Also included in the new visitor complex is an area that is destined to become the hub of operations for the CNHA. In addition to a real store with display and sales area, there will also be a storage area for inventory, and a small but real office for the CNHA's Business Manager. Until now, we've often had to rely on storage space in our manager's home or president's garage, and the business manager's "office" was space she shared with the visitor center's furnace and field mice!

While we're excited about the prospect of being able to have an honest-to-goodness retail operation with a genuine office and storage space, we are also having to face the challenges that it brings. This includes having to select and purchase f fixtures for the storage area and for stocking and displaying items in the retail sales area; evaluating, selecting, and acquiring new point of sale hardware and associated software for sales/inventory management, recruiting volunteers and part-time sales staff to man the facility, reviewing, selecting, and stocking new, sales items, etc.

There's lots to be done and not a lot of time to get it done. Besides gearing up for a full-fledged retail operation, we're also in the midst of preparing for a second year of tour vehicle operations. This includes acquiring (by contract or lease) a vehicle with drivers as well as recruiting interpreters for the tours.

So, I have one question for our new Business Manager, Lynn Talbot - Hey Lynn, are we having fun yet?

Editor