As you may have heard, The Ocean View Historical Society (OVHS) has three exciting events on the docket in 2022: Chicken Festival (May 21), Coastal Towns Museum Grand Opening (July – date tbd), and an outstanding Smithsonian Exhibit (Sept – Nov). In addition, they are planning their summer openings and tours of the Historic Village in Ocean View, revamping its website, planning outreach events, developing marketing materials, tentatively planning to resume lecture series, maintaining Village buildings and grounds, resuming brick sales, and much more.

Their board members are extremely busy, managing and implementing these activities, with many also having ‘day jobs. There are some wonderful members who have continually volunteered their time to help with many of these events and tasks.

The Ocean View Historical Society is continuing to build on the existing, strong foundation that its founders put in place – to move the organization to its next phase of development – from a start-up to a maturing organization. All human resources are instrumental for continued success to ensure institutional memory is shared, protections are in place from liabilities inherent in our infrastructure and growth expansion, prudent risk management processes are established, and best practices are implemented.

BUT, they need more help and need you! If you’re wondering how you can help, see the below list of teams and tasks for which the OVHS needs volunteers. You do not need to lead a team – just be a participant, volunteer alongside your fellow history lovers, get the inside scoop on event plans, promote your own ideas, and most of all, have fun!

If you are interested, please contact the OVHS President, Barbara Slavin, at 302-593-8814 or [email protected]. In addition, if you think your friends or family members would be interested, please ask them to reach out.

Membership coordinator – maintenance of membership list, member contact information, and dues payments

Outreach team – help compile/develop outreach materials, attend outreach events (man a table, hand out materials, talk to public – informal), speak to school groups, serve as ambassador

Docent team – serve as docent for summer, fall and holiday Historic Village openings (training will be provided – very informal)

Event volunteers – participate in any or all of our three big events in 2022: set-up, break-down, docents, ticket takers, and/or activity oversight

Lecture series team – suggest topics, secure speakers, establish schedule (e.g., quarterly), confirm locations, manage events

General facility operations – participate in Historic Village and grounds maintenance, electrical/plumbing repair oversight, interior cleaning, exterior mowing/planting, special maintenance for events, Hall’s Store rental scheduling and support

Publicity – provide ideas for historical profiles for magazine articles, newspaper stories, FB posts: local people, beloved businesses no longer in existence