Hope Parrish – President
Members and Friends, Happy New Year!
Well, it’s that time. It’s time to pass the torch, but before I do I want to say a few words: In October 2017, I got a call from Steve Rose asking if I would like to be President of this Society, I knew the commitment would be for 4 years. So, I immediately called Motion Picture Health and Welfare as I knew I would have to make a choice. Did I qualify for early retirement? Luckily, I had 38 years and 118 thousand hours logged so I could pull the plug and say “Yes” to his request.
Taking this on, I knew there was lots of work to do. I had been volunteering with the Society for about 11 years and I knew the back was filled with boxes of donations that had not seen the light of day in years. As a Property Master, this had my curiosity. Our space is referred to as the “ARC,” Archive Resource Center. But how can it be if the collection is in boxes?
With the help of my family, friends, CCHS students, and many volunteers we got to work. After updating our database program, we began the inventory process. The treasures we unearthed were amazing. Tami, Jeanne, Dad & I would immediately put items on display, filling the walls with our city’s rich history. This sparked interest in our community. The word was out, “Come see our new exhibits and if you have personal treasures to donate, we would love to be the caretakers.”
We have become visible within and outside our community. We are a small organization that exists because of all of you. Your donations, support and contributions helped create our little museum, which is a magical place to visit. I had wonderful mentors on this journey, Julie Lugo Cerra, Cathy Zermeno, Stu Freeman, Jozelle Smith, Steve Newton, Louise Coffey Webb, Christine Byers and of course my father, Dennis Parrish. It was a proud day for me when my mentor Julie Lugo Cerra & I were just sitting, staring at the walls in the Museum, she said “Hope, I never imagined that the museum would ever come this far.” She passed 6 months later. I knew at that very moment that I made the right choice back in 2017. As your outgoing President I will continue going through boxes in the back, doing what I love. I hope that you will show our incoming President, Jack Bommarito and his new team the same kindness, respect, and generosity that you have shown and given to me and my family.
It has been an amazing time in my life, for which I owe thanks to so many.
Hope M. Parrish