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William Butterworth Foundation names new Executive Director

Stacy Klingler

The William Butterworth Foundation has named Stacy Klingler, an Indiana Historical Society director, author and former museum director, to be Executive Director of Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House in Moline’s historic Overlook District.

“We’re excited to have Stacy join the organization at a time when we’re creating a strategic plan to maximize the Foundation’s impact on the entire Quad Cities community,” said Daniel McConaghy, Butterworth Foundation board chair.

Both historic homes, located at 8th Street and 11th Avenue in Moline, once belonged to John Deere’s descendants but now are operated by the Foundation. They serve more than 10,000 people annually as year-round sites for quality educational and cultural events. Each year, the houses greet an estimated 50,000 people for more than 1,400 meetings of various nonprofit and educational organizations and tours for local, national and international visitors.

As former director of the Putnam County Museum in Greencastle, Indiana, she led its move to a new facility that quadrupled its square footage and dramatically increased attendance. For the past seven years at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis, she helped local history organizations to grow and improve their leadership, operations and interactions with the public.

Working through the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), she provided guidance to historic sites and museums across the country. She co-edited the Small Museum Toolkit, a six-volume series published by AASLH.  Ms. Klingler completed her undergraduate degree at Gonzaga University and has a Master of Arts in Developmental Psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Stacy and her husband, Dr. Richard Lynch, have one daughter, Sophia.

“Katherine Deere Butterworth was quite forward-looking in dedicating her beautiful home as a gathering place where community groups could engage in learning, philanthropy and the arts,” Ms. Klingler said. “I am honored to join the Foundation’s leadership and dedicated staff to build upon its longstanding tradition of hospitality and community outreach in new ways.”

The William Butterworth Foundation was created by Katherine Deere Butterworth who donated her home to be used as a community center in support of the arts, education and music in 1951. It is governed by a volunteer board as a nonprofit foundation and financed by an endowment created by Mrs. Butterworth.

Ms. Klingler replaces Sue Staack, who retired in December 2014 after serving as Executive Director of the facility for 25 years.
For additional information about the Foundation, its programs and a history of the houses, please visit www.butterworthcenter.com.
photo credit: Gary Krambeck