Very many of the 55 Voluntary Stewards at the Museum met there on 9th November to mark the end of the 2013 season and to pay tribute to Isobel Burrows who has retired after 18 years as the Stewards’ Rota Organiser and Mentor to new Stewards.
Chairman of the Museum Trust, Roger Radcliffe, paid a warm tribute to all the Stewards “for keeping the Museum’s doors open”. Visitor numbers were slightly down on 2012’s record number due to the hot summer, but importantly, the spend per visitor was up and income from visitors increased by £400 over the previous year. The peak day for visitors was 31 July with a total of 73.
It was, said the Chairman, the “Year of the Till” when the Museum installed a commercial till with which the Stewards had coped admirably. He praised Shop Managers, Mike and Lynn Furness, for all their help with the till installation and training.
There was prolonged applause as the Chairman presented Isobel with a bouquet and thanked her for all her hard work over so many years. Isobel said she had really enjoyed working with such super, reliable Stewards.