Awards to be Presented at 2020 Iowa Museum Association Conference
“The Power of Real” October 19-21

The Iowa Museum Association Rising Star Award is intended to recognize individuals who have worked or volunteered in the Iowa museum field for 3-8 years and have helped their museum broaden its audience through engagement activities. Nominees may be employed or volunteer in an Iowa museum of any type.

Rising Star Award - Sheryl Davis

Recognizing the importance of community support, tourism, education, exhibits and collections working together for a successful museum or heritage experience, Sheryl Davis has taken a holistic approach to her work with the Everly Brothers Childhood Home in Shenandoah, Iowa.

In nominating Sheryl Davis for the Iowa Museum Association Rising Star Award, Shelly Warner, Marketing Director and Event Planner for the Shenandoah Chamber & Industry Association said, "Sheryl Davis brings professional expertise to the Everly Brothers Childhood Home.  Without her input and contributions, I believe the Home would have continued to flounder with little direction. With her help, we have established a mission statement, joined the state museum association, have been far more successful with fundraising and events, and have established an annual Everly Brother Heritage Day Celebration."

Shelly Warner noted Sheryl's work with local historic preservation planning and tourism development, research and documentation, and visitor experience programming among other things. Shelly described Sheryl's important role in helping the Everly Brothers Childhood Home broaden its audience through engagement activities including concerts and events that have brought many fans to the site.

Sheryl’s work for the Home over a short period of time has been prolific.  Sheryl developed local, national and international partnerships and support for the site, as well as exhibits and programming.  As a benefit for the Everly Brothers Childhood Home and community celebration, Sheryl brought a concert to the Shenandoah Armory for the first time in 50 years, reopening the original ticket booth and dressing the room and stage in 1940s/50s inspired decorations.  In order to provide digital experiences and resources to world-wide supporters, she partnered with University of Iowa faculty to complete a 3D laser-scan of the Everly Brothers Childhood Home.  To add to the collection and gather research material for later programming, she organized a 60th anniversary celebration gathering of the Shenandoah High School Class of 1957, carefully documenting their memories of classmate Don Everly, and the Everly family in Shenandoah. With this material, Sheryl created the first short documentary film made on the Everly Brothers in Shenandoah and produced content focusing on Don and Phil Everly's early life in Shenandoah, Iowa for From Bakersfield to Beale Street: A Regional History of American Rock ‘n’ Roll from Rockabilly to MTV (4th Edition) by David Stuart, Ryan Sheeler and Scott Anderson (published 2019).

Sheryl organized traveling exhibits and programming such as "Phil & Don Home Again!" a special presentation and exhibit on the Everly Brothers' formative years in Shenandoah, Iowa, featuring guest speaker Bill Hillman, founder of the Everly Brothers Childhood Home Foundation.   

Cynthia Sweet, Director of the Iowa Museum Association said, “The Rising Star Award recognizes individuals who have worked or volunteered in the Iowa museum field for 3-5 years and have helped their museum broaden its audience through engagement activities.  Sheryl Davis is an outstanding example, bringing energy, ideas, and new approaches to engaging local, national, and international audiences with the Everly Brothers Childhood Home in Shenandoah, Iowa.  Sheryl Davis is a Rising Star in the Iowa museum industry."

For more information: IowaMuseumAssociation.org / Awards and Recognition

2020 New Museum Recognition

The Jane Young House is being recognized as a new Iowa museum.

The Jane Young House is an historic home built in 1873 by Kendall and Jane Young.  For almost 100 years, members of the Webster City Womans Club donated clothing, hats, furniture, and other items to build a collection for the Jane Young House.  In 2018 it was decided to create exhibits and open the house to the public and to school groups.   To create the exhibit space, the electrical system was updated, mini-splits were added to regulate the temperature and humidity of each of the seven exhibit rooms, hard wood floors were refinished, new window coverings were acquired, and dress forms were found.  A marketing plan was developed and the organization joined the Iowa Museum Association.

The Jane Young House opened to the public in February 2019 with exhibits including historic clothing, hats, and furniture.  Costumed docents shared educational information about the home’s original occupants, Kendall and Jane Young, as well as the exhibits.

For more information: https://janeyounghouse.com/

2020 Anniversary Recognition

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is being recognized upon its 125th anniversary.

Inspired by the extraordinary art gathered at the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago, community leaders from Cedar Rapids formed an art club in 1895.  Ten years later, when they were offered a specially designed gallery in the new Carnegie Library, the club incorporated as the Cedar Rapids Art Association.  The first painting was acquired for the collection in 1906.  Local artists were often important members, helping arrange exhibitions, lectures, and special events.  Among the most active members in the early 1920s were artists Grant Wood and his close friend Marvin Cone.  Receiving Federal support from 1930 to 1935, the Association also ran the highly regarded Little Gallery, directed by Ed Rowan, who later helped run the Public Works of Art Project.

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art's mission is to excite, engage, and education through the arts.

To read more:  https://www.crma.org/about-us

The virtual 2020 Iowa Museum Association conference, The Power of Real, will be held Monday-Wednesday, October 19-21.  The conference will include both live and pre-recorded sessions, social events, student events, an exhibitor’s hall, and video tours of Iowa museums.

The IMA conference is open to anyone interested in the work of Iowa’s museums.  Staff members, trustees, board members, volunteers, and interested students are encouraged to attend.  Participants need not be members of the Iowa Museum Association.  Conference information is available at www.iowamuseums.org or by contacting Executive Director Cynthia Sweet at [email protected] or 319-239-2236.  


The Iowa Museum Association, founded in 1976, has served Iowa’s museums, staff members, and volunteers for over 40 years.  Working in the interests of Iowa museums, the Iowa Museum Association builds organizational capacity, advocates to heighten awareness of the field, and fosters community.

Iowa Museum Association members include history and art museums, historical societies, zoos, botanical gardens, county conservation bureaus, science centers, children's museums, historic homes, and living history sites.  Member museums collect and educate on a wide range of subjects - antique airplanes, Iowa agriculture, presidential homes, fine art, railroads and depots, and much more.

The Iowa Museum Association provides a voice for museums to communicate with each other as well as with elected officials, and provides mentoring, workshops, conferences and technical support to build capacity in all aspects of museum work.  Iowa’s museums make Iowa’s communities special and unique places to live, contribute to and enhance Iowa's tourism attractions, preserve Iowa history, and strengthen community and local pride.

For more information please contact IMA executive director Cynthia Sweet at 319-239-2236 or [email protected]