The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center is a community staple that has been around since 1979, after the community’s largest bank moved its headquarters from the location in the heart of downtown Portsmouth. The museum houses a number of permanent collections and welcomes several rotating galleries per year. The group also welcomes many musical performances, poetry readings, classes, and hosts the ACID Crawl.

The museum has had a huge impact over 44 years and Executive Director Mark Chepp and Artistic Director Charlotte Gordon are celebrating ten years at the helm this season.

The two relocated to Portsmouth and began working for the museum June 3, 2013 and immediately found their groove in the community, quickly building a network of good friends, forming new partnerships, and cementing themselves as a piece of the fabric of the community. Gordon has even elevated her position within the community as a member of city council, where she represents the second ward.

“We came in with goals and we knew they were long-term goals,” Gordon claimed. “The board brought us in with the understanding we would be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, which we are in the midst of now. We knew there would be some big hurdles we would have to cross in order for that goal to be met and it would take a while.”

Chepp echoed and continued his wife’s thoughts on the matter.

“And those goals are both what they call soft and hard. There were no policies and procedures in place, for example, that would come up to meet museum standards; like, how you handle collections and that sort of thing,” Chepp explained. “There was not a central computer system here, with everyone working on the same central server, so we had to find the funds for that. Stuff like that.”

The two expanded further, explaining the roof leaked, collection storage needed addressed, and more.

“We had an ongoing checklist that we would report on to the board every meeting. Before we started the actual process of applying, we began working on these things, because we knew it wouldn’t go through without them,” Chepp continued.

Gordon said it was laborious but has been worth it. They’ve rewritten policies to reflect current museum standards and more. Additionally, the two were slowed down, due to the pandemic. Their strategic planning session was halted when everything else in the world was.

In recent days, the museum has also begun the process of expanding its footprint for the first time in many years, with the acquisition of the former Richard Noggins property just west of the museum’s alleyway. According to Gordon, the bar sold with the intent of relocating and isn’t closing.

“A strategic plan objective the board identified was to expand our galleries, storage space, and educational space, as well as staffing levels to grow us and in turn help us meet museum standards,” Gordon explained. “Really, there was only one way to expand, physically, which was to the west.”

Chepp said that other options included expanding into Covert’s Furniture but was never considered. The thought of adding a third floor was also an option, but the questions of how to do so safely, effectively, and financially was a major element in shutting that option down.

“The only real, workable option was to move west,” Chepp said.

Gordon continued his thoughts.

“There are a lot of considerations that have to be taken when working on a 100-year-old building and the third floor was just too wild,” Gordon said.

According to the duo, the board was able to find funding in 2022 to secure the expansion and they’ve been dedicated to it ever since. They’re also expecting another gift to their endowment to assist in the operational expenses and Chepp said the funding is in place for the process.

“We’ve always followed the mantra that the project has to fit the budget and not the other way around,” Chepp explained. “We established a number to not exceed and we’re staying within the limits of that.”

The museum has also expanded staffing, with seven full-time staff members now ensuring smooth operations, and expects a potential new hire for marketing, and, maybe, another half-position.

The couple spends their days working to grow the museum’s impact within the community and their evenings creating art, assisting in governance and community building, mingling with good friends, and enjoying family. The two look fondly on the ten years they’ve accomplished thus far.

“We feel very, very at home in Portsmouth and we really have from the moment we arrived. It is a very comfortable community. It is a very welcoming community. It is a community that has a lot of energy to move forward,” Gordon said. “We’ve been very happy here and we’ve found Portsmouth to be a very wonderful home.”

Chepp continued his wife’s thoughts, explaining those same positives are true for the museum.

“The museum is pretty extraordinary in terms of size and programming. It punches well above its weight in sense of its size and the community,” Chepp said. “We even have Cirque, which is a museum program that we’re very proud of.”

Gordon says that she wouldn’t change a thing about their decision to move to Portsmouth.

“We had worked on many projects together. When we were looking for a change ten years ago, when we were kind of pivoting, we really wanted to find a project that we could really dive into together. We have skill sets that really complement each other,” Gordon explained. “We wanted an endeavor to really sink our teeth into. This has been really fun, because, together, we’ve not only been able to make a difference within the museum world, in working with the board, but also the community. Becoming really involved in the community, creating the art walk together, and so on.”

While the duo have been working tirelessly for ten years, they are not an island, and Chepp gives a lot of credit to their fellow staff.

“One of the things that has really helped us all along is that we’ve been able to find very talented people to work here,” Chepp said. “Our staff is nearly completely home grown. We look for people who are smart and have talents and skill sets that, if not already trained in a museum territorial capacity, are certainly able to be brought up to speed to things and already possess those other tangible qualities of hard work ethic and all of that. The board has been very supportive, the staff has been creative and energetic, and you don’t’ always find that in a smaller community. So, the planets aligned in 2013. We’ve worked hard, but we’ve been very lucky over the years and here we are, ten years later.”

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved