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JOIN US IN EL PASO FOR THE 2009 TAM ANNUAL MEETING
Make your plans today to join friends and colleagues at the TAM Annual Meeting, March 17-20, 2009.

Annual Meeting program online in early January

The conference hotel is the historic Camino Real El Paso in the heart of downtown, adjacent to the museum district. The room rates for this elegant hotel are reasonably priced at just $103 single/double, $118 triple and $133 quad per night, plus applicable taxes. This grand hotel offers a fully equipped gym, outdoor swimming pool, and onsite restaurants with both fine dining and regional cuisine. Call the Camino Real toll-free at 800-769-4300 and reserve your room before the room block fills up. Be sure to mention the Texas Association of Museums to get the special rate!

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COUNCIL MEETING DATES ANNOUNCED
The TAM Council will meet on the following dates:

December 5, 2008 - Museum of Modern Art, 3200 Darnell St, Fort Worth, 10 a.m. – noon and 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

January 30, 2009 – Laguna Gloria Art Museum, 3809 West 35th Street, Austin, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The spring Council meeting will be held in conjunction with TAM annual meeting. Council will meet on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. at the Camino Real Hotel.

Annual Business meeting for Council and all TAM members will be held in conjunction with TAM annual meeting on Wednesday, March 18, 2009, from 4:15 until 5:00 p.m. at the Camino Real Hotel.

All TAM members are welcome to attend.

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NTMA/TAM FALL WORKSHOP HELD IN LONGVIEW

TAM teamed with NTMA to present the fall workshop called "Strength in Numbers: Making the Most of Resource Sharing." Hosted by the Longview Museum of Fine Arts, the workshop offered ideas for creative collaborations for museums. The event kicked off with a seated dinner in the main gallery at LMFA and an opportunity for the participants to get acquainted. After dinner, the group took a brief walk "down the alley" for a special tour of the Gregg County Historical Museum, conducted by executive director Neina Kennedy.

The "work" portion of the workshop began on Monday morning with presentations by Niki Blaske, educator, and Renee Hawkins, director, at LMFA. The group, which included 22 museum employees, trustees, volunteers, artists, collectors, and interns, took advantage of the comfortable small-group environment to ask many good questions. Scott Peck, director of The Biblical Arts Center/Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas, spoke next and inspired the group to look for ways to work together. In the last session before lunch, John Ernst, NTMA Treasurer and Vice President of HI DEF Technology Solutions, discussed "Museum Partnership and the Bottom Line."

Ruth Ann Rugg concluded the program with comments about how TAM can play a role in resource sharing. Several participants joined NTMA on the spot as chair Georgia Caraway described the networking benefits of the regional association; “The Collaborative Workshop turned out to be all we expected and more. The interaction among the attendees was one of the best sharing environments I have experienced in my 10 years as a TAM member. The speakers and the participants all gained valuable tips on how to create cooperative ventures with other art and history museums and varied community organizations to provide win-win events.”

This workshop counts toward completing your TAM Professional Development Certificate. For more information on TAM’s Certificate Program, go to http://www.io.com/~tam/ContEd/pdcprogram.html

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SOUTHEAST TEXAS MUSEUM ASSOCIATION HOLDS FALL WORKSHOP

Left to right: Lauren Ham, Megan Lickliter, and Catharin Lewis

The Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire, Texas hosted the fall meeting of the South East Texas Museum Association (SETMA) on Monday, November 17, 2008. The guest speaker from the Texas Independence Trail Region, Lee Towns, encouraged the attendees to utilize her organization's resources to more effectively promote historic and cultural sites. After the short business meeting led by SETMA President Susan Smyer and Ms. Towns' talk, Jenni Malone, Executive Director of the Nature Discovery Center, treated the group to a tour of the facilities. The giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches were a group favorite!

SETMA plans to meet again in late winter at the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur.

This workshop counts toward completing your TAM Professional Development Certificate. For more information on TAM’s Certificate Program, go to http://www.io.com/~tam/ContEd/pdcprogram.html

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TAM MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

TEXAS MONTHLY MAGAZINE OFFERS ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY
The Texas Association of Museums sponsors a full page in Texas Monthly magazine devoted to museums in Texas. Texas Monthly is thrilled to introduce a new category into Marketplace that will help expand your reach to more than 2 million readers! This page, and the low rates, are only offered to members of the Texas Association of Museums. It is designed especially for small museums that would not normally have the budget to pay for larger ads in Texas Monthly. Please call 800-780-0007 to reserve your space today!

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HERITAGE BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL TAM has entered into a special relationship with Heritage Business International, an online service connecting museum projects and project consultants. For more information, go to www.heritagebusiness.org

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YOUR PURCHASES SUPPORT TAM Don’t forget to use your TAM buying code to receive discounts on your purchases of archival and library products from Gaylord Brothers. Please be sure to use Priority Code: TXMA04 when placing an order. It is easy to do. Simply place an order with Gaylord Bros using the TXMA04 Gaylord Discount Program when placing an order at www.gaylord.com or 1.800.448.6160.

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