Fifty thousand dollars is no small amount. Stef and I learned to appreciate this when we attended a workshop that was organized by the NJ Historic Trust on May 6th in Trenton. The workshop had the purpose of introducing last year’s grantees to the art of managing their grants. To this purpose, we received a big three-ring binder with templates and guidelines for reports that will help us record the development of our project. We are in a good position here because our project, the creation of a preservation plan for our church, is already complete – but the reporting still has to be done.
Grant management was only one of our reasons for traveling to Trenton. Stef and I also wanted to reconnect with staff members of the NJ Historic Trust, and we wanted to meet others. A small reception in the Masonic Temple provided a good background for this. The picture shows us there with Ms. Carolann Clynes, who chairs the Trust.
When this was done, Stef and I followed an invitation by the Trust to meet at the NJN studios in Trenton for the preview of the documentary, Our Vanishing Past. The film, narrated by Lester Holt, was very informative and could provide a good tool for our church family to keep the excitement for our preservation project going. Would anyone want to donate a copy for the church library? You can order it from www.njn.net.
Later that night, Stef and I went back home filled with new impressions and a renewed sense of the importance of the heritage we serve.
