I always look forward to the opportunity to gather ideas from my peers, find out how other museums are reaching their clients and receive guidance from the professional consultants who present. The annual NWAYM Conference is especially useful because we're all local and many of us share visitors and resources.

In my afternoon break-out session we worked on the art of storytelling with Mary VanNatta-Gail, a Certified Association Executive & Public Relations Specialist. Every museum has a unique story about how they came to be, the donors, volunteers and staff that make it all happen and the impact they have on their communities. The strong message I took away is to ensure that your story is reaching your target audiences, be it parents, grandparents, funders, doctors, etc. There are many groups of people who have contact with children and families, and it's important that we let them know that KidsQuest Children's Museum is here to provide hands-on education for whole family learning. Have you gone to About Us and read our story? We were started by a group of local parents and business leaders who had a vision and wanted to provide more educational resources for children and families on the Eastside. It took eight years for their vision to come to fruition, and I would say it was well worth the wait! What do you think?