keep all of our members in the public eye, encouraging visitation and making people aware of the diverse exhibits, programs and events that are available,” he said. “Over the years, every Trail member has seen a rise in visitor attendance.”
Expressing appreciation at Culver’s commitment, Barraclough said he looks forward to continuing his work.
“The museums on The Trail will continue to work together and help promote each other and The Trail as a whole,” he said.
In commenting on his tenure as president, Culver said he may be most proud of the relationships that have formed as a result of The Trail’s formation.
“There is a very high degree of professionalism in every staff of member institutions–and I think the public is aware of that and the educational and cultural importance that characterizes all our museums,” he said. “I am so proud of the museum professionals that I have come to know and respect.”
Comprised of 17 museums, the NH Heritage Museum Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes regions with stops in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth, and Wolfeboro.