The Museums Alaska/Alaska Historical Society Joint Annual Conference was held in Haines last week, hosted by the Sheldon Museum. The conference production utilized many resources available in town and I, along with the staff of the Sheldon Museum, would like to thank all of those involved in producing a week of events that future MA/AHS conferences will be compared to as one program committee chair put it, “the Haines standard.”
Thank you to the many restaurants, grocery stores and others who provided superb and bountiful catering for the conference events and to the diverse venues around town and several shuttle companies and drivers who provided much-needed transportation. Thank you to sponsors, advertisers and exhibitors who supported this year’s conference and allowed us to showcase Haines for a traveling conference location. Thank you to the 160 of our fellow Alaskans and Yukon neighbors who made the trek to Haines and to the local groups and establishments for providing outside entertainment.
Finally, thank you to the most important contributors, and one of Haines’ most valuable resources, our volunteers. They didn’t think twice about schlepping tables and chairs, hauling garbage or compostables, busily registering attendees or babysitting AV computers through presentations to assist in the smooth transition between multiple speakers. Attendees were very impressed by the significant local support and Haines received a standing ovation for a job well done from all the attendees at the close of the conference – a round of applause to you, members of Haines, good work!