Okaloosa County Historical Museum Cooperative (OCHMC)
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the OCHMC is to strengthen preservation activity in Okaloosa County and make valuable
historic collections more accessible to residents and visitors through educational and marketing
initiatives.
MISSION
OCHMC works cooperatively to pool and develop resources for the proper care and management of
historic collections and, for the increase accessibility of these collections through high quality educational
initiatives and integrated technologies.
OCHMC GOALS:
 Increase awareness and advocacy of historical and cultural resources;
 Increase quality of collections care and management;
 Increase visibility of museums and their collections and more diverse audiences in Okaloosa
County and throughout the region;
 Increase funding for technology including hardware/software, audio/visual, telecommunications,
etc. for the digitization of archival materials;
 Increase funding to Okaloosa County historical museums through state and federal programs;
PLANNED PROJECTS:
Promotions
 Develop, plan and implement a comprehensive joint marketing plan to include television, radio,
print and billboard advertising for all history museums;
Education
 Create a comprehensive program in Northwest Florida history for 4th grade educators in Okaloosa
County to support classroom curriculum in Florida history.
 Develop, plan and implement joint public education programming geared toward target audiences
of residents and visitors;
 Develop a website as an educational and promotional resource;
Disaster Preparedness:
 Secure funding and/or consultant to create a comprehensive, disaster preparedness plan for the
historical resources maintained by each organization.
Technology and Accessibility
 Secure Past Perfect or other collection database/software for all historical museums, implement
staff training and link all partners in order to provide greater accessibility to historic collections;
 Digitize and link archival collections for increased accessibility for research and education.
Public Programs
 Develop, plan and implement joint public programming such as bus tours, lecture series and
workshops related to county history. Establish quarterly bus transportation for tours to museum
sites from Visitors’ Center or other central location in the south part of the county. (“Take a
HisTOURical Ride Through Okaloosa County”)
State Support
 Host grant writing workshop from State Division of Historical Resources