Annual General Membership

2016 Museum Review

February 8, 2017

Museum Board Members

Executive Board:

President: Don Rogers

Vice President Lloyd Taylor

Treasurer: John Lefler

Secretary: Terry Long

Museum Board:

Janie Browning

Rick Derek

Parker Destin

Norm Hall

Tina Harbuck

Terri Hensley

Mike Spigelmire

Russell Wamble

Museum Staff

Executive Director:

Kathy Marler Blue

Associate Director:

Tarra Wixom

Annual Corporate

Sponsors

VISIT THE MUSEUM

5,500 sq. ft. of exhibit space Park complex including seine boat, mullet boat, net reel, memorial walkway and first post office buildingOver 75 mounts of locally caught fishRodeo Gallery featuring “all things Destin Fishing Rodeo”History of the early pioneer familiesHistory of the fishing industryReef and Shark Dry AquariumsHistoric photographs and artifacts

VISIT THE MUSEUM

Scavenger hunts for the young and “young at heart”.Personal tour by museum volunteer or staff.Audio Tour with MP3 players & headsets or Exhibit QR Codes accessed from your smartphone.Book a tour for your group. School, home school, scouts, corporate, service industry, seniors, family reunions. The museum makes a great pairing with a local boating excursion or luncheon.Support the Museum with a membership, donation, or Annual Corporate Sponsorship.

Destin History & Fishing Museum General Meeting February 8, 2017---Treasurer’s Report: Calendar Year 2016 John Lefler - DHFM Treasurer

The calendar year 2016 was the most successful year in the history of the Museum on a number of fronts:

• Attendance at to Museum set an annual record of 10,634 visitorsThis was due to improved advertising, website, and newly added exhibits, funded by expanded fundraising efforts detailed below;

• Best financial performance since the Museum’s inceptionNecessary improvement due to a difficult 2015 due to extensive building repairs, and unfunded start to the exhibit expansion program;Key fundraising efforts started in 2016:

Started the Annual Corporate Sponsorship program,Began Tourist Development Council funding of expanded exhibits, Substantial donations by local individuals, including aboard members, andContinued support of local businesses.

• Sufficient improved Museum funds to allow the hire of a qualified Associate Director, Tarra WixomWill provide needed support for Executive Director, Kathy Marler Blue, to expand services and activities of the Museum.

• Thanks to these outstanding efforts by Board members, including this year’s new members, and especially volunteers and staff, the Destin History & Fishing Museum continues to grow and provide ever expanding services to the City of Destin and the residents and visitors to Okaloosa County.

We Invite You To Come Help Us Grow!

2015 to 2016 Accomplishments

• Museum Heritage Park Complex with restoration & addition of the seine boat Primrose, mullet boat Lil Jimmy, net reel and original Post Office with “Footprints in the Sand” memorial paver walkway.

• Addition of “Rodeo Gallery” presentation room featuring the history of the Destin Fishing Rodeo thru videos, photographs and artifacts. Gallery seats up to 50 visitors and utilizes latest AV equipment for presentations.

• Audio Tour for self-guided tours in several formats. Visitors can use at no added cost, MP3 Players with headsets or download the free QR Code Reader on their phone. The QR Code Reader app accesses each tour script in written and audio form at each of the labeled sites throughout the museum. Audio Tour added to the Old Destin Post Office on continuous loop.

• New exhibit entitled: “The Rodeo Fishbench”. This swingframe exhibit features the fishing tournament species including the scientific data on each fish, local captain comments, the Rodeo record for the species, and photos of local Rodeo catches.

• New exhibit entitled: “Gone, But Not Forgotten”. This swingframe exhibit features the stories of some of the early individuals who left their mark on Destin and its development. They were leaders that helped create the great social and economic base what would be built on over the years to bring Destin to the World Class Resort of today.

• Research area including information and genealogical data on the founding families.• New exhibit: a 12 foot American Alligator, great “photo-opportunity” spot inside the museum.• Created a 30-second commercial with Beach TV which ran June, July & August.• Participated with www.realgoodtv.com for the background video of Lisa Blackwell’s “Beyond the

Music/Destin”. The site also features the music video by Kevin Sport entitled, “Destin”.

Audio TourMuseum and Old Post Office

Museum Heritage ParkPaver Relocation & Mullet Boat Restoration

Rodeo GalleryPresentation Room Facilities

Early Family History ExhibitEntitled: “Gone, But Not Forgotten”Euro-Design Classic Floor Swinging

Panel DisplayTwenty five 30’X40” panelsFloorstand Design

This exhibit will feature the stories of those individuals who left their mark on Destin and its development that helped create the great social and economic base. This will be an ongoing exhibit.

Expand Destin Fishing Rodeo Exhibit“Rodeo Fishbench”

Steel Swinging Panel Countertop DisplayTwo sets of twelve 20” X 24” panelsTabletop Design on Custom “fishbench”

This exhibit will feature the mainspecies of locally caught fish. Eachspecies data exhibit will include:the scientific information on thespecies, a prologue from a localcaptain on the species, and acollection of 4”X6” photos of localanglers with the species.

2017 Plans

• Add additional fishing videos to the Rodeo Gallery• Add Rodeo Weighmaster recorded stories thru QR Reader access to the Rodeo Gallery• Recreation of the Rodeo Leaderboard in the Rodeo Gallery• Create a “Science of Fish” and Children’s “hands-on” exhibit• Add historic data markers to the Museum Historic Park Complex on founding families• Add exhibit including early historic documents• Reconfigure the Pioneers of Paradise exhibit• Increase inventory of mounts of locally caught fish species• Build a new Native American artifact exhibit• Develop and install a commercial fishing exhibit• Broaden advertising and promotion• Increase programming• Initiate a digital artifact inventory system• Build a new backlit exhibit housing to hold the early church history and local church stained glass