Staff Changes Bring New Energy to the Museum

Sept. 4, 2012 - PRLog -- The FASNY Museum of Firefighting has recently made some staff changes. These changes will help the Museum to grow and to better serve the community, the collection, and the Museum visitor. Mary Ann Iaccino, formerly the Visitor Service Manager at the Museum, has assumed the newly created position of Museum Educator. In this position, Mary Ann will evaluate and expand the educational programming at the Museum. This includes the Museum’s after school program, distance learning programs, on site tours, interactive components in exhibits, and more. A former teacher in the Dutchess County area, MaryAnn has the capability to confer with and cultivate local educators, building partnerships that help the Museum to better serve the community. MaryAnn also has the wonderful ability to tailor a tour for the particular group she is guiding, keying on their interest in subjects as she presents them and expanding and contracting the program where she sees fit. This ability to “think on her feet” and adapt has served to produce tours that better meet the needs and interests of various groups. MaryAnn has also used the collection as the foundation for creating new programs for the Museum, such as the Summer Workshop Program. This innovative program teaches children about a segment of the Museum’s collection, relates it to the arts in a wider context, and then guides the students as they create an arts-based project built on their newly gained knowledge. Programming such as this helps educate young people concerning the Museum’s world-class collection, and its significance as it relates to the history of their community, their State, and their Nation. It also serves to enrich the lives of children by giving them a broader sense of the cultural arts. MaryAnn will also focus on adding more interactive components to the Museum’s exhibits, strengthening both the education and entertainment value of the exhibitions. MaryAnn holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education.
The position of Museum Educator was made possible due to a grant awarded to the Museum from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). The NYSCA is dedicated to preserving and expanding the rich and diverse cultural resources that are and will become the heritage of New York's citizens. The NYSCA strives to achieve its mission through its core grant-making activity, by convening field leaders, providing information and advisory support, and working with partners on special initiatives to achieve mutual goals. Further, The NYSCA's vision for cultural development in the state is reflected in the following goals:
•   Sustaining a vital ecosystem of individual artists and cultural organizations that supports the  creation, presentation, critical review, and distribution of the arts and culture
•   Celebrating our rich range of artistic and cultural resources inclusive of diverse cultures and aesthetics
•   Encouraging artistic and discipline field advancement
•   Broadening public access, appreciation, participation, and education in the arts and culture throughout the state
•   Providing recognition and professional advancement for artists and arts administrators.
To learn more about NYSCA, visit their website online at www.nysca.org

Since MaryAnn Iaccino assumed the role of Museum Educator, the position of Visitor Services Manager was left vacant. Accepting the role of Visitor Services Manager is a fresh, new face at the Museum, Lori Decker. Lori comes to the Museum with a duel background, having thirteen years of customer service experience in various fields and also having been the principle in a New York State registered family daycare business. Lori will continue to offer the outstanding customer service enjoyed by visitors and expand upon staff customer service and operational training. Lori will also focus on a variety of other tasks for the Museum, including existing earned income programs and events. Lori will also be challenged to develop new earned income programs and events for the Museum, as well as coordinate a new volunteer program. She brings to her position an enthusiasm for the Museum and all it has to offer the community. Lori holds a Bachelor of Business Administration.
Mary Zawacki is also a new face at the Museum, assuming the role of Collections Manager. Mary comes to the Museum having gained valuable experience during internships at the Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums in the UK, The National Trust in the UK, The Adirondack Museum and Historic Huguenot Street. She has already made great strides in better organizing the collection and is currently in the midst of reorganizing the Museum’s archival collection. Mary has also made quite an impression on the many school groups that visit the Museum. Large groups require two tour guides and Mary has been assisting the Museum Educator, Mary Ann Iaccino, by leading half the group on a tour while MaryAnn presents a coordinating education program to the other half of the group, and then the groups switch. This affords multiple educational experiences to all of the students. Mary’s grasp of the information and her animated presentation of the tour program has helped history come alive for these students. Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in Museum Studies.
With the addition of the new position of Museum Educator and the hire of new staff members, the FASNY Museum of Firefighting has been reenergized and is now poised to attain a new stature within the local community, the fire service community, and the museum community. This will ultimately be accomplished by offering outstanding education programs, fascinating and comprehensive exhibitions that highlight the Museum’s unparalleled collection and significant special events with mass appeal.
The FASNY Museum of Firefighting is the home of the premiere collection of American firefighting objects in the world. Fifty thousand square feet of exhibits - featuring fire engines, equipment, and gear - depict the history of the American firefighter. Activities for children include creative play on selected fire engines, educational activities, and the Cabot/McCadam Fire Safety and Prevention Discovery Room. The Museum is open daily from 10am until 5pm (the Museum is closed on Memorial Day, 4th of July, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.) To learn more about the Museum, visit us at: www.fasnyfiremuseum.com