Pasadena Now, the community news website that has been serving Pasadena continuously since 2004, and Skycraft Studios, a film/sound/video production studio that assisted the Museum with its first crowdfunding campaign, were singled out for special accolades at Pasadena Museum of History’s Annual Meeting on January 23, 2016.
Community Angel Award
PMH executive director Jeannette O’Malley presented the Corporate Angel Award to James Macpherson and Candice Merrill, founders/publishers/editors of Pasadena Now. This award is given in acknowledgment of an individual, business, or foundation that has assisted the Museum with a key element of its institutional mission.
“One key element of our mission is the theme that history moves forward,” O’Malley noted. “It is imperative that we preserve the past while capturing our history as it unfolds today. Our Community Angel awardees have taken this theme to heart and in doing so have created a vibrant on-line presence that documents the stories of today with interviews, articles and photos. Rarely do I attend an event when our honorees have not been present engaging in their pivotal role of documenting local history.
“Over the years I have learned so much about electronic media from two people who took the dramatic step of launching a virtual daily publication,” she concluded.
Skycraft Studios was honored with the Lynne Emery Award, which is given to a member of the community who utilizes the PMH collections to promote the Museum and make the public more aware of its holdings. Skycraft’s Nathaniel J. Gonzales and Edrina J. Calderon lent their expertise in creating a video for the Museum’s very successful “Great History Freeze” crowdfunding campaign.
Presenting the award, Katie Brandon, PMH associate director of development & operations, explained, “This three and a half minute video not only showcased our extensive collections, but also spread the word about the critical need to preserve the historic negatives that are under our care. The Skycraft team guided us through the entire process beginning with the deteriorating negatives and our plan to freeze them, and ending with the professional video posted for the world to see on our Kickstarter site.” Brandon went on to note that the campaign was fully funded in eight days “from individuals all over the world who wanted to participate in saving these images,” and that “ through social media and this campaign, word continues to spread about the value and depth of our collections and donations to this project continue to come in.”
For additional information about Pasadena Museum of History and its collections, exhibits, programs, and tours please visit www.pasadenahistory.org.