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CCTACHF
is now fully composed and constituted. Attached are contact
information on the membership and descriptions of committee assignments
and
organization. History and heritage are happily well represented both on
the
Commission itself and in the leadership structure. A&L past president
Astrid
Hanzalek chairs the History Committee, current Humanities Council board
member Carolyn Cicchetti has been appointed Vice Chairman, and Helen Higgins
and I have been recently added to the executive committee. It might be wise
to enter all these folks in your e-mail address books. Things are going
quite well so far (more below), but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared if we
have to do some advocacy work within the Commission itself in the future.
As might be expected, initial meetings of the Commission have been devoted
to organization and administrative mechanics (formation of conflict of
interest policies and an ethics code, determination of committee meeting
schedules and obligations etc). The history committee has begun its meetings
and is looking both at immediate problems (re-opening of the state's
heritage properties, prying loose appropriated but still unallocated
heritage funds, included the CHC's entire $1 million Cultural Heritage
Development Fund, unfunded since July 1, and other matters consequent
to the
merger) and at the formation of a strategic plan for heritage support.
The
latter will evolve over the next few months and eventually be melded into
the Commission's overall plan and submitted to the legislature a year
from
now.
A major issue still to be resolved is the identity of the Commission's
permanent director. Interim Director Doug Evans has not formally announced
his plans, but if he does decide not top be a candidate for the job, the
Governor will have to appoint a successor, and we are, of course, watching
that situation with bated breath. Doug has proved to be a negotiable,
sympathetic, reasonable presence in this process for heritage advocates,
and
his departure, if it occurs, will be a real loss. We'll keep you posted
as
this most important situation clarifies.
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