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Annual Conference

FINDING COMMON GROUND

September 15-17, 2019 / John Day, OR

OMA invites you to John Day, Oregon to explore this year’s conference theme, Finding Common Ground. As museum professionals, we can inspire community collaboration and serve as sites for social dialogue on challenging topics and current events. We are asking participants to share stories and strategies for how we can strengthen our museums through cultural inclusion and community engagement.

New! See the conference program.

Dr Fang photo

Jennifer Fang, PhD
Keynote speaker

Jennifer Fang is the Assistant Director and Manager of Programs at the Portland Chinatown History Foundation, a partnership between Chinatown community elders and academic historians to preserve and tell the overlooked history of Chinese people in the region. In December 2018, the Foundation opened the Portland Chinatown Museum. Through a broad array of exhibitions and programming related to Chinese American history and Asian American arts, the museum honors Portland Chinatown’s past, celebrates its present, and helps to create its future.

Don Merritt
Keynote speaker

Don Merritt is the Museum Curator at Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, OR. He graduated from the University of Montana in 2006 with a BS in Wildlife Biology and in 2010 from the University of Montana with an MA in Archaeology. He has worked on some very interesting archaeological projects and surveys during the last 12 years, including listing a segment of the California-Mormon-Pony Express Trail in Utah; and surveying and recording portions of the Rosebud Battlefield near the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana. His thesis was the archaeology and history of Fort Owen in southwest Montana, about which he is currently writing a book. But most importantly, he helped his brother Chris Merritt (Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer in Salt Lake City, UT) on his PhD dissertation on the Chinese of Montana, for which he gained the most knowledge on Chinese artifacts.

Conference schedule

See the conference schedule: 10 sessions, keynote speakers, meet the funders event, pre-conference tours, dinners and social/networking activities.

Monday night community walkabout and BBQ dinner (9/16)

Join us in an evening exploring Historic Canyon City, OR on Monday, September 16, 2019. Enjoy exclusive access to some of Grant County’s most beloved historic sites while catching up with colleagues, eating delicious BBQ and desserts, and participating in some outdoor activities. And, did we mention the annual Silent Auction? Place your final bids for some amazing prizes. We can’t wait to see you there. Some of the fun you'll be having includes:

Access to the Canyon City Brewery building
Self-guided tours of the Grant County Historical Museum and Greenhorn Jail
Tours of St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Roping tutorial
Croquet
Movie and popcorn

Stay tuned for more info!

Venue

Grant County Regional Airport
72000 Airport Road
John Day, OR 97845

The road trip to John Day is one of the best Oregon has to offer. “Where the high desert meets the mountains.” September is one of the most beautiful months for scenery with the fall foliage in full bloom. Grant County features pine forests, mountains, lush range lands and sweeping river valleys.

You will have opportunities to visit the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site; the John Day Fossil Beds and Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, and Cant Ranch; DeWitt Museum at Depot Park; and the Grant County Historical Museum.

The conference will be held high above the city at the Grant County Regional Airport. The John Day/Grant County Regional Airport is one of the newest, most energy efficient, environmentally friendly structures of its kind anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. It was designed as a multi-use facility and has completely outfitted conference and training rooms.

The passion, pride and small-town spirit of Grant County’s 7,100 people will be evident in the special greetings, events and surprises we have in store for conference attendees.

If you have questions or ideas, email OMA Conference Chair, Ann Dowdy, or call 541-226-1270.