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Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center Names New Executive Director

by | Feb 10, 2016 | Business

By Susan Larson. Photo provided by the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center.

The Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center (FAMCC) has a new executive director.

Sara Poore, who served as the museum’s director of Education and Public Programs from 2008 to 2012, will begin her tenure as executive director on March 7, 2016. She replaces Susan Glasser, who left FAMCC in October 2015.

The museum ceased operations in April 2015. Then Executive Director Glasser said the move was necessary for “restructuring to ensure its [the museum’s] long-term financial viability.”

FAMCC will auction the McKann Center at noon on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in order to meet its debt obligations. “The proceeds from the auction will allow the museum to get out from under an unsustainable debt load that stemmed from renovating the historic Planters Bank building and the adjacent Carley building,” Board Chairman Tom Wack said.

Following the sale, the museum plans to consolidate into Old Town Hall at 909 Princess Anne St. That property was the museum’s sole home prior to the purchase and renovation of and expansion into the two other buildings. The museum hopes to reopen in the fall of 2016.

“Sara’s return to FAMCC comes at a seminal moment in the museum’s history,” Wack said. “We know she will help lead the museum in an exciting new direction.”

Poore has been director of operations and marketing for Fredericksburg-based Dovetail Cultural Resource Group since 2012. Before joining the staff of the FAMCC in 2008, she worked at the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar in Richmond and the George Washington Foundation in Fredericksburg. She is married to John Hennessy, chief historian and chief of interpretation at the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park.

“The museum is at a crucial turning point, and to be involved in the re- establishment is exciting,” Poore said. “The ability to re-invent the organization, while holding onto its past history, is going to be challenging, but a challenge I am excited to take on. Our goal is to create a new, dynamic organization that will reach future generations to come.”

Poore said she plans to listen to the community’s goals for the museum, create exhibits that reach diverse audiences, and work with other area organizations on dynamic programming and activities.

Poore has a bachelor’s degree in Historic Preservation with a focus in Museum Studies and Archaeology from Mary Washington College. She has a certificate of museum management from the Virginia Association of Museums.

More
FAMCC to Auction the McKann Center

FAMCC Suspending Operations to Face Financial Troubles

Fredericksburg Accepting Applications for Historic Resources Planner

Riverfront Park Plan Downsized from $20M to $5M

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