December 30, 2017
Contact: Marjorie Hlava; President; mmkhlava@yahoo.com Hubbell Society Museum and Library; 500 SW 7th St #307, Des Moines, IA 50309

The merger of the Hubbell Family Historical Society (THFHS) and the Hubbell Museum and Library (HML – formerly Hubbell Center) is complete!  The new organization is the Hubbell Society, Museum and Library (HSML) the merger process was careful and therefore fairly smooth in its implementation.
“THFHS adopted a strategic plan in June 2016 which made clear the importance of the HML to the Society. The organizations have always worked closely and the lion’s share of the funding for the HML comes from THFHS and a few significant donors.” said Marjorie Hubbell Hlava, president of THFHS and now the HMSL. “We believe that the combination gives us a broad base of benefits to all members of the HMSL. It is a strong story to tell” said Hilbert Hubble past Present and Chair of the Integration Task Force.

“Both organizations draw from the same pool of active members, potential members, and donors.  We will remove the confusion of two organizations, intertwined but separate to give a solid, unified front to the Hubbell community.  We will have a single, stable address and phone number. This merger provides a single reliable budget for both organizations with predictable allocation of funds each year.” stated Jim Hubbell, past president of the HML.  
The mission of the integrated Society is: recognize the achievements and promote fellowship for the descendants of the immigrant Richard Hubball (ca.1622 – 1699), and friends of the Hubbell Family by to researching the genealogy; preserving the history; collecting and displaying artifacts; developing and maintaining a library.; recognize the achievements and promote fellowship for the descendants of the immigrant Richard Hubball and friends of the Hubbell Family.
The Society publishes the Annual as well as two issues of the Family Notes per year. There is a reunion every two years in a location of interest to the family. There have been several field trips back to the British Midlands and especially to Rock sponsored by the society. The museum holds a considerable collection in five rooms. There is also a mercantile available online and at the meetings. The book publishing program is robust with many titles. In 2017 the society published two books. The first is The Hubbell History and Genealogy, Millennium Edition, over 1700 pages in two volumes with over 850 photographs and 31,000 Hubbells listed. This book won the Best book award from the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. The Society also published the Hubbell Sea Captains which is available through Lulu Press. Other books can be found at www.hubbell.com/publications. The member portion of the society website contains a rich archive of digital records pertaining to the Hubbell family. The society recognizes many spellings of the Hubbell name including Hubbell, Hubble, Hubball, Huble, Hubbel, and others. There are three facebook pages for the Hubbell Family.

BACKGROUND:
The Society was founded in 1982 and the Museum and Library in 1994. The leadership of both organizations formed a task force of six to investigate and recommend the possible integration of the two organizations. The task force was convened in November 2016.
In 2015 the assembly at the Biennial of the THFHS approved a Strategic Plan. The process was spearheaded by Roger Hubbell Vice President of the society. The strategic plan outlined what has already been operational and which we believe was the intent of the founding members of each to become a more integrated organization.  At the 2016 Board Meeting the Board approved a motion to explore a merger of the Society with the Hubbell Museum and Library.  At the HM&L Board meeting in November that motion was changed slightly to “pursue a closer integration”.  The next step was to set up the Hubbell Integration Task Force which convened March 6 – 7 2017.  The 2017 THFHS Meeting approved the merger and shortly thereafter the HML also approved the merger. The paperwork is now done and IT’s OFFICAL!.

For more information please contact Marjorie Hlava; President; mmkhlava@yahoo.com Hubbell Society Museum and Library; 500 SW 7th St #307, Des Moines, IA 50309