Sautee Nacoochee Center receives technology and education award

The Sautee Nacoochee Community Association is proud to announce the receipt of a Technology & Education Award from the Southeastern Museums Conference for our Heart & Heritage of the Northeast Georgia Mountains phone app. Many people worked on the project, including, from left to right: David Greear, SNCA History Committee; Patrick Larson, Georgia Mountains Regional Commission; Alan Hall, Chair, SNCA Board of Directors; Noah Bryant, SNCA Intern from UNG; Patrick Brennan, SNCA Executive Director; Madison Hatfield, SNCA Intern from Piedmont College; Craig Bryant, White County Commission and SNCA Board of Directors; Helen Fincher Hardman, SNCA Board of Directors; Judy Lovell, White County Historical Society; Mary Geidel, SNCA History Committee; Jennie Inglis, SNCA Development & Marketing Coordinator. (Photo by Wayne Hardy, White County News)

The Sautee Nacoochee Community Association is pleased to announce they are a recipient of the 2020 Southeastern Museums Conference Bronze Award for the telephone application and brochure, “The Heart & Heritage of the Northeast Georgia Mountains.” The SEMC Technology Competition recognizes excellence in the use of technology within southeastern museums and celebrates the accomplishments of their work.

The app is available to both Android and iPhone smartphones. It provides maps, directions based upon location, and an audio guide to critical points of interest. In conjunction with the app, a 12-panel, full-color brochure, Explore Helen & Sautee, was created for the Landmarks & Sites tour for those that do not have phone access or choose not to download the app.

This is Sautee Nacoochee’s award winning app icon.

Four tours are currently offered within the app. They are: Landmarks & Sites; Plein Air: Outdoor Vistas; Folk Potters of Northeast Georgia; and Local Pottery Shops. Several additional tours are planned.  The website version of the application is available at http://HelenSauteeGa.oncell.com.

As technology gains importance throughout the museum field, expectations and standards were exceptionally high for this year’s applicants. The SEMC Technology Competition received a record-breaking number of applications from a wide variety of museums across the southeast.

Winning entries were expected to demonstrate innovation, effective design, accessibility, creativity, and recognition of institutional identity. Recipients of the awards were judged by an appointed jury of museum professionals across the region who specialize in the fields of digital media and technology.

Partners in establishing this county-wide resource include:

  • Appalachian Regional Commission
  • Georgia Mountains Regional Commission
  • White County (Georgia) Commission
  • White County Historical Society
  • Sautee Nacoochee History Museum, a committee of the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association, with matching funding from the Gregory New/History Museum Fund
  • Private and business investors with gifts averaging $50.00 or more.

The award winners were announced in October, during the virtual 2020 Southeastern Museums Conference Annual Meeting. This designation recognizes the Sautee Nacoochee Center’s contribution to professional standards in Southeastern museums.

For additional information, contact Patrick Brennan at [email protected] or at 706.878.3300. The Sautee Nacoochee Community Association is a 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization whose mission is to value and nuture individual creativity, along with the historical, cultural and environmental resources of the Sautee and Nacoochee valleys and surrounding areas.

For information about the Sautee Nacoochee Center, visit www.snca.org or call 706-878-3300. SNC is located at 283 Hwy 255 N, Sautee Nacoochee, GA 30571.

About the Southeastern Museums Conference

The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), a nonprofit membership organization, is an association of museums, museum staff, independent professionals and corporate partners. It focuses on the Southeastern United State including: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands.

SEMC works to:

  • Provide educational and professional development opportunities
  • Improve the interchange of ideas and information
  • Encourage respect and collegiality

The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) is dedicated to providing a safe, inclusive, and welcoming conference experience for everyone. It does not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form.

For more information about the Southeastern Museums Conference, visit https://www.semcdirect.net/.

This article has been submitted by Jennie Inglis of the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center.