Museums are valued

Editor,

The overwhelming victory of the Saratoga-Ryan Park Museum District in the recent general election is a victory for all museums in Carbon County. What this win for the Saratoga Museum tells us is that people in our communities value and cherish their museums.

Furthermore, the tax that the Saratoga Museum will receive will go far in creating financial stability for their museum and when one museum strengthens all museums benefit working together.

All of this being said, I would like to remind you all that the museums in Elk Mountain, Encampment, Hanna, and Medicine Bow need your financial support, as well. All of these museums are an asset to not just our respective communities, but the entire region as a whole. All of these museums work to promote our shared histories and tell a story that connects us, not as separate territories, but as an intertwined community.

The Elk Mountain, Grand Encampment, Hanna Basin, and Medicine Bow Museums all operate without the benefit of receiving property tax money and rely instead on the generosity of your donations.

For years this has sustained our magnificent museums. We ask each of you to continue to support these museums not only this holiday season but throughout the year so that we may continue to serve our community with the high-quality programs and exhibits that you all deserve.

Finally, if it has been a while since you have visited our fine museums, please come and see the wonderful work that is being done.

I am truly looking forward to what this year and many years into the future hold for the museums in our county, due to the knowledge that you all value and cherish our shared institutions.

Thank you,

Mark Dunning,

Grand Encampment Museum Board President