Museums in Partnership is an affiliation of the museums in the 25 westernmost counties in North Carolina. It is free and loosely structured. There are no officers, only Coordinators for the three geographical districts. These Coordinators work with the museums in their districts to arrange for four meetings a year, with a different museum hosting and providing a short educational program.
Museums in Partnership is a program of Friends of Mountain History, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that supports museums, historic sites and the arts in these 25 counties. FOMH prints the Western North Carolina Museum Guide which is distributed throughout the state in NC Welcome Centers, the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, and in the museums and historic sites themselves. Once a year, FOMH provides a day-long educational resource program for all museums in the region.
Annual Meeting Schedule
March: District meetings. (Each District will hold a separate meeting at a host museum.)
May: District meetings.
June: No meetings.
July: District meetings.
August: No meetings.
September: FOMH resource program (all Districts together.)
October: No meetings.
November: District meetings.
December, January & February: No meetings.
District meetings are held during the first week of the four months listed above, each on a different day, so that anyone wishing to attend more than one program can do so. The schedule is as follows:
• Western will meet the first Thursday of the meeting months. This district comprises 8 counties: Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain and Transylvania. District coordinator is
• Central will meet on the first Tuesday of the meeting months. Central District counties include Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, and Yancey. Central District coordinator is Ron Vinson, Executive Director of the Presbyterian Heritage Center in Montreat. Ron also edits and distributes the MIP enewsletter.
• High Country will meet on the first Wednesday of the meeting months. Counties in the High Country include Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Surry,Watauga, Wilkes, and Yadkin. Matt Edwards, Executive Director of the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, is the High Country District Coordinator.
Contacts
Friends of Mountain History: Kaye Myers, 828-296-7230, ext. 226; kaye.myers@ncdcr.gov
Museums In Partnership: Jeff Futch, 828-296-7230, ext. 222; jeff.futch@ncdcr.gov
Western District Coordinator: Rebecca Suddeth, Transylvania Heritage Museum, (828) 884-2347; rebecca.suddeth@yahoo.com
Central District Coordinator: Ron Vinson, Presbyterian Heritage Center, 828-669-6556; info@phcmontreat.org
High Country District Coordinator: Matt Edwards, Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, 336-786-4478; mjedwards@northcarolinamuseum.org
