Warbird Information Exchange

The Strategic Air & Space Museum, citing financial difficulties caused by the recession, has cut staff members and reduced its hours of operation.

The museum, along Interstate 80 near Ashland, Neb., will be closed Wednesdays effective immediately, according to a statement issued Tuesday.

The museum's operating hours also will be shortened — it will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week. Previously, it had opened at 9 a.m.

According to the statement by David Scott, the museum board's chairman, the work force has been cut by six people.

The reduction in personnel includes the earlier departure of the museum's executive director John McLean, who left Sept. 30. McLean, who became executive director in October 2007, declined to comment Tuesday.

“The board is looking for additional ways to reduce expenses, as well as raise funds to ensure continued operations,” Scott said in the statement.

The museum near Mahoney State Park, about halfway between Omaha and Lincoln, has aimed to preserve the history and heritage of aircraft and the Strategic Air Command.

Scott said Evonne Williams will continue to serve as interim executive director.

Williams, 52, worked for 16 years as executive director of the Nebraska chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She joined the museum in 2008 as deputy director.

Museum officials declined to answer questions about the cost-cutting measures or the financial situation.

According to the museum's 2008 Internal Revenue Service Form 990, the federal tax return filed by nonprofit groups, the Strategic Air & Space Museum has lost more than $1.1 million in each of the past two years.

The museum draws about 150,000 visitors each year. It offers flight camps, astronaut camps and overnight events for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

According to the tax filing, the museum's revenue in 2008 dropped by more than $100,000 from 2007, to $1.7 million.

Mitch Houchin, a retired Navy officer who recently stepped down as president of an Offutt Air Force Base veterans group, said he was sorry to hear about the museum's changes.

“It's unfortunate that they have to make cutbacks, but times are hard,” Houchin said. “As a parent, I see the fantastic educational values of the museum. The value is not just about our heritage but about the entire history of air and space travel.”

The $30 million museum opened at its current site in 1998. It began in Bellevue in the 1950s and formerly was known as the Strategic Air Command Museum.

Contact the writer:

444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com