Museum Director Donny Wilson Receives Chamber Tourism Award

HANCEVILLE, AL.–Donny Wilson, director of The Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State Community College, was presented the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce’s Superior Service Award at its first Tourism Awards Breakfast on May 6 at Stonebridge Farms.
Wilson has served as Director of the Burrow Museum at Wallace State since 2005, and was previously director of the Museum of Rare Collectibles and North Alabama Museum of History and Fine Arts. He served on the Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee for 10 years and was chairman of the committee in 2013.
“This award comes as such a nice surprise,” said Wilson.  “I have always been a promoter of tourism in Cullman County and our museum’s role in that.  I love my job, and sharing the museum with visitors.”
The Burrow Museum currently serves between 6,500 and 10,000 visitors per year.  In addition to its outstanding permanent collection of objects donated by Evelyn Burrow, the museum has hosted such exhibitions as Japanese prints exhibition from the Birmingham Museum of Art, an exhibition of Works Progress Administration artwork made possible through a grant by the Alabama Tourism Department and the State Legislature, an exhibition of Audubon’s Birds of America, frescoes by Jurgen Tarrasch, paintings by William Sharpton, and so on.
Wilson gives tours to people from all over the world.  He is known for following up visits with a personalized thank you card including pictures from the visit.  And so many send him thank you notes in return.
“Donny sees his job as part story teller, part public relations, and he is a master at both — always engaging an audience.  He tries to make each experience a memorable experience.  And he’s so engaging that he has an uncanny knack for getting people to share their own stories with him,” said Kristen Holmes, WSCC marketing director and museum administrator. “Many individuals and groups who receive a tour from Donny return again and again with friends and family members because they enjoyed him so much.”
Not only is Wilson great with visitors, but he also makes artists know that he is their biggest fan and promoter.  They love working with him, and he has developed relationships that have led to several exhibitions of emerging professional photographers, the largest exhibition in the state of pre-1900s Alabama folk potter, and more than 20 sculptors from across the state committing to participate in the first Burrow Regional Sculptors Exhibition this summer.
Wilson understands the importance of tourism and its impact on the local economy.  When visitors come to The Evelyn Burrow Museum and Wallace State, he encourages them to visit other area attractions and eat in local restaurants. As its closest neighbor, the Museum has also developed a special relationship with the Shrine.
Wilson is active in the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, and the museum is currently hosting an exhibition of photography by its chairman John Dersham as well as an exhibition of Farm Scene prints by Jack DeLoney and others, on loan from Grover Reeves’ collection.  The Burrow Museum was named 2011 Attraction of the Year by the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourism Association.
For more information about The Burrow Museum, visit burrowmuseum.org
 
 
 
 
 
 
PHOTOS:  Cecelia Smith, Chamber Tourism Director; Donny Wilson, Director of The Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State Community College;  Sammie Danford, Chamber Tourism Board Chair