Take a minute and write a letter or email about what makes Montgomery’s Inn special to you. They need your stories!

We are pleased to share with you the following message from Montgomery’s INNovators:

 c/o Montgomery’s Inn, 4709 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario M9A 1A8

February 4, 2012

We have some major catching up to do as our email list becomes operational at last!

Montgomery’s Inn Museum INNovators (a.k.a. Montgomery’s INNovators) was incorporated on Oct. 1, 2011 as a non-profit corporation. Within weeks we learned that the Inn was on the list of four City museums targetted for closure in January.

Since the INNovators is an entirely volunteer organization, the circumstances were quite overwhelming.

Needless to say, none of the new directors had experience getting a brand new non-profit corporation up and running, while at the same time trying to deal with such an extraordinary situation at the City!

This is an update and a thank you for your patience. There are still glitches to work out, and we’re doing our best. Please let us know if you are receiving this message by regular mail, but do have an email address.

FIRST, thank you for showing your support for the Inn by joining Montgomery’s INNovators. There are now close to 400 members. Because of you, we have a significant voice at City Hall, and will continue to speak out on behalf of the Inn and its community.

SECOND, the decision made by City Council on Jan. 17 about the 2012 budget confirmed the decision to not close any museums in 2012. But the future beyond June, 2012, remains uncertain.

THIRD, three reviews of the structure and operations of Museum Services are to be done between now and the end of May. The Inn’s funding, governance, and/or operations will probably all be affected.

More information about the reviews is posted on our website.

The single most important thing that all of us need to do is STAY POSITIVE. There is good reason to be optimistic that Montgomery’s Inn will move into a new phase of its life, strong and healthy.

What you can do

• If you’re a volunteer, keep volunteering…and thank you! The value of volunteers’ contributions is truly immeasurable. 
• If you’re not a volunteer now, please consider becoming one.
• Since you’re already a member of the INNovators, encourage others to join. The bigger our membership, the bigger our voice will be at City Hall. Membership is a statement of support for the Inn and the INNovator.
• If you’re a casual visitor, become a regular visitor.
• If you’ve never taken a tour of the historic house, there was never a better time
• Take a few minutes and write us a letter or email about what makes Montgomery’s Inn special to you. We need your storie
• Buy our bread, which continued to be available from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Inn. Bread and fruitcakes are the main source of our income right now.
• Come for tea, Tuesday to Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m. See the new floor in the Tea Room!
• Come for special events, workshops, community gatherings.
• Spread the word that the Inn has facilities to rent: two large rooms (one will hold up to 70 people, and the other up to 50, depending on the room configuration needed). The Inn also has a modern kitchen that is inspected by Public Health.
• Book a birthday party, a pizza party, a meeting, a cooking session in the historic kitchen, or a day of bread baking. This helps to generate revenue for the Inn, and tells City Hall that the Inn is an important and well-used community facility.
• Sponsor a visit to the Inn, or a special program, for a community group that might not otherwise come (e.g., seniors, children, newcomers, food bank users). The INNovators have allocated a portion of its income for this purpose.

What it means to be a member of the INNovators

Montgomery’s Inn is the only one of ten City-owned and operated museums that set up a non-profit friends group when the City-appointed board was dissolved last April. The Inn, therefore, is the only one of the museums with a voice to advocate on its behalf during the current upheaval. We cannot overstress how important this is.

• By joining the INNovators, you are lending us your voice. The INNovators speak on behalf of the Inn, and its communities of place and interest. The more members there are, the bigger our voice is.
• Members elect the board of directors at the Annual General Meeting. You also have a vote when changes to the bylaws are considered. The constitution and bylaws belong to the members, and state how the organization operates.
• Members will receive updates and announcements about events at the Inn, and about the activities of the INNovators. We have been unable until very recently to communicate with you regularly, and will try to avoid the temptation to make up for lost time by overwhelming you.

We expect the first Annual General Meeting to be in April. There will be an election of directors at that time. There are currently five directors who were appointed to act as the interim board until the first AGM.

– Janice Etter, President, Montgomery’s INNovators

NOTE: The latest article about the Inn and the INNovators that appeared in The Etobicoke Guardian can be found can be found at this link.