News release
TOPEKA — The Kansas Historical Foundation held its 146th annual meeting last week virtually. The annual meeting included election of officers, executive committee, members of the board of directors and honorary board, treasurer report, and committee reports.
Elected to a one-year term on the executive committee:
W. Walt Menninger, president, Topeka
Richard Walker, president elect, Newton
Gennifer Golden House, vice president, Goodland
Rita Noll, secretary, Council Grove
Lidia Hook-Gray, past president, Liberal
Elected to a two-year term on the executive committee:
Jon Boursaw, treasurer, Topeka
Elected to a one-year vacancy on the executive committee (Class of 2022):
Emily Bradbury, Wellsville
Elected to a three-year term on the executive committee (Class of 2024):
Carol Bales, Logan
Crystal Walker Ecton, Gridley
Paul Stuewe, Lawrence
Retiring from the executive committee:
Dean Ferrell
Elected to the board of directors (Class of 2024):
Ted Ayres, Wichita
Carol Bales, Logan
Michael L. Baughn, Brewster
Michelle Cuevas-Stubblefield, Topeka
J. Eric Engstrom, Wichita
Dave Heinemann, Topeka
Katie Herrick, Johnson
Chris Hutton, Topeka
Annette LeZotte, Moline, Illinois
Brad Loveless, Lyndon
W. Walt Menninger, Topeka
Jay Price, Wichita
Allana Saenger-Parker, Wamego
Dru Sampson, Lawrence
Richard Walker, Newton
Dave Webb, Protection
Jack Wisman, Topeka
Erin Younkin, Wichita
Retiring from the board of directors:
Jennie Rose
John Salisbury
James A. Thomas
Elected to the honorary board:
Hal Ross, Eastborough
Lidia Hook-Gray, president of the Kansas Historical Foundation Board of Directors, delivered her president’s address on aviation history in Liberal. Linda Jeffrey, acting director of the Kansas Historical Foundation, gave an update on the agency’s past fiscal year and upcoming future projects.
Jennie Chinn, executive director of the Kansas Historical Society, the state agency, provided an updated on the project for new exhibits at the Kansas Museum of History that will honor those who have come before and resonate for the 21st century. The new exhibits are projected to open in 2023. Since the Museum’s opening in 1984 nearly 2 million people have visited. Each year, the Historical Society serves more than 20 million people onsite and online.
The Kansas Historical Foundation, a 501(c)3, is a fundraising, fund management, membership, and retail organization, whose mission is to support the Historical Society, a state agency. Established together by newspapers editors in 1875, the organizations jointly hold the annual meeting to elect officers and board members.