As the Board President and Executive Director of The Mark Twain House & Museum, we feel the need to respond to Julia Johnson Brinson’s piece in the March 6th edition of the HBJ.
We are sorry that Ms. Brinson seems to be misinformed about the particulars of the museum’s vandalism case.
Like any organization, we must make choices about our insurance strategy. We are very well advised by a major global brokerage firm whose thought and care in protecting this institution are without question.
Reasonable deductibles are good risk management. There has been no vandalism of this severity in the memory of the staff, and the costs to repair the physical damage to the National Historic Landmark’s exterior and interior were small relative to our operating budget and did not meet the deductible of our policy.
Crowdfunding was not a necessity driven by finances, but a choice made to honor our global brand. We knew that people around the country and around the world would help us to create a more sustainable organization.
Indeed, the largest share of our fundraising was not for repairing damage but for increasing our permanent electronic surveillance, and for paying for on-site human security in what was then a rash of vandalism whose actors were unknown.
Fundraising was the obvious answer and over 515 donors from around the country did answer our call, and we are deeply grateful for their generosity. The equipment has now been installed, making vandalism less likely to happen in the future, and thereby reducing our risk.
None of these ongoing security costs would ever be covered by our insurance policies.
In retrospect, we wish that Ms. Brinson had called us first to ascertain our situation. Instead, incorrect assertions in print were made about our financial position and our insurance choices.
We would urge them to use greater forethought in the future.
This museum and the Hartford Public Library are great institutions in this city, and this sort of faulty accusation does neither of us any good.
Pieter N. Roos is the executive director of the Mark Twain House & Museum. Hans Miller is the board president of the Mark Twain House & Museum.
