For Immediate Release: Aug. 8, 2014
Contact: Lauren Daughety
Telephone: 405.509.9312
E-mail: ldaughety@vannpr.com
Oklahoma Museums Association Announces 2014 Annual Conference
(OKLAHOMA CITY)  Museums from across the state will gather in Idabel, Okla., from Sept. 24-26 for
the Oklahoma Museums Association’s (OMA) annual conference. Approximately 200 people are
expected to attend, including museum staff, volunteers, board members and students. The mission of the
OMA is to assist Oklahoma museums with their efforts to educate, inform and entertain. The conference
is one of the many programs and services which OMA offers to museums across Oklahoma.
“OMA is excited to be in Idabel for the 2014 Oklahoma Museums Association conference," said Brenda
Granger, executive director of the OMA. “The OMA conference is affordable and offers so much
including first-hand access to the most recent information and trends in the museum profession through
keynote and educational sessions; networking events allowing attendees to have conversations with others
where they can share problems and solutions and easily continue those conversations over the conference.
For reasonable registration and travel costs, compared to national conferences, attendees receive an equal
standard of program content and presentation; and because of its size, the OMA conference allows
attendees the opportunity to visit with all of their colleagues and to interact with individuals from many
organizations and to share ideas across disciplines. Staff and volunteers will return from the OMA
conference to their museum excited and invigorated with new ideas and solutions.”
Conference attendance is open to all board members, volunteers, students and staff of museums, historical
societies, historic sites, zoos and botanical gardens, historic houses, living history museums, tribal
cultural centers and other museum-related institutions. The conference registration deadline is Sept. 5. To
download a conference booklet or to register online visit www.okmuseums.org/conference.
Highlights will be the keynote presentation by Dr. Spencer Wells on Thursday, Sept. 25. Wells is a
leading population geneticist and director of the Genographic Project from National Geographic and IBM
as well as a scientist, author and documentary filmmaker. His fascination with the past has led the him to
the farthest reaches of the globe in search of human populations who hold the history of humankind in
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their DNA. Wells’ discussion on new the '“Genealogical Paradigm for Cultural Presentation by
Museums” emphasizes what current genomic and genetic information is telling us about Native American
migrations.
Taos artists, Jeralynn Lujan Lucero and Ray Wiger, will present the Awards Luncheon keynote address
on Sept. 26 at noon. Their work will be on exhibit at the Museum of the Red River during the conference.
Lucero’s work speaks to the generations, to heritage and customs. Her work evokes nature, humanity and
beauty. Wiger is a sculptor and is known around the world for his breathtaking wire-meshed sculptures.
Sessions during the conference will cover a variety of topics including educational programming, capital
campaigns, disaster planning, marketing, museum collections care, technology and much more.
Participants can also register to attend a variety of pre-conference workshops on gourd making and Native
American Art and Objects 101. The Wednesday evening event will include a reception and tour of the
Forest Heritage Center Museum followed by a wine tasting at Girls Gone Wine and concluding at the
Grateful Head Pizza Oven &Tap Room. On Thursday evening, attendees will enjoy a reception and tour
of the Museum of the Red River, followed by a delicious dinner in the conference center. There will be a
variety of exhibitors at the conference, displaying their museum-related products and services.
On Friday, Sept. 27 OMA award winners will be recognized at the annual awards luncheon. Tickets for
the awards luncheon are $35 and can be purchased online by using the registration button of the OMA
website, www.okmuseums.org. The reservation deadline is Sept. 5.
The Oklahoma Museums Association is a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization founded in 1972.
Programming offered by the Oklahoma Museums Association is important as the primary source of
information and professional development for Oklahoma's 500 museums, historical societies, historic
sites, zoos and botanical gardens, historic houses, living history museums, tribal cultural centers and other
museum-related institutions.
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