Thirty-one candidates have applied for the side of executive director of the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan. Among them are applicants from Hillman, Rogers City and Alpena, as well as other points within the country and as far forth as North Carolina, Colorado, Texas and Florida.
"I've been overwhelmed by the quality of resumes," said David Usher, president of the museum's board of trustees.
"We've got some tremendous candidates here."
The museum formed a search committee and launched a nationwide search shortly after current Director Janet Smoak announced her resignation in mid-September. Her last day on the job will be Sunday.
The research committee met Wednesday to get the work of passing through the resumes and determining who to meet for interviews.
Serving on that committee along with Usher are Dr. Olin Joynton, Alpena Community College president; Jackie Krawczak, Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce executive director; Gary Dawley, Independent Bank senior vice president; Brent Holcomb, Alpena Public Schools superintendent; Randy Shultz and Chris Witulski, Besser Museum staff members.
Usher said the museum hopes to a have replacement hired by the foremost of the year, but in the interim is in very able hands with the staff already in place.
"We find we have outstanding individuals in order who are most able and capable to require charge of the day-to-day operations," he said. "They are just people able to actually believe on their feet."
In hiring a new executive director, the museum will be looking for an individual with strong fundraising skills. Also of importance, according to Usher, will be the power to continue building bridges within the community and furthering the museum's mission and imagination for the future.
"We need the sight and delegation of the museum to be taken forward, and to extend the grand form of Janet of building bridges within the community leaders and fostering friends of the museum," Usher said. "That truly was Janet's forte."
Smoak joined the Besser Museum staff in 1999 as collections manager under former Director Janet McLean. She succeeded McLean as manager in 2006. She plans to engage a new position out of the area in museum collections management.
The Besser Museum, originally named the Jesse Besser Museum, officially opened in 1966. Directors since that time have included: John Murphy (1967-1971), Peter Cook (1971-1974), Dennis Bodem (1974-1998), McLean (1999-2006) and Smoak (2006-2010).
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