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MARCH 2020 March 12 Emergency conference call with Museum Board to discuss mounting public health crisis caused by new “Corona virus.” Unanimous decision to close Museum. Team cancels visiting hours, upcoming school trips, tour groups. The phrase of the hour: “An abundance of caution.”
March 13 What was caution yesterday feels imperative today. Message to our members and supporters: “…as always, we remain dedicated to the values that made Yogi Berra a national treasure: respect, teamwork, grit and perseverance. Surely there was never a time when these ideals were more important than today.”
March 14 The world shelters in place. Word of the hour: “unprecedented.”
Mondays-Fridays, 10am Daily meetings on Zoom for Museum team. Undoing plans for coming weeks, charting course for coming months. Seeing one another’s faces, staying connected, feels critical.
MARCH 12, 2020-MARCH 12, 2021
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APRIL 2020 April 1 Education team pivots all in-person learning experiences to virtual format. Piloting Negro Leagues program with local adult school. what it Reinventing Seniors + Zoom = en. means to op Technical Challenges. But an overwhelmingly positive response. We decide to offer all remote education programs for free.
April 20 4th Yogi Berra Museum Awards Celebration. 300+ guests at the Plaza Hotel...Cancelled. Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network hosts 2 Instagram Live shows instead. One amazing Yogi story after another from Bruce Beck, Rick Cerone, Ken Daneyko, Bucky Dent, John Flaherty, Jeff Idelson, CC Sabathia, Nick Swisher, Steve Tyrell and Suzyn Waldman. Everyone loves Yogi.
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YOGI BERRA MUSEUM & LEARNING CENTER
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MAY 2020 May 6 Paycheck Protection Program check arrives. We can maintain entire staff through 2020. Never more grateful for Board’s outstanding fiscal stewardship and dedicated supporters who believe in our work.
May 7 Photo shoot for DISCOVER GREATNESS, current exhibit on loan from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. We’ll recreate the show online. Committed to finding ways of sharing the stories of these incredible Black ballplayers, especially in 2020, Negro Leagues’ centennial year.
May 25 George Floyd is murdered in Minneapolis. Message to supporters: “…we are learning and listening across lines of difference in the work of building a more inclusive community that is grounded in respect.” There is so much work to do.
May 28 We host Investors Bank Best Teammate Award Ceremony for 34 high school athletes. On Zoom. From Ron San Fillipo, Executive Director of the Super Essex Conference: “Mel Allen said, ‘Bottom of ninth, tied score and that ball is going, going, gone’ as #8 in one swing sends all home happy. That is what you did on Thursday evening. Thank you.”
MARCH 12, 2020-MARCH 12, 2021
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JUNE 2020 June 8 Annual Celebrity Golf Outing cancelled.
June 22 Softball camp cancelled. Baseball camp cancelled. Phrase of the moment: “Flatten the curve.”
June 24 End of school year accounting: We’ve seen 1,500+ students for free virtual field trips since forced closure. We hire three new members for our education team to keep up with increasing demand.
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JULY 2020 July 1 Meeting with Sonny Patel from Harvard School of Public Health — our very own Covid Czar. Creating Covid Toolkit for procedures and protocols so we can reopen safely when community transmission drops.
July 6 Major League Baseball announces a shortened 60-game schedule to accommodate the season's delayed start. It's the first time MLB games have been put on hold since 9/11.
July 15 Kick off to summer’s Wednesday Night Online Baseball Bingo. For the winners, signed memorabilia and swag. For everyone playing, a chance to dance the Y-M-C-A and belt out “New York, New York” with abandon. People need joy and connection.
MARCH 12, 2020-MARCH 12, 2021
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AUGUST 2020 August 1 Looking ahead: Implementation of new Covid Toolkit begins. Modifications to HVAC system for more frequent air turnover, contactless sinks, plexi barriers. PPE for staff. Directional signage with reminders of safety protocols. Hand sanitizer stations. Tent for outdoor admission and health screening. Website upgrades for advance admission purchase and timed entry. Training sessions for staff, explaining guidelines and science behind them. Team members role-play scenarios that could arise. Target date to reopen is September 26. We’ll be ready.
Safe!
Be
Stay 6 feet Apart • (No stealing.)
August 18 Professional Development workshops train teachers to use “In Search of a Level Playing Field” — our new online social studies curriculum. Baseball as a lens for larger social issues. The teachers say they don’t know if they’ll return to classrooms in the fall. Fall is just weeks away.
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SEPTEMBER 2020
September 4 The Yogi masks are in! Triple-layered for extra safety. We put one on the Yogi statue outside the Museum. Sending a message.
September 21 Kick-off for first ever online auction. Proceeds support our education programs, which continue to grow week by week.
September 26 Museum reopens. First guest through the door is Bill Bella, retired commercial pilot who knew Yogi well. He shares a great story about Yogi, Ron Guidry and some Louisiana frogs legs. The team is happy. Phrase of the day: “cautious optimism.”
MARCH 12, 2020-MARCH 12, 2021
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OCTOBER 2020 October 1, 2021 Establishing a new normal. Museum capacity strictly limited, visitors masked and distanced. Still no school groups, but life in The House That Yogi Built. Feels good as long as it can last.
October 5 Newark Public School district sending every fourth grader to our virtual STEM program. 2,674 kids throwing sock balls across their rooms to learn about the kinetic transfer of energy through baseball. Larry Berra, Yogi’s oldest son, joins the Zooms and answers questions about his Dad. We see parents sneaking in to listen.
mote experience “I didn’t expect this re to be so awesome!” October 19 From Elena Larranaga, Lead Science Teacher, William Horton School in Newark: “I didn’t expect this remote experience to be so awesome!”
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NOVEMBER 2020 November 18 Museum staffer loses his sense of smell. Tests positive for Covid-19. We close the Museum, effective immediately. Contact tracing calls inform visitors who were in the building with him. Conversations are amazingly personal. Everyone has a story to tell.
Everyone has a story to tell.
November 24 Negative Covid tests for all who were exposed. Feels like an early holiday present. Health experts predict a rough season ahead. Phrase of the hour: “Stay at home.”
November 25 Three virtual visits from Link Charter School before distanced Thanksgiving break. A reminder of what Yogi said about Carmen when he was on the road: "We have a good time together, even when we're not together.”
MARCH 12, 2020-MARCH 12, 2021
DECEMBER 2020 December 9 Back by popular demand: Online Baseball Bingo. Our request for participants to wear their favorite ugly holiday sweater offers up some doozies.
December 14 The first Covid-19 vaccine shot is administered to a New York City nurse.
December 15 Yogi Team holiday party on Zoom. Larry Berra oversees lighting of our Yogi statue. Museum board members, college-age educators, septuagenarian volunteers, partners, vendors, friends and the indomitable Museum Team raise a glass together. Feeling fortunate for friendship, health and meaningful work.
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JANUARY 2021 January 1 A collective sigh of relief as we turn the page on 2020 and welcome 2021.
January 15 Big news: US Postal Service announces launch of Yogi Forever stamp. After brutally divisive start to 2021, this feels like news everyone can feel good about.
January 27 Launch of Newark’s East Side High School internship program with the Museum. Students learn about careers in sports. Agents, sports journalists, coaches and athletes volunteer their time and expertise. People are eager to help in Yogi’s name.
MARCH 12, 2020-MARCH 12, 2021
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FEBRUARY 2021 February 1 Black History Month. Packed schedule of virtual field trips for our Negro Leagues program. St. Louis, Houston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland students will be “in the house.” This virtual programming will outlast the pandemic. The Museum is featured on CBS-TV and Fox Nation.
February 7 17th annual “Puppy Bowl” – precursor to Super Bowl – features adorable Husky mix named Yogi. We ask fans to donate $8 to their favorite animal rescue organization in Yogi’s honor. Paying the love forward with puppies. Tom Brady’s seventh championship ring has our supporters bragging about Yogi’s ten with the Yankees.
February 22 Routine check-in with Museum volunteers. They’re all either fully vaccinated or scheduled for their shots. Group text from Jules: “Let’s hope things get back to normal and we can meet at the Museum soon.” Reply from Gary: “You said it, boychick!”
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MARCH 2021 March 1 6,000+ students have learned with us since the start of the pandemic. That’s triple the number of kids we saw in 2019.
March 10 Reps from US Postal Service visit to discuss summer launch of Yogi Forever stamp. Planning the event, even outdoors, remains challenging. But community transmission is down, vaccination numbers up. We aim to reopen Museum in May.
March 13 One year anniversary of closing. A Saturday, with sunshine. Hard to know what the world will look like in the coming months, but we are still here. For our community. For one another. Phrase of the day, from Yogi, a reminder to embrace humility and persevere: “If “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”
ct, the world were perfe it wouldn’t be.”
MARCH 12, 2020-MARCH 12, 2021
NOTES Visit us at yogiberramuseum.org to see how our shared story continues to unfold.
#We're all on the same team.
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Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center Board of Trustees Lindsay Berra Tom Blim Kavitha Davidson Ronald J. Dolecki Julie Jackson, Vice President, Treasurer Mark Markowitz, President Kevin Peters James T. Seery, Secretary Charles Sgro Bruce Silver Emeritus Board Joel Benenson Rober Drasheff Steven Plofker Advisory Board Lou Lamoriello Randy Levine Sonny S. Patel Brian Smith Brandon Steiner Finn Wentworth Museum Team Eve Schaenen, Executive Director Joni Bronander, Events Director Nikki Morton, Office Manager Jenny Pollack, Education Director Susan Walsh, Finance Director
Expanded Covid Team Roster Janice Alderson Jason Aubin Bruce Beck Jacob Bergacs Berra Family Jodi Buri Ken Burns Bill Cogan Ken Daneyko Mai Lin Dassinger Kristen Delgado Bucky and Angie Dent Larry Doby, Jr. Ray Doswell Tatiana Epps Gary Faver Mark Feinsand John Flaherty Steve Fortunato Florentine Films Flyleaf Creative Les Fries Gotham Design Joe Georgewitz Ron and Bonnie Guidry Lily Hawryluk Lawrence Hogan Arlene and Cheryl Howard Joe and Christine Howley Jeff Idelson Rodney Jackson Erik Jacobson Kevin Kane Bob Kendrick Anita Kubicka Davida Lindsay-Harewood
Christian Manning Meredith Marakovits Lee and Dani Mazzilli Steve McCormick Clarence McKnight Kevin Mendoza Lauren Meyer Montclair History Center Montclair Institute for Lifelong Learning Montclair State University Andrew Mulvey Sweeny Murti Jerry Naideck Newark Public Schools Dept. of Science Paul O’Neill Mike Pagliarulo Anthony Paradiso Ryan Patel Dan and Rosalie Peed Lou Plaskow Kira Player John Porcelli Property Lab Declan Quillen Bruce Rainier Willie and Gretchen Randolph Naimah Ray Jim and Patty Read Harold Reynolds William Rodas CC and Amber Sabathia Carlos Salvador Rocco Savino† (continued) ‰
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Expanded Covid Team Roster (continued) Jasmine Schlichting Jonathan Schwerdtfeger Alan and Jeanne Sheiness Ken Singleton Tom Solomon Julie Strauss Super Essex Conference Nick Swisher
Teach For America New Jersey TriTech Communications Steve Tyrell USPS Tom Verducci Suzyn Waldman Thomas Whitaker
Dale Whittenberger Bernie WIlliams Wish You Were Here Productions Write On Sports Xtreme Event Group YES Network Warren Zanes
We are forever grateful to the numerous individuals who have helped sustain us through this challenging year, as well as the following generous supporters: 1919 Investment Council Abramson Family Foundation ADP Bank of America Merchant Services Bloomberg Philanthropies Borman Family Foundation Jane Clarke Foundation Columbus Citizens Foundation Cosine Lighting DK Partners Dreamlink Foundation Essex County Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs E.J. Grassman Trust Hyde and Watson Foundation Investors Foundation Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation Lone Sun Builders Major League Baseball
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McMullen Family Foundation Montclair Foundation Negro Leagues Baseball Museum New Jersey Council for the Humanities New Jersey Economic Development Authority New York Giants New York Yankees Foundation Partners for Health Provident Bank Foundation Ruzika Family Foundation SBLD Studio S&J Global The Seedlings Foundation Siemens Albert Payson Terhune Foundation Third Point LLC Tito’s Handmade Vodka Whitey Ford Children's Foundation
YOGI BERRA MUSEUM & LEARNING CENTER
“If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”
8 Yogi Berra Drive, Little Falls, NJ 07424 On the campus of Montclair State University 973-655-2378 www.yogiberrmuseum.org