Hey Chris,
As to AGCO, if they want promotional or historical value from this venture they will need to contribute to the project. I see great potential for this project, but any who seek to gain thru promotion of their product or otherwise should not get a free ride, no matter how well we like them. Promo costs! We should not give things of promotional value away for cheap or free! If AGCO wants to pay their fair share they will need to be compensated with an equal promotional value, if not then they will deserve nothing. Just the hard facts of life. I have seen several picures of this plant, I load my truck in steel mills that are nowhere as good of shape as these buildings. Yet, I can see that there will be considerable improvements necessary to bring these buildings from the condition they are presently in to the conditions required for a museum. The key to this will be the acquisition of funding, and professional administration. I have not been educated as to the administration of museums, which leaves me out. This is kind of a strange thing, museum administrators of the experience and competency we require are hard to find. I know one, Dick Welch, but presently he is committed. That does not mean that if this project has sufficient potential to bear fruit he will not be available. I think he might be talked into helping us, or find a collegue who will. But, it will take some strong words to convince him or anyone of his caliber to approach a project like this. Administrators like this tend to stick to the established museums. I have talked to Dick, he does question this project, but feels it is feasible. I feel the key is in funding. This will be the avenue we need to approach. Without federal funding I don&#039;t see this project happening. Yet, the average bill passes congress with only 2 constituents per representative deciding the outcome. Our organization can easily outdistance the average. But in order to get in this position we will need professional assistance. We must have our ducks in a row. When a representative is approached, it must be with something that can be passed into the budget, not garbage. I can not overstate the importance of having an experienced professional grantwriter. We could mess around and eventually get educated into this process, but the education will cost far more than hiring a professional. As to the costs of these professional, I feel they can be written off the project as consultation, thus costing HPOCA nothing, once the books are balanced.