Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM January 2019 | Page 17

The Butler Longhorn Museum Re-Opens on Saturday, January 5, 2019 Interview By: Erin Webb Communications & Media Director League City Regional Chamber of Commerce [email protected] Monica Hughes has been with the Butler Longhorn Museum for over nine years. Her passion for the museum is apparent to everyone that knows her. She has been working tirelessly since Hurricane Harvey blew through and devastated the museum to ensure its re-opening was better than anyone could have ever imagined. I had the chance to walk through the museum with Monica in mid-December and, without question, the museum is more gorgeous than ever before. Please enjoy this brief Q & A session with Monica Hughes and mark your calendars to attend the grand re-opening on Saturday, January 5th! Q: Why are you so passionate about the Butler Longhorn Museum? A: I Truly believe in our local history (if you don't know your past history, how can you understand your future history?) And what a history League City has to tell! I love seeing the smiles from folks visiting the museum when we tell the story of George Washington Butler, his family members and what they did for this town; its why we are here today! Also, when a young person tells me thank you for the tour with big eyes and a big smile and a big thank you for the tour - we have done our job! and  that's what it’s all about. Q: Tell us about the devastation the museum faced during Hurricane Harvey. A: We lost a lot of contents/supplies, on the first floor of the museum, garage, barn and education center some artifacts. It all cost money to replace these items- with the museum being closed for 15 months we have a long road ahead of us. We are taking donations to help replace these items - if i n t e re s t i n g i n h e l p i n g p l ea s e c a l l t h e m u s e u m 281-332-1393 or e-mail us - [email protected] The hardest devastation for me was having to call and tell folks we were hit by Harvey and we had to cancel weddings, tours, birthday parties and anniversary events, 16 MOMENTUM / January 2019 and we had no idea when we would be able to re-open, some people just cried. It took 15 months to open our doors - it has been a tuff road as so many folks in our area experienced and still experiencing. Our garage, education center and barn has not been repaired and we have no date as to when this repair will be done. Q: What was the economic impact of being out of business for over a year? A: Lost revenue, the loss of members of the museum, people lost interest in the museum because of not being able to tell them about the museum, also because our doors were closed - with no date in sight of re-opening. Q: Anything else you want people to know? A: We have been very fortunate in having some of our members and volunteers truly step up to the plate and help supported the museum during our down time. Several folks have shared with  us- "THIS IS MY TOWN and MY HISTORY" and we want to see this museum open again! I sincerely want to thank these folks that believed in the museum and what it stands for, and all the hard work that they put in over the past 15 months. YOU MADE THIS HAPPEN!