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JAHA has an ongoing fundraising, grant writing, and
endowment program. We plan to use some of their strate-
gies to seek funding for the Gold Nugget Museum and its
programs.

Museums cannot function without a dedicated team of
docents. Recruiting and training docents must be an inte-
gral part of the museum’s program.

Publicity is one of the keys to assuring a museum’s suc-
cess. Maintaining public awareness of the museums and
their programs is critical. The Johnstown museums are
facing the reality that many members of the younger
generations have no firsthand knowledge of the disasters.
Maintaining that knowledge of the past is a vital part of
determining plans for the future. Our respective disasters
will continue to influence who we are.

Education is equally as important as publicity. It plays a
vital role in our museum. Our local history is what helps
bind us as a community, as does the shared experience of
the disaster that befell us. Working closely with our local
schools will continue to be a high priority of the Gold
Nugget Museum.

As a result of the visit to JAHA, we are developing a
working relationship between JAHA and the Gold Nug-
get Museum, sharing ideas and support.

Rod Hass is a second generation Californian, born and raised
in the Central Valley. He is an alumnus of Chico State, but he
also went to colleges and universities in New Jersey, Chi-
cago, and Munich, Germany. Rod graduated with a degree in
German and taught German for most of his education career.
He was also the school librarian for several years at Paradise
Intermediate School. During his German teaching career,
Rod annually took groups of students for a one-month stay in
Germany to attend Paradise’s partner school. Rod’s last profes-
sional work was teaching English in Poland and Estonia to
military personnel from several NATO countries.

Rod is a US Navy veteran, eventually retiring from the Navy
Reserve. He and his wife, Karen, married for 48 years, were
both involved with setting up and opening the Gold Nugget
Museum. Karen was one of the first docents.
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