There’s a new director in place at the Heritage Museum and Cultural Center in St. Joseph, and he’s laying the groundwork for a vitalization of the institution. Dr. Marco Tomasi started in November and is the first director of the museum since 2020. The Heritage Museum was hit hard by COVID, suspending many programs throughout, and Tomasi tells us he’s working to bring everything back.
“Now as we’re getting going, I’m working on bringing in historians, archivists, curators so we can keep our museum component,” Tomasi said. “We’re a museum, first and foremost, but I need to bring historians back in so we can do that.”
Tomasi is the only full-time employee at this time. The museum was run by its volunteer board throughout the pandemic. Now there have been programs coming back, like the concert series and lecture series. Tomasi says people all over the region value the Heritage Museum and Cultural Center.
“If they own a historic home, they want to come in and learn more about their home. If they’re connected to something maritime – shipping, shipbuilding, the lake – they want to come in and learn about things maritime. Folks in the agricultural industry want to come in and learn about agriculture.”
Tomasi is a St. Joe native who graduated from Lake Michigan Catholic. He and his family moved back to the area some years ago, and he most recently worked as a consultant. He says he was interested in working for a non-profit when the museum opportunity came up, offering him a blank slate to work with. An upcoming event is a St. Patrick’s Day party featuring Kennedy’s Kitchen on March 17. Tickets are available online.
