Voice
3126 W. Cary St., #447 | Richmond, Virginia 23221-3504 | 804. 358.3170 | www.vamuseums.org | Summer 2019
Strategies for Making Museums Essential
Good Strategies Require Good Planning Feature Article by John Sarvey of Floricane
Introducing VAM’s New Strategic Plan Looking Forward to Our Next Fifty Years
Planning Is Not Just for Organizations How to Create Your Own Strategic Plan
Good Strategies Require Good Planning
Directors’ Corner Dear Colleagues,
S Mission The Virginia Association of Museums helps our museum community succeed.
Vision A united museum community inspiring the world around us
Governing Council President, Gretchen Bulova VP, Planning & Resources, Robert Orrison VP, Member Engagement, Dana Puga Secretary, Paige Gibbons Backus Treasurer, Jeffrey L. Nichols Immediate Past President, Gary Sandling Ex-Officio Members, Matthew Gibson, Jeffrey Allison
D ire c tors Felicia Abrams Steven Blashfield Jamie Bosket Andrew Couloomb Karen Daly Jaime Fawcett Charles Grant
Joe Keiper, PhD John Long Margo Smith Nathan Stalvey Scott Stroh Robin von Seldeneck Eric S. Wilson
ummer is always a busy time for our members - and an exciting time for VAM as we start planning for the coming year’s conference and the next season of workshops.
In 2009, the Valentine Museum was looking into its second century of telling the story of Richmond. The museum had excelled in its ability to document and illuminate the city’s culture and history.
The summer is also when our board gathers for its annual retreat to talk about plans for VAM’s future. Now that our new strategic plan is complete (see the article in this issue), board members this year will be looking at the best ways to make VAM sustainable, and make sure that we are poised to be able to address the priorities identified in our plan.
The museum’s leadership wanted to understand what the next, and most important, story it could tell was. The Valentine was my second strategic planning client, and I was eager to help them uncover that next story.
We are also planning for our next member survey. Wait, I know, I can hear the groans from here. I hope that you will respond to our survey this fall - we will be asking not only about how you use VAM and how we can improve, but also about what you and your museum are doing when it comes to education and collections care. The more information we gather, the more we can offer up to date information to legislators, supporters, and others about the museums in Virginia and how critical they are to a community’s success. I hope you enjoy this issue of the Voice, focused on Strategic Planning. Whether you are focusing on planning for your organization, or have been contemplating a personal strategic plan for yourself, the articles this month should help you. We are proud, too, to be able to share VAM’s strategic plan with you - as our members, you are central to every plan (and discussion of that plan) that we create, and we hope that you are as excited about VAM’s future goals as we are. In the end, everything we plan and implement is to better serve you, and the museum community as a whole.
Contac t
Best wishes for a good summer,
Phone: 804. 358.3170 Fax: 804. 358.3174 www.vamuseums.org
Jennifer
Sta ff
Jennifer Thomas, Executive Director jthomas@vamuseums.org
Jennifer Thomas, Executive Director Virginia Association of Museums
Daniel Goldstein, Membership & Development Coordinator dgoldstein@vamuseums.org
The answer to the Valentine’s future was plural – stories. Richmond was filled with untold stories, and invisible communities. There was plenty of strategic opportunity for the Valentine to dive more deeply into its mission. A good strategic planning process is mission-centered. A solid plan leverages a wide group of stakeholders to clarify and affirm the work of the organization. It validates existing knowledge, even as it uncovers new ideas and perspectives to shape the future.
Ironically enough, good planning requires… well, good planning. Over the past 10 years, I’ve explored strategic pathways with more than a dozen museums and cultural organizations across Virginia. From the American Civil War Museum in Richmond to the Washington Heritage Museums in Fredericksburg, every organization has started with a unique set
Su Thongpan, Accountant su@vamuseums.org
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One small data point: During that 2009 strategic planning process, the Valentine’s strategic planning team looked at technology trends, at social patterns, at museum best practices, and at demographics. The discovery process surfaced opportunity – in just 15 years, by 2025, more than a quarter of the Richmond region’s population would be first or second generation Americans – neither white, nor African-American.
Effective planning is emotionally and intellectually engaging. In the end, it provides a clear roadmap to move from paper to action, creating tangible impact.
Christina E. Newton, Assistant Director cnewton@vamuseums.org
The VAM Voice is a member benefit published quarterly. VAM encourages readers to submit article proposals. Contact membership@vamuseums.org for information.
By John Sarvay, principal consultant, Floricane of needs and perspectives. And emerged with a uniquely different plan. A former boss of mine often reminded me, “It’s what you do before you do what you do that will make the biggest difference.” And so it is with strategic planning – being ready helps you get started. Being ready for strategic planning is part mindset and curiosity, and part capacity. A flexible mindset is a critical leadership quality. It allows leaders to simultaneously champion the process and create space for questions and concerns. A curious mindset allows leaders to ask (and hear the answers to) difficult questions – during the process, and in conversations with critical stakeholders. A few questions to check your readiness as an organization: • What is the potential value of strategic planning for our organization at this moment in time? • What are some of the questions we’re afraid to ask ourselves? • How do we typically deal with information that makes us uncomfortable? • Who in our organization is going to be least excited about strategic planning? These can be difficult questions to answer, especially for a small group of decision makers invested in past successes. But the ability to ask and hear answers can have a profound impact on an organization’s ability to engage strategically. Before diving into strategic planning, it’s also helpful to hit the pause button with key leaders and reflect on the organization’s overall readiness to dive into this important work. Leadership should understand and appreciate the looming commitment of time and other potential draws on the organization. At Floricane, we’re huge fans of democratization. Organizations are small communities, or very small nation states.
Cover image: You X Ventures on Unsplash Page 5 image: Alejandro Escamilla on Unsplash
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Developing Your Own Strategic Plan
Good Strategies Require Good Planning
By Carol Vernon, certified career coach & principal, Communication Matters
Continued from Page 3
An organization is a group of people – employees, board members, donors, partners, and visitors – who have come together for some common purpose. These are the people who care the most about the future. It’s easy to forget to ask them what they think. We see it over and over in our work. It usually starts with a board retreat, and a few flip charts mapping interesting ideas about the future. It quickly turns into a set of unrealistic expectations established by “them” to keep “us” from doing important work.
While the scale of the two organizations is dramatically different, they each benefitted strategically from investing time and energy into bringing new voices to the conversation.
Truth is, organizations discover more with democracy. The “democratization of planning” in our view is nothing less than a genuine commitment to invite as many people as appropriate to the conversation. It means allowing your community to shape the work. The Wilton House Museum is an 18th century manor house that was physically moved and reconstructed in 1934 by The National Society of Colonial Dames in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As part of the American Alliance of Museums’ accreditation process, Wilton was encouraged to engage in an “inclusive planning process” to test its mission and future relevance. For executive director Keith MacKay that meant casting a wide net to explore ways to bring the 18th century to life. The museum held a series of focus groups for its neighbors (Wilton is in a residential neighborhood in Richmond), individual and corporate donors, and professionals such as teachers and scholars. The team at Wilton invited peer museums to the table to provide perspective, and discussed its strategic plan in depth with its Board. A strategic planning “open house” was held at the end of the process togive the community an additional opportunity to weigh in. All told, Wilton reached out to more than 100 individuals seeking feedback on its strategic direction. (Accreditation was achieved.) Floricane is a Richmond-based business that works wtih nonprofits on strategic planning. Contact John Sarvey at john@floricane.com for more information.
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The Library of Virginia is another living example of “test driving” a strategic plan with key stwakeholders. Like Wilton, the Library extended its process across the state to get input from patrons, donors, librarians, historians, staff, board members, and more. Over four months, the Library met with more than 300 people to generate ideas, test strategic themes, and craft tactics and action plans.
We’ve found that organizations that engage broad audiences during the strategic process often avoid time and confusion at the end of the process. An obvious added bonus – by engaging people through the process, you increase overall investment in the final strategic product. Change takes time. It often starts with a conversation. When we first gathered with the newly combined boards of the former Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center, the group generated a set of themes they aspired to bring into the new museum building. Walking through the new galleries of the American Civil War Museum five years later, and it’s clear the strategy grew roots. a
Strategic planning isn’t just for organizations. A personal strategic plan will help ensure that your goals and actions are aligned with what matters most in your life. Perhaps you have had an opportunity in your work to lead or be part of creating an organization’s strategic plan. The plan, if used properly, is intended to help steer the organization’s work over a certain time period. Similarly, some of my clients create a personal strategic plan at the beginning of each year to do much the same thing: Their plan helps guide their personal and professional lives. When used correctly, it provides an anchor for them to connect back to when things change and new opportunities arise. The best and most relevant personal strategic plan is tailored to focus on what matters most to you. Typically, a plan encompasses career issues (such as ongoing development in your current role, raised visibility in your field, or a job change), finances, health, and key relationships. However, it is fine to include additional topics that are important to you, such as new adventures, travel, or spiritual development. Here are six steps for creating your own personal plan: Step 1: Find time. You need to break away from your dayto-day duties and responsibilities and dream about what you want to accomplish. Step 2: Clarify your values. What do you value most in your life? It is usually easy to identify the first few (e.g., family, health, happiness), but you need to dig deeper for the purposes of a personal strategic plan. Think carefully about what else you truly value and want to honor. Consider leadership roles in your organization or your community, close relationships and connectivity at both personal and professional levels, recognition or greater influence, time, freedom and flexibility, life/work balance, personal growth, new challenges, wealth, service, and meaningful work. Step 3: Create your mission statement. This is a brief statement, just a sentence or two, based on the values you want to honor. It is not intended to redefine who you are. Rather, it serves as a reminder of your life’s purpose. Your statement is a valuable touchstone that you can use to help guide your behavior and inform your decisions. Step 4: Do a SWOT analysis on yourself. What are your personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? Who could provide you with honest feedback regarding your strengths and weaknesses? What is the economic forecast, both the good and bad, as it relates to your life and your work?
Step 5: Create your goals. As a last step, identify goals that align with the core values you identified earlier. For example, if you identified professional growth or leadership opportunities as values, you could include a career-related goal on your list. Under each goal, include specific steps and a time frame. Your goals can be broad (grow my career), but your action steps must be specific and time-limited (get a new job in the next three months). I strongly recommend limiting the number of goals and action steps so you can take a realistic approach to what you will accomplish. Typically, three or four goals with one or two actions steps under each is doable in a year. Step 6: Determine what support you need to stay accountable to your plan. Identifying a partner, perhaps a colleague or good friend, can help you stick with your plan. Agree on a regular time to check in (it could be a 10-minute call every other Friday). Or schedule a time weekly, biweekly, or monthly to review your personal strategic plan on your own and allow for modifications. Here are some final tips based on my observation of what my most successful clients do: • Focus on what is within your control, as opposed to things you cannot control, such as the economy or what your boss does or does not do. • Highlight the positive outcomes that change will bring, as opposed to looking at what you will be giving up. For example, focus on moving toward good health rather than losing weight. • Reduce your plans rather than overcommit and take daily actions, even if they are small, to make things happen. Creating a personal strategic plan can be transformative. Realize that some changes happen quickly, while other habits take a whole lot longer to stick. The key is to be patient with yourself and know you are moving in the right direction. a
Summer 2019
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Looking Forward to Our Next Fifty Years VAM’s New Strategic Plan
By Jennifer Thomas, executive director, VAM
In
2018, during our fiftieth anniversary celebration, the board members of VAM were busy working on our new strategic plan, designed to carry us the first three years into our second half century. While we did not hired an outside facilitator to help us through the process, we did stick to a specific schedule, and walked through many steps as we built the plan. Our standing committees had crucial roles, from reviewing the previous plan to crafting elements of the new plan. Their task was to make sure the plan put enough emphasis on the pieces of VAM operations that their committee was responsible for. The Planning and Resources Committee is most concerned with our financial health, and the different income streams that make up our budget each year. Member Engagement Committee is focused on our members, from how best to engage them in events and programs to whether or not we are providing what members need in different parts of the state and for different subsets of membership. Lastly, our Leadership Development Committee works mainly with advocacy, diversity and inclusion, and developing a succession plan for future board leadership. Once each committee had a chance to provide their input, the full board worked together to create a plan that would be more than just a document on a shelf. We wanted the board to be able to use and discuss the progress of this plan at every meeting, and we wanted staff to be able to build realistic goals as we move through the year. Whether this is the same process that your board has gone through, or one that you are thinking about for the year ahead, we always find strategic planning to be a fascinating and rewarding experience. Review what we crafted here, and feel free to reach out to our staff or board members with questions at any time. We are here to serve you, and we hope that these stated priority goals make that clear. a
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VAM STRATEGIC PRIORITIES 2019-2021 Attain Financial Sustainability To provide VAM with the financial ability to maintain current programs and future growth through strategic plan initiatives. Diversify revenue stream to prevent potential volatility. Operational Goals: • Create a Development Plan with metrics and goals. • Grow Membership revenue by 10% over the next three years. • Monetize programs (current and new) and revenue generating products. • Grow revenue from individuals and foundations. Strengthen VAM as an Organization To ensure the future and long-term success of VAM. Operational Goals: • Create and maintain an actively engaged VAM board.
Operational goals: • Create and maintain a Communications/Member Engagement Plan. • Foster partnerships with related organizations, vendors, and state/ local government agencies. • Evaluate and prioritize existing programs to offer meaningful and innovative products to the membership. Advocate for Virginia Museums To serve as the leader and source of information on Virginia Museums and their importance to the Commonwealth and our nation. Operational goals:
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By Daniel Goldstein, membership & development coordinator, VAM
t’s hard to believe that July is my one year anniversary with VAM. It’s been quite a year as I have met so many wonderful people and seen so many wonderful sites. When I transitioned from part-time membership coordinator to VAM’s first fulltime membership and development coordinator, one of the first things we discussed was the importance of getting out and visiting as many of our members and prospective members as possible, and I’ve been happy to fill the need. Virginia is blessed to have such a high concentration of historic and cultural institutions, and being able to tour these sites is an awesome part of my job!
to my home base of Fredericksburg. Having lived in this area for most of my life, I was familiar with many local sites, but there were still many I had not had the opportunity to visit. I didn’t realize what I was missing! The old adage size doesn’t matter is so true with museums. I’ve since traveled across the commonwealtlh and have visited sites in all five of VAM’s regions, but I’ve barely scratched the surface of experiencing all that Virginia has to offer. (Check out the list below!)
Members have been excited to have me visit and appreciate the opportunity to show off their sites and share their latest work. From helping to explain member benefits and news about our latest programs, to sharing what reAs I settled into my new position, my sources VAM may have to help them do plan was to begin by visiting sites close
their job better, I thoroughly enjoy the opportunty for face-to-face meetings. Another benefit of site visits (albeit a bit selfish) is the opportunity to reacquainte myself with old friends in the museum field that I haven’t seen in a long time. Whether we’ve worked together at the same institution, collaborated on a project, or met at a conference or social gathering, Virginia’s museum community is a friendly and well-connected group that I’m honored to be part of. I’m always looking for a new site to visit, so feel free to contact me at dgoldstein@vamuseums.org if you would like me to stop by. I have a LOT more visits to make and more museums peeps to meet! a
• Advocate for museums, their funding and support, at all levels of Government. • Create strategic partnerships with the Virginia Department of Education and other State agencies, and provide support when needed to related agencies that work with museums. a
• Create a diversity and inclusion advisory group to build a network of engaged members from a variety of communities.
Salubria /Germanna Foundation
Central Region Appomattox Courthouse National Battlefield (Appomattox County) Edgar Allan Poe Museum (Richmond City) Pocahontas State Park, CCC Museum (Chesterfield County) Tuckahoe Plantation (Goochland/Henrico Counties) Violet Bank Museum (Colonial Heights City) Virginia Holocaust Museum (Richmond City) Virginia Museum of History & Culture (Richmond City)
• Create a staff and board succession plan aligned with future goals and aspirations. • Provide strategic and innovative planning for the organization. • Foster a staff-friendly workplace. • Recruit and retain exceptional staff and provide competitive compensation. Sustain and Engage the Membership To offer VAM’s membership a slate of opportunities to keep members active and engaged.
Where’s Dan?
Brandon Robinson, CAE, speaking at VAM’s annual board retreat on association trends.
Mountain/Valley Region Fralin Museum of Art (Charlottesville City/Albemarle County) Historic Dress Collection of UVA (Charlottesville City/Albemarle County) James Monroe’s Highland (Charlottesville City/ Albemarle County) Monticello (Charlottesville City/Albemarle County) Northern Region Caroline County Historical Society (Caroline County)
Fralin Museum of Art
Dahlgren Heritage Museum (King George County) Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (Fredericksburg City & Spotsylvania County) Gari Melcher’s Home & Studio (Stafford County) Germanna Foundation (Orange County) James Madison Museum (Orange County) James Monroe Museum & Library (Fredericksburg City) Kenmore Plantation/Ferry Farm (Fredericksburg City/Stafford County) Manassas Museum (Manassas City) Post Oak Civil War Museum (Stafford County) Prince William Co Historic Preservation Division (Prince William County) Shannon Air Museum (Spotsylvania County) Spotsylvania County Museum (Spotsylvania County) National Museum of the Marine Corps (Prince William County) Montpelier (Orange County) Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society (Spotsylvania County) Washington Heritage Museums (Fredericksburg City)
Summer 2019
Historic Christ Church
Southwest Region Anne Spencer House & Garden (Lynchburg City) Danville Science Center (Danville City) Legacy Museum (Lynchburg City) Old City Cemetery (Lynchburg City) Tidewater/Hampton Roads Region Barry Art Gallery at ODU (Norfolk City) Berkeley Plantation (Charles City County) Chippokes Plantation State Park (Surry County) Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg City) Hermitage Museum & Gardens (Norfolk City) Historic Christ Church (Lancaster County) Jamestown Settlement (James City County) Lancaster County Historical Society (Lancaster County) MacArthur Memorial (Norfolk City) Menokin Foundation (Richmond County) Norfolk Botanical Garden (Norfolk City) Shirley Plantation (Charles City County) Steamboat Era Museum (Lancaster County Westmoreland County Museum (Westmoreland County)
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#VAM2019 at a Glance Success in The Hill City
VAM’s first citywide conference was a resounding success thanks to YOU! We couldn’t have pulled it all off without the generous support of our incredible Local Arrangements and Program Committes, conference sponsors, local museums, business and organzational partners, speakers, volunteers, and board members.
Evaluating the VAM 2019 Annual Conference What Did They Like? Overall conference ratings were great.
Preliminary conference events received top ratings.
Evening events were a blast.
Conference attendees were using mobile more than ever.
Lynchburg was the perfect location for our inaugural citywide event, and we look forward to recreating this exciting format in the coming years. As one conference attendee commented, “you set a high bar,” but we hope to wow you again next year too as we head to Northern Virginia. Take a look at our conference evaluation results and then see page 11 for more information about next year’s program in Fairfax. Session proposals are currently being accepted.
Who Attends the Conference?
As
a first time attendee, I walked away feeling very happy I went. I learned so much and made important connections. Will never miss another one!
Sincere Thanks to our Signature Conference Sponsor!
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he Citwide conference allows us greater exposure to the field realities of the Commonwealth which is crucial. Some of the most creative things are happening at smaller museums as illustrated by Lynchburg.
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ell planned and remarkably “fit into” the small city. Well done VAM staff!
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thought Lynchburg was a great host city and encourage you to consider other smaller cities as conference venues.
Summer 2019
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Member Spotlight Aldie Mill Historic Park: Not Your Run-of-the-Mill Experience By Tracy Gillespie, site manager
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top by Aldie Mill on a weekend this summer or fall, and you’re likely to hear the gears turning and water rushing over the twin overshot waterwheels as our award-winning miller shows visitors how the grist mill operates much as it has since its opening in 1809. Even during the four years of fighting during the Civil War, Aldie Mill has been grinding grains for most of its 210 years. The last miller before its restoration as a historic site was the 7th generation of the same family to own the mill, and his 100-year-old widow lives just up the road. Our history lives on! Aldie Mill was the brainchild of Charles Fenton Mercer of Fredericksburg, who inherited land in this part of southwestern Loudoun County. He set out not only to start a milling operation, but to use the latest technology so that it was one of the most successful mills in an agricultural area brimming with grain-producing farms. Mercer also created a thriving village around the mill and christened it Aldie, after his ancestral home in Aldie, Scotland. With the need for efficient transportation to get newly-ground grains to market, he established Little River Turnpike, connecting Aldie with the busy port of Alexandria. It’s still a wonder to think that in the early 19th century, grain from the Loudoun Valley made its way not only to ports up and down the eastern coast of the United States, but also across the Atlantic to Great Britain and Europe! The stories we share with our visitors to the mill are varied. Like other historic mills, we explain and
demonstrate technology from another time, but we also interpret changes in transportation, include political history through Mercer’s time as a U.S. Congressman, tackle the complicated history of slavery at our site (through a runaway slave story and Mercer’s involvement with colonization), and tell the story of the Civil War by looking at local battles and life on the home front. Aldie Mill is in fact one of 32 parks owned and operated by NOVA Parks, and one of five parks along the east-west Route 50 corridor from the village of Aldie to Upperville that tell the story of the June 1863 Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville. Field trips and in-school programs for 1st through 6th grades, as well as 11th grade, keep our small staff and large volunteer corps busy throughout the school year, and public programs and events range from afternoon teas to a whiskey dinner. (Yes, there was a distillery operating near the mill at one point!) Daily operations are covered by funds generated by the many income-producing parks within the system and by annual contributions from the jurisdictions within which all of the parks operate. The 1863 Fund endowment was established by NOVA Parks in April to provide long-term support for these parks. Aldie Mill is open on weekends from mid-April until mid-November, free of charge. Come by for a visit and a tour! a
Making Museums Essential VAM Annual Conference March 7-10, 2020 #VAM2020
Fairfax, VA
Conference Session Proposals Now Open VAM 2020 Annual Conference Chantilly, Virginia ~ March 7-10, 2020 Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles While museums will likely always face concerns such as caring for their collections, securing funding, and creating awareness of their organizations, 21st century skills are increasingly taking center stage. Attributes such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication should be applied now more than ever, whether to improve internal operations or external outreach. Breaking down barriers to be more inclusive, equitable and diverse are monikers of the modern museum. As the latest national data indicates, museums are considered the most trustworthy entities in the nation. More than newspapers, non-governmental organizations, state agencies, and the federal government. An honor no doubt, but a heavy responsibility nonetheless. So as we near the end of the second decade of the new millennium, how can museums support the needs of their communities and strive for positive transformative change? Or is that our role? We encourage you to get involved in the conversation at the 2020 Annual Conference of the Virginia Association of Museums as we come together, hundreds strong from across the Commonwealth and District of Columbia. Join us for four days of quality professional development training, engaging dialogues, fascinating tours, and fellowship as we visit Fairfax County, an area of diverse attractions, rich dining and shopping experiences, and near our nation’s capital. The 2020 Conference Committees support reaching new audiences, embracing technology, incorporating mindfulness, advocating museums as change agents, and making social justice and equality issues at the forefront of the museum sector today. We encourage session proposals that help us make museums essential. Submit a session proposal now through August 4. Apply Here.
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Summer 2019
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Virginia Association of Museums 3127 West Cary St #447 Richmond, VA 23221-3504
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