2008 MRCG Annual Meeting

28th Annual Midwest Regional Guild Meeting Important Information from the Interim Co-Presidents -Thomas M. Edmondson and Christine Young

Message from Christine:

     The upcoming annual meeting of MRCG will take place at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri on October 25 and 26.  This already impressive museum has recently undergone significant expansion and renovation, which will make it a new experience for everyone. Our schedule of talks is pretty full, so try to arrange travel to allow an independent visit. There will be lab tours and a brief visit to storage on Saturday as part of the program.

     There has been tremendous response to the call for papers (i.e. no arm-twisting or weeping required).I would like to sincerely thank all speakers for their willingness to share with the guild.I think the quality of the resulting program will be extremely gratifying.

On a lighter note, the guild will be sponsoring a round of miniature golf on Friday night.“Cool Crest” has four courses, and newly added go-carts.The earliest courses were built fifty years ago and feature time-honored and vintage hazards. Afterwards, we will adjourn for traditional Kansas City barbeque.

     Coincidentally, Kansas City will be hosting a joint meeting of the Mountain Plains Museum Association and the Association of Midwest Museums October 21 to 25. The program is available on the Mountain Plains website. Reciprocity arrangements are still under negotiation, but it is likely there will be minimal or no registration fee for guild members. Please contact me by phone or e-mail if you are interested, and I should have more information on registration.

     I am extremely excited about our program and our venue, and hope you will be as well.I look forward to seeing everyone in Kansas City.

Message from Tom:

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is very generously hosting our meeting this year.The museum is located at 4525 Oak Street, just a few blocks east of the conference hotel, Holiday Inn at the Plaza, One East 45th Street.You will come out of the hotel and turn to your right, heading east walk to Warwick and skirt the west side of the Kansas City Art Institute campus until you come to Oak St.Walk across Oak into the service parking lot and go to the Staff/Business Entrance at the northwest corner of the museum building.Museum Security is just inside the door, where you will be met by staff members who will escort you through the museum to the Bloch Building, Lens 2, where registration and sign-in will be set up on the Plaza Mezzanine level.The sessions will be held upstairs in the Lens 2 Event Room.Please plan on arriving at the museum by 8:30am to register and pick up your conference materials.

Directions:

If you drive to the museum:Go to the Oak St., entrance to the underground parking garage.When you approach the gate there will be a kiosk with an intercom on it, press the button and announce that you are attending the MRCG Annual Meeting in Lens 2.The gate should go up, and pull into the garage and go to your right and park.In front of you on the south wall will be a glass door that will give you access to a concrete ramp for you go to the Staff/Business Entrance at the northwest corner of the museum building.Enter and do as above.

We are looking forward to having everyone here in Kansas City and at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.Keep in mind that the end of October can be quite cool, although the weather patterns are becoming increasingly unpredictable.Chris is very happy with the program that she has developed, so come prepared to enjoy, learn, and share.The cutoff date on the conference room rate at the hotel is September 28, so please make your arrangements as soon as possible at:Holiday Inn at the Plaza, 816-753-7400.