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December 3, 2018 Newsmakers

Jody Blankenship | CEO, Connecticut Historical Society

Jody Blankenship

Repeating history apparently isn't just for those who don't learn it.

After a five-year tenure as the Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library's chief executive, Jody Blankenship is moving on to a new position leading the Indiana Historical Society starting in January.

Before coming to Hartford, Blankenship worked at state historical societies in Kentucky and his native home in Ohio. His interest, he said, stems from studying 20th-century immigration, and his own family's story of relocation from Poland to the United States.

“I found state historical societies particularly interesting because they provide the opportunity to study local communities in a broader context of the state and region,” he said.

What have been your greatest accomplishments at CHS, which has a $3.4 million budget and 35 employees?

I am particularly proud of three accomplishments. The first is improving the financial standing of the Connecticut Historical Society. We have increased assets and investments by 24 percent and annual contributions by more than 300 percent.

The second is the adoption of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program, Connecticut's Folklife program. This program has built connections and relationships with a broad array of diverse communities across the state.

And the third is putting the CHS on a path toward full digitization of its 4 million item collection, which will provide online access to our state's history.

How has CHS engaged with the Greater Hartford business community?

Many organizations, such as Connecticut Innovations, the Barnes Group, Stanley Black & Decker, Ensign-Bickford Industries, Cantor Colburn LLC, Electric Boat, … and others have sponsored and helped to develop important exhibitions such as “Connecticut Innovates!,” and have supported important programs like “Free First Saturday,” sponsored by Berkshire Bank.

What is the weirdest historical fact you learned about Connecticut while on the job?

Connecticut's first witch trial was held in 1645, 45 years before the Salem witch trials.

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