'A phenomenal opportunity': Executive director leaving Northeast Georgia History Center with fond memories

Mar. 2—The RCA Victor radio against the wall in Glen Kyle's office at the Northeast Georgia History Center is made of solid wood, the way they all radios were in the 1940s. It's big and broad and will take up space wherever it is taken next.

"Something else I have to take home and find a place for," the executive director joked.

That radio, those scale model battleships on the shelf in the corner, the World War I and World War II scale model scenes, the bobblehead of former U.S. President Andrew Jackson and the model Apollo Space Program Rocket on a bookshelf are all going to need a new home.

So are the photos, books and typical trappings of a career dealing with history.

Kyle's 15-year tenure as the history center's executive director will come to an end March 15.

Kyle is moving on to work at Forum Communications, a Gainesville-based marketing agency, and said he's looking forward to facing a new professional challenge.

"After 15 years I'm just stepping down to pursue some new opportunities," he said, calling the decision to leave NEGAHC "the hardest decision I have ever had to make."

"Maybe I'm ready for a new adventure, personally and professionally," he continued. "Maybe it's time to make room for somebody else. This decision was made for me and for the history center."

It was an advertisement in the local newspaper that initially brought Kyle to Gainesville. Before he and his wife of 25 years, Priscilla, had children, they would travel in different directions from their home in Buford to work — the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead for him, the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for her.

Kyle recalled that the couple had always loved Gainesville and Hall County and may have eventually moved to the area on their own, but a classified ad for an executive director at NEGAHC sealed the deal.

"My wife says things happen for a reason and I have since come around to that way of thinking," Kyle said.

Kyle was hired for the role in September 2007.

When asked what the job means to him all these years later he said, "It has been a blessing. It has been a lot of fun. I've been lucky where I have gotten a job where I am working in a passion. It's been a phenomenal opportunity."

Though he held both a bachelor's and master's degree in history from the University of North Georgia and had eight years of museum experience under his belt at the Atlanta History Center, Kyle did not have museum management experience when he applied for the executive director position at NEGAHC. He feels that the museum's board of directors took a chance on him when they hired him.

"They saw that I had a passion for history and perhaps was going to be able to move this place in the direction it needed to go," Kyle said. "With the help of staff, volunteers, the board and major donors, we've made this place a community institution."

Libba Beaucham, director of the Cottrell Digital Studio and program supervisor for Gainesville Reads at NEGAHC has worked alongside Kyle for just over five years and agrees that his tenure has been good for the institution and, though he is leaving, his work there has left an indelible mark.

"Glen's leadership has been essential to the success of the history center, but he is leaving us with a strong foundation to continue into a bright future at the museum," she said. "He created a space for a small staff to explore big ideas and pursue our potential. That has led to tremendous growth for the history center and a strong connection to our ever-expanding community."

During Kyle's tenure, the staff grew from two full-time employees to eight and educational programming has expanded with additions like the summer Chautauqua series and free family days.

"His passion and enthusiasm for history education are contagious," Beaucham said. "You can just tell that he loves sharing the stories of our collective history and helping visitors of all ages make connections between the past and the present."

Marie Bartlett, director of education at NEGAHC, said Kyle has helped her find her passion at work.

"Glen hired me almost three years ago now and working here has been my dream job," she said. "I have learned so much about historical interpretation, history education and just life in general from Glen. He has an incredible knowledge of history and a good sense of humor which has made the workplace fun."

Kyle and Priscilla's sons, Brendan, 19, and Andrew, 13, have really only known their dad to work in the history and museum space. Kyle recalled telling them he was leaving the history center; they asked him if he knew how to do anything else.

"I have been here since before the youngest one was born and the oldest one has no real recollection of what I did before I got here," Kyle said. "But I think they are excited for me."

The entire family has been supportive of the decision, Kyle said.

"I am blessed with a very supportive home life," he said. "I married my best friend, so it's not only the logistical support that we provide to each other, we've got that spiritual and emotional support."

"I don't know until it happens," said Kyle of how he's going to feel on his last day as executive director March 15.

"It's going to be weird. I've been the guy in charge, I've got the keys and this has been my home away from home. As humans, we are programmed to connect with the spaces we live and work in. Working in this space for so long, it partially defines how you see yourself in this world. And now I'm not going to be in this space."

He plans to be available to volunteer at NEGAHC if needed and hopes to be remembered by co-workers and guests of the museum as a man who knew his stuff and was fun to work with.

"I already have imagined myself driving away from here like a scene from a 1980s John Hughes movie," joked Kyle about the late legendary filmmaker of such hits as "Pretty in Pink," "Sixteen Candles'" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

"I start driving and everything fades to black."