Bethel Historical Society Fundraiser 2026

To the Members and Friends of the Bethel Museum:

Thank you so much to all of our valued supporters who attended the Annual Fundraiser dinner held at the Grant Career Center on Thursday, 4/23/2026.

Judi Adams, President of the Historical Society had this to share after the dinner -

A special thank you to our Fundraising Committee: Kim Patton, Vicki Holland, Krista Martin, Jeremy Trester, Darci Newman, Steve Newman, Denise Strimple and Jason Brumley.

Our Trustees and officers are: Trustee Chairman Pam Sandker; Roma Ritchie, Trustee and secretary; Sherry Wallingford, Trustee; Lamont Baudendistel, Trustee and Vice President; Rich Milton, trustee and Debbie Fancher, treasurer.

These are our leaders who make things happen!

We’ve come through another year of growth, memories, and historic contributions to our Bethel Historical Museum. Never have I seen community collaboration come together so quickly as in the past 6 years since we bought the Grant Memorial building.

We often get asked about our accomplishments. We value the donations given to the museum. To us they are invaluable, because they define our mission to preserve our history. Not just the artifacts, but the showcases and display cases and mostly, the volunteer hours our members give. In the past year we have had more than 1,700 visitors and given 17 tours of our museum.

Since 2019, we have been awarded $207,000 in grant funding. These awards paid for waterproofing the basement; new electric wiring, lighting and fixtures; 53 new windows and 4 new exterior doors; custom showcases; fire escape upgrades.

The column repair and painting of the front and side porches of the museum is in progress. These funds came from donations of more than $10,000 for that purpose.

In May and June our grounds may be a mess, because concrete and blacktop repairs and replacement will begin. Both projects are from a $50,000 grant award from the Clermont County Community Development Block Grant.

If you were here last year, you know we talked about the President Grant statue that will be in front of our building. Part of this concrete work will be for the base of this marvelous piece of art. We don’t have a definite date, are looking at the week of Oct. 12th for the dedication. Watch for more information.

In addition, we have raised money and paid for the entire building to be tuck-pointed, new concrete windowsills, roof repairs, the plaster and painting of every room, all the beautiful woodwork has been refinished, cabinets, display cases, and so much more. All of this in six years!

We are waiting for the decision of two more grant applications. One in the amount of $2,500 for a new micro-fish reader from the Ohio History Connection Regrant program. The second is an application in the amount of $66,234 through the Ohio Capital Bill for an HVAC project. Only half the building has AC and our units need repaired, replaced or upgraded. Temperature control is vital to the preservation of artifacts, documents and anything made of fabric.

We’re all in this together for sure. Every time you buy a raffle ticket, volunteer your time, or make a donation, you contribute to our great Bethel Historical Museum! Look at our upcoming events and please don’t hesitate to ask how you can help and share the fun!

The proceeds from this annual fundraiser go for operating expenses for the museum. I don’t have to tell anyone how much things have increased over the last six years. Things like utilities, insurance and supplies. It takes roughly $20,000 to maintain the museum. As volunteers, we appreciate and recognize every opportunity as a blessing.

I want to thank our Presenting Sponsors, Community Savings Bank, Bethel Feed, and the Bethel American Legion Post 406; our Gold sponsor, E.C. Nurre Funeral Home; our Silver Sponsors, Georgetown Eagles Club, Poochie’s Place and Jackson Lewis, and Green Images Lawncare.

Thank you Superintendent Mike Parry, and Principal Barry Daulton, Grant Career Center staff and administration. We couldn’t do this without you.

On behalf of the Fundraising Committee, Officers and Trustees, we would like to thank everyone for sharing this evening with us to show support for our museum.

God Bless you all!