Southern Oregon Historical Society director leaving

MEDFORD (AP) — The executive director of the financially troubled Southern Oregon Historical Society plans to leave March 15 after he recommended that the society board cut the position.

John Enders has headed the society since 2002.

“He’s gone through a lot,” said Terrie Claflin Martin, first vice president of the society board. “He’s been asked to do a lot of difficult things in a difficult time.”

She said Enders told the board of trustees the society had already eliminated many positions from the bottom and suggested a cut from the top this time.

Enders had taken a 10 percent pay cut from a salary of about $60,000 annually last year. The rest of the staff took the same pay cut. To improve morale, Martin said the staff got their 10 percent back this summer. Enders, however, didn’t take the increase, she said.

In a statement, Enders called the job “a challenging position” and, like Martin, said the society was facing “a difficult time.”

The historical society has seen its finances dwindle from $2 million annually to about $600,000 after the passage of a property tax limitation initiative in 1997. The organization received its last payment of $741,000 from Jackson County last fiscal year.

County Commissioner Jack Walker said he hasn’t always agreed with the way Enders has run the historical society, but said that the head of any organization is bound to be challenged on decisions.

“My own personal views on how he should have run it are in the past,” Walker said. But he added the historical society should have taken steps years ago to anticipate the financial situation.

The society and 15 other smaller historical societies in Jackson County are trying to form a heritage district to replace lost revenues. The district would ask voters to approve a levy not exceeding 7 cents for every $1,000 in assessed valuation, raising more than $700,000 annually.

Martin said the board discussed whether it should shut the doors because it doesn’t have sufficient funding and is down to four full-time and seven part-time employees.

After some debate, she said the board decided the society would stay open. “We’re not going to close,” she said Thursday.

Stephanie Butler, the education and programs coordinator for the historical society, will run the day-to-day management of the organization. But the board will look for a community volunteer to step into the role of director, particularly to provide the public face in fundraising efforts.