OUR HISTORY

The Homer Cortland Community Agency ( HCCA) has a four-fold mission: to develop a museum complex for the preservation of historical artifacts of local, national and international significance, to educate students from the intermediate grades through college, to contribute to the economic revitalization of Cortland County by creating a museum that will enhance tourism in the Central New York area, and to provide opportunities for volunteers to become involved in community-building activities.

To realize this mission, HCCA oversees a museum complex that houses the following collections:

The Brockway Truck Preservation Association, Inc. – A permanent and rotating collection of antique Brockway Trucks, native to Cortland and Homer, NY. After the 5th Annual National Truck Show in 2004, the working committee incorporated to become the Brockway Truck Show, Inc., a non-profit organization that manages the annual event in downtown Cortland. This show has been a great success by all possible standards, with people coming from around the world for the parade and the festivities. For some time, the working committee had also been intent on creating a Brockway Museum where Brockways could be on display all year round, along with the wealth of memorabilia and historical documents pertaining to the manufacture of the trucks.

The Homeville Museum – American and local military and railroad history collections from the Civil War era to the present. The Homeville Museum is the private treasure trove of the late Ken Eaton, who passed away in February 2006 at the age of 80. A WWII veteran, Ken Eaton spent more than 35 years assembling this collection of over 10,000 items that visiting museum curators have pronounced as “wondrous”, “unique” and “irreplaceable”. In the collection are rare items of local and national political and economic significance, a massive collection of model trains including a huge panoramic display, and a military collection that is second to none. This collection has direct connections to local history and veterans, from the Civil War to the Gulf War and includes several military vehicles. In 2005, a group of volunteers interested in preserving Ken Eaton’s lifetime of work formed the Homeville Museum, Inc., a NYS chartered museum NFP corporation with the provisions for operating a historical museum. Homeville Museum, Inc. seeks to purchase and house the collection, intact, to preserve the memory of Ken Eaton’s life’s work and to add to its immeasurable value to the community.

Tractors of Yesteryear – Antique collections of tractors from the Central NY Tractor Club and antique agricultural equipment. A central and southern New York & Northern Pennsylvania antique tractor club formed in 1990 with over 350 members. The HCCA museum complex will provide a home for permanent and rotating displays from this impressive collection.

Other collections, some permanent, others on a rotating basis.

Business Description
The Homer-Cortland Community Agency (HCCA), Inc. is a not-for-profit, publicly supported corporation (Section 402) established in New York State in December 2005. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service granted the corporation 501(c)3 status in January 2006.

HCCA is managed by a full time Executive Director, planned paid staff, college interns and volunteer workers. Funding and operations of the agency are overseen by an unpaid Board of Directors. The Board has a total of 13 seats, drawn as follows:

Brockway Organizations Representation – Six seats of the Board of Directors are elected representatives of either the Brockway Museum Corporation or the Brockway Truck Preservation Association or their chosen representatives.

Homeville Museum Representation – At least four seats of the Board of Directors are reserved for representatives of the Homeville Museum Board or their selected representatives.

Exhibitor and Community-at-Large Representatives – The remainder of the Board seats can be filled by exhibitors or at-large members of the community.

The corporation’s by-laws provide for periodic rotation and succession of directors through specific term limits and nominations from board members and from the participating organizations that send representatives to the board. The board also organizes and implements fund raising events, a capital campaign, community activities, and social events.

Activities and operations of the agency are, and will be, supported through fundraising, including federal and state grants, county tourism and community service support grants, solicitations from individual sponsors, corporations and foundations, complex building rentals, ticket sales and donations of in-kind services. Naming rights for building cornerstones, the board room, equipment, displays and the welcome center will be offered under multi-year contracts and sponsorships to corporate or private donors.

Business Objectives
· House the following museum collections: the Homeville military and railroad history collection, the Brockway Truck Preservation Association collection, the Tractors of Yesteryear and antique agricultural equipment collection, and several private historical and cultural collections.

· Conduct an expanded capital campaign, generating community, corporate, and public funding to raise $5,000,000.

· Provide and manage facilities for a broad range of community activities.

Homer-Cortland Community Agency Board of Directors

Charles Eaton
Homer, NY
Owner of the Eaton Collection
Pre-Sale Account Manager, Pepsi Bottling

James Price
Homer, NY
Past President, Brockway Truck Preservation Association

Philip Tennant
Cortland, NY
Retired Brigadier General, USAF

Cliff Hoag
Apalachin, NY
Member, TOYS Club