Memorial Center and Museum News

This section will be used to pass along news relating to the operation and maintenance of the A. B. Graham Memorial Center.

Article from "Progress" Edition of Piqua Daily Call (21 Feb 2009)

The mission of the A. B. Graham Memorial Center is to preserve a historically significant building as a venue for a community center and museum.  As a community center it provides the surrounding rural community with a place to meet, socialize, and attend performing arts, educational, recreational and fitness programs. As a museum it acquires, preserves and exhibits works of local, state and national significance, emphasizing the work of 4-H founder and nationally recognized educator A. B. Graham.  Mr. Graham was born and reared, attended school and started his administrative career near the center.  The only 4-H program in the nation based on museum-science was started and still operates at the center.

It is true that 2008 was a financially difficult year for us, but we did our best to decrease expenses and increase revenues without cutting services or raising prices.  One major improvement that will help us reduce long-term operating costs was the replacement of our highly inefficient heating system.  This would not have been possible without a $40,000 grant from the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission.  We are very thankful to the commission, the State of Ohio, Governor Strickland, State Representative Diane Fessler and members of the Ohio General Assembly for awarding this grant.  Our new energy-efficient heating system should help us keep operating costs down for many years to come. 

Seeking grant money will continue to be a major part of how we try to thrive in tough economic times and we encourage others to visit http://www.cultureohio.gov/ to learn more about grant opportunities.  Another source of revenue for us is our fundraising campaigns and we are part of a couple of exciting new campaigns this year.  We are participating in the 7^th Annual American Dream Raffle which has a guaranteed Grand Prize of $100,000 and numerous other prizes including a new car, a vacation and cash prizes ranging from $250 to $15,000.  If you purchase tickets with discount code ABG, you get a 10% discount on the ticket price and we get credit for the sale.  Visit AmericanDreamRaffle.com to learn more and don’t forget to use discount code ABG when you purchase tickets.  Another exciting fund raiser is the result of one of our trustees hiking all 2,178 miles of the Appalachian Trail this coming summer.  He is seeking penny-per-mile sponsors with all proceeds going to the A. B. Graham Memorial Center.  He gives a very informative and entertaining presentation on his 2007 Appalachian Trail hike, so if you need a speaker for a dinner or luncheon, please give us a call.  You can find more information at www.abgraham.org.

Communicating our services and events to area residents and surrounding communities continues to be a challenge.  We launched the http://www.abgraham.org/ web site in 2008, but we also want to work with other area businesses and non-profits to see if there are ways we can join forces to reduce advertising and mailing costs.  If someone produced and mailed a Miami County non-profit newsletter and charged other non-profits a small fee to advertise in it, I believe many area non-profits would participate.  Please contact us if you are interested in exploring opportunities to team up on advertising or direct mailing.

We hope to see you at an event this year.  Maybe at a senior’s luncheon, eBay class, intramural volleyball game, aerobics class, corn-hole tournament, public auction, pancake and mush breakfast, spaghetti supper, garage sale, summer picnic, fall festival, mud volleyball or golf tournament, pig roast, ladies tea or a myriad of other public and private events.  And remember, we have rooms and a gymnasium to rent, we cater, we have a fitness center and we have a wonderful museum to explore.

$100,000 Raffle is Under Way!!!

This is exciting!  We are beneficiaries of the American Dream Raffle this year and will get a percentage of the ticket sales for which we are responsible.  This local raffle has a guaranteed Grand Prize of $100,000 and numerous other prizes including a new car, a vacation and cash prizes ranging from $250 to $15,000.  If you want a chance to win some great prizes and help out the A. B. Graham Memorial Center at the same time, this raffle is for you.  You can get tickets at any Fifth Third Bank, by calling (800) 970-3121 or on-line at americandreamraffle.com.  Just be sure to use discount code ABG when you purchase your tickets so you get a 10% discount and we get credit for the sale.  Please note that the first EARLY BIRD drawing is on March 12^th so get your tickets before then to increase your chances of winning.

One of our trustees, Dan Cecil, hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in 2007 and plans to hike it again in 2009 as a fundraiser for the A. B. Graham Memorial Center.  Dan is seeking sponsors willing to donate money for each mile of the trail.  A pledge of a penny per mile would result in a tax-deductible donation of $21.78 (5cents/mile = $108.90 and 10 cents/mile = 217.80).  A contribution of any amount will be greatly appreciated.  Please consider supporting the A. B. Graham Memorial Center by sending a check made payable to:

A. B. Graham Memorial Center, Inc
P.O. Box 433
8025 E. US Rt. 36
Conover, OH 45317

Dan enjoys giving presentations about his experiences on the AT, so if you would like for him to give a presentation to your group just give us a call.  Please visit www.trailjournals.com/357magnum to read Dan's on-line journal from his 2007 Appalachian Trail hike and to follow his progress as he hikes the AT this summer.  This summer’s hike starts in early June near Harper’s Ferry, WV.  Dan plans to hike from there to Maine, then catch a ride back to Harper’s Ferry, WV and hike south during late summer and fall to Springer Mountain, GA.  Please follow along on Dan’s web site.

Update on Replacing Antiquated Heating System

The work is complete!  All that remains is to process all the paperwork to get reimbursed by the state and hopefully get one more grant from a local foundation to cover the remaining cost of the project.  We are very thankful to the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission, the State of Ohio, Governor Strickland, State Representative Diane Fessler and members of the Ohio General Assembly for awarding this grant.  Our new energy-efficient heating system should help us keep operating costs down for many years to come.

Lena-Conover, Brown Local & Brown Township Alumni School Reunion

Date:  Sunday, June 14, 2009 – 12:30 PM

Mark your calendars for this event too!  All graduates, students and teachers of Lena-Conover, Brown Local & Brown Township Schools are invited to the annual alumni reunion.  The museum is always open during the alumni reunion and the museum committee is still interested in any new items you might have for the museum.  If you have pictures or items of interest regarding the school, community, farm-related or 4-H they would appreciate a donation.  Plan now to join us for a fun day.

Fitness Zone News

This section will be used to pass along news about the Fitness Zone and fitness activities at the center.

If you use the A. B. Graham Memorial Center and you want to post something here about your organization or upcoming event, please go to the "Contact Us" page and enter your information.  We'll post it as soon as our volunteer staff can get to it.