PUBLICK OCCURRENCES– JULY 11, 2023
It’s that time of year. The Mass History Alliance is happy to announce the candidates for the Board of Directors, 2023-2026 (3 years) see below.
Save the Date! The annual meeting will be held on Zoom on July 27, 3-5 pm. Registration required. Register here.
Open to members of the member organizations. Feel free to sign in a little early to the Zoom call, to socialize and so we can start on time.
- 2023 MHA Annual Report
- 2023-2024 MHA Proposed Budget
- Voting: All member organizations will be sent one digital election ballot on July 18, and the election closes on July 27, 4 pm, during the annual meeting. The Election will be ongoing July 18-27. See below for new officer and director names and profiles.
Sign up deadline for organizations to vote in this election: July15
Agenda 2023 Annual Meeting July 27th 2023
3:05 — Intro (Pleun Bouricius, President)
3:10 — Annual Report — discussion (*action item) (Pleun Bouricius, President)
3:20 — Treasurer’s Report (Eric Peterson, Treasurer) — discussion (* action item)
3:40 — 2023/24 budget discussion — (Pleun Bouricius, President) (* action item)
4:00 — Closing of the election — results should be available immediately (Eric Peterson)
4:05 — Congratulations and introduction of the new board members (Pleun Bouricius)
4:10 — Board vote to fill vacated officer position: President — candidate John Galluzzo
(* action item) (Mike Potaski)
4:10 — Discussion plans for 2023-4
4:20 — Questions and discussion
4:30 — Discuss committee participation of board members and others
5:00 — Meeting closes
PLEASE READ THE ANNUAL REPORT IN ADVANCE. IT WILL NOT BE PRESENTED, BUT ONLY DISCUSSED.
Current MHA Board members are Pleun Bouricius (President; Plainfield Historical Society), Erika Briesacher (Worcester State University), Stacia Caplanson (Preservation Massachusetts), Daniel Everton (New Bedford LGBTQ+ Archive), John Galluzzo (Hanover Historical Society, Rebecca Griffith (Freedom Tail Foundation), Gavin Kleespies (Massachusetts Historical Society), Ahenebah Lane (NEMA), Katie MacDonald (Old Colony History Museum), Erin McGough (Fuller Craft Museum) Sonia Pacheco (UMass Dartmouth), Eric Peterson (Waterworks Museum), Mike Potaski (Uxbridge Historical Commission), Danielle Sangalang (Mass College of Art and Design)
Questions? Be in touch with Eric Peterson
Board Member Election , July 2023
I. Nominated for the MHA Board term 2023-20256 (3 years)
Erika Briesacher, Worcester State University (second term)
Erika L. Briesacher is Associate Professor of History at Worcester State University; she has taught there since 2012. She got her PhD in European History from Kent State University in Kent, OH in 2012, and her Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Museum Studies and MA in Historical Studies from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Her first book, Festival, Identity, and Culture in Lübeck: Nordic Days, 1920-1960, was published in December 2022, and her current manuscript, Make Me a Mask: Material/Culture of a Pandemic, is forthcoming from Kent State University Press. She has served on the MHA Board of Directors since 2020.
Samantha DePergola, Storrowton Village Museum (first term)
Samantha DePergola is a resident of West Springfield, Massachusetts. She is currently pursuing a bachelors degree in history from Westfield State University, and works for Storrowton Village Museum. She also volunteers as the President of the Ramapogue Historical Society, a nonprofit organization that cares for one of the only two National Historic sites in West Springfield. She joined the Ramapogue Historical Society as a student representative. But her love for history is not her only passion or skill. She is a published author, seamstress, chef, gardener, and owner of two dogs.
Joseph Ritter, public historian (first term)
Joseph Ritter is a public historian originally from the Land of Lincoln with experience in exhibit design, collections management, education program facilitation and delivery, costumed interpretation, and collaboration with museum professionals, researchers, and members of the public. He received a Master of Arts from the University of Illinois Springfield and a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois College. He has worked at several cultural institutions as an intern or paid staff member, including the Illinois State Museum, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, the Illinois State Military Museum, and, most recently, Preservation Massachusetts. As a museum professional, he has participated in archaeological excavations, conserved Civil War battle flags, and even handled piranha. Through it all, he has always enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with enthusiastic people and organizations to engage with the public about history.s.
II — Membership approval for electing director John Galluzzo to finish the second year of the President’s extended term
(2023-2024) and then be eligible for two terms but no extended term.
BIO: John Galluzzo (B.A., UMASS Amherst, 1993) is the President of the Hanover Historical Society, the Awards Committee Chair of the Foundation for Coast Guard History, former Maritime Heritage Chair of NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the author, coauthor or editor of 52 books mostly on the history of Massachusetts, including By Resolution and Perseverance: The History of the Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Aviation, The Coast Guard in Massachusetts, Battleship Cove and, most recently, The Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center. John lectures frequently on Massachusetts history topics, and, utilizing his 20 years as a naturalist, leads nature walks anywhere in Massachusetts that explore the history of land use. In 2011, he combined his passions for history and nature to walk in all 351 communities, publishing Half an Hour a Day Across Massachusetts.
STATEMENT: I have been on the Board of the Mass History Alliance for the past several years and have seen the impact that our programs have made firsthand. I’ve been privileged to learn from the current leaders, meet other professionals and volunteers from around the state, and have come to believe that together, we are just getting started. There is unending enthusiasm and creativity within the Alliance. I would love to play a larger role in helping our collective passion for Massachusetts history manifest itself in programs and projects that elevate us all. If elected President, I will continue to put my thirty years of training (B.A., History, UMASS Amherst, 1993), enthusiasm and passion for Massachusetts public history to work for all history lovers across the state, not to mention those people we have not convinced yet! I have been working in the public history field since 1996, have published 52 books, write for magazines and newspapers, and have spent the last decade as a grant writer. I approach public history problems from practical standpoints and seek creative solutions through partnerships, fundraising and publishing. If it happened in Massachusetts, I want to know everything about it, and I want to help the Mass History Alliance help you share it.