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2-month reprieve
 
Donations keep Science Station open while new board crafts survival plan

Janet Rorholm

The Gazette

November 11, 2006

[Note: This material is copyright by The Gazette, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of The Gazette.]



  CEDAR RAPIDS — The Science Station and its McLeod/Busse IMAX Dome Theatre have been given a short reprieve.

  Board President Dan Thies said Friday that the organization has generated enough money from local businesses and individuals to cover day-to-day operations through the end of January. The holiday season is typically the organization’s busiest time of year and the most lucrative.

  ‘‘We think within that amount of time we can put a plan in place to address the bigger pieces of the puzzle,’’ Thies said.

  Science Stations officials announced Oct. 18 that the handson science and technology center and IMAX theater, struggling under $1.3 million in debt, would close Nov. 15 without a communitywide bailout.

  Thies declined to say how much money has been raised in donations since the announcement.

  Two fundraisers coordinated by the Junior League of Cedar Rapids, ‘‘Cents for Science’’ and ‘‘Stand Up for Science,’’ this week raised more than $30,000 for the Science Station. About $ 4,000 had been raised before that.

  Also helping the bottom line are increased attendance and membership sales to the Science Station in recent weeks, Thies said.

  Last weekend, for example, the Science Station had three times as many visitors as it typically has on Friday and Saturday. The increased attendance was fueled partly by a teacher in-service day for schools that brought more children to the Science Station on Friday.

  The funds will help the Science Station begin to pay off some of its creditors, Thies said, but it still must raise the $1.3 million to erase its debt.

  ‘‘Now that we’ve got a little breathing room, and it’s not all about moment to moment on how to keep those doors open. We can work on keeping this in place,’’ he said.

  Thies will be assisted in developing a strategic plan for the Science Station by a new, smaller board of directors.

  A day after officials announced the Science Station needed the communitywide bailout, Thies asked for and received the resignation of all 22 directors as a signal to the public that it was serious about restructuring.

  That board has been replaced by an executive board of seven, including Thies, president of OPN Architects. Other members are Vice President Todd Bergen, director of acquisitions for AEGON USA; Secretary Chuck Hammond, CEO of Raining Rose; Treasurer KS Reddi, vice president of audit for Rockwell Collins; Chuck Bergmeier, partner with McGladrey & Pullen LLP; Vaughn Halyard, CEO/executive producer for The Story Lounge; and Susie Van Metre with the Junior League of Cedar Rapids.

  Joe Hastings, whose last day as executive director of the Science Station was Oct. 31, will serve month to month as a paid consultant to the executive board through the end of January. He will assist the board with day-to-day operations and development of a strategic plan, Thies said.

  ‘‘We need to get a business plan finished on where we see the Science Station going, grounded with rock-solid finance information,’’ Thies said.

  Businesses, foundations and individuals who have the ability to write large checks have asked for a detailed business plan that shows how the Science Station can be viable after it retires it debt. ‘‘We still have an enormous amount of work to do in a short amount of time,’’ Thies said.