The rewards of that union have been great, Dayton History leaders said. The combined assets of the merged organizations were about $25 million in 2005; today, Dayton History’s assets are valued at $40 million, Mike Leesman, chairman of Dayton History’s Board of Trustees, told guests gathered behind the Carillon Brewery Co. on park grounds.
“Not too bad,” Leesman said. “I’ll take that return.”
In 2005, the annual operating budgets of the merged organizations was about $1.5 million. This past year, Dayton History’s budget was about $4.5 million.
In 2005, 876 members belonged to the organizations, while today Dayton History counts more than 2,500 members, Leesman said.
Dayton History has seen 15 percent growth in overall business revenue and 27 growth in visitation this year, he said.
In all, by May of this year, some 250,000 people had visited a Dayton History property, Leesman said. The organization owns or manages properties ranging from Carillon Park to the Paul Laurence Dunbar House to the National Aviation Hall of Fame Learning Center and beyond.
The Carillon Brewery, which opened last August, has helped boost attendance, particularly in the evening, supporters said.
“We’re hiring, we’re growing and we’re serving beer,” Leesman said to laughter.
But there were birth pangs, all acknowledged. There was some resistance to the merger idea and questions about future direction.
“To have people feel they can be unified under one cause is not the easiest thing to do,” Leesman said.
“I thought it would be easier,” said Rob Connelly, who had been chairman of the Carillon Park board that hired Brady Kress in November 2003. “But about two years later, we announced on Aug. 24th (2005) that we had merged.”
Kress, Dayton History chief executive, talked of an array of development possibilities, from recreating the downtown Dayton arcade rotunda to establishing a National Road exhibit, remodeling Culp’s Cafe and making use of Neil’s Heritage House, the closed Schantz Avenue restaurant Dayton History bought this month.
Future endeavors may involve an “art of manufacturing” exhibit and recently donated photographs of rail transport equipment, among other possibilities, he added.
“We’re just going to spend the next 10 years chipping away at these projects,” Kress said.
“I love this place,” said Jennifer Peterson, one of the organizers of Dayton Concours d’Elegance, Dayton History’s largest annual fundraiser. “I love Dayton History. I’m a Daytonian, and I’ve lived here all my life.”
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