City of Fremont, Michigan, Department of Neighborhood and Economic Development. For the City of Fremont, and their volunteer Museum Committee of interested citizens, Germann & Associates was charged with examining whether the community should create a local history museum, and if so, how much it would cost to build and how much it would cost to operate. In a number of on-site visits, and in meetings with the Fremont City Manager and Mayor, to the Director of the Newaygo County Economic Development Organization, the President of the Fremont Community Foundation, local philanthropists, a local arts administrator, the Fremont District Library Director, the Gerber Foods Company and others, Germann & Associates was able to present a plan which focused an envisioned new interpretive center, defined relationships among local historical institutions, projected capital and operational costs and modeled possible revenue streams for the new local history center. This project also included planning for permanent and temporary exhibits on local and regional history.

Appalachian Trail Museum Society. This society of 200 members is related to the larger Appalachian Trail Long Distance Hikers Association and the much larger Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Germann & Associates was fortunate to be chosen to help the ATMS answer questions about the museum they had dreamed of for over five years. Where should it be located? How should it focus the stories it wishes to tell? What and how will it collect?  How large should it be?  What will it cost to build and operate? These were all questions we considered at a two-day planning retreat in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The Planning Retreat, conducted by Principal Steve Germann, organized the discussion of these issues. Members of the boards of ATMS, and ALDHA participated, as did high level staff of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, a 37,000 member organization supporting the protection and preservation of the Appalachian Trail. Also present and supportive were high level staff members from the National Park Service, which operates a number of sites in the Harpers Ferry, West Virginia area. Steve’s report summarized the discussions, but also charted a course that shaped group opinion with professional expertise to create a three-stage plan for the building and operation of an Appalachian Trail Museum to be located in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

DuPage County Historical Museum, Wheaton, Illinois. This high-quality local history museum wanted a clear picture, from an unbiased observor, of what areas they needed to address in preparation for Accreditation by the American Association of Museums. As with the Curious Kids Museum, Germann had a mandate to survey all operations and make appropriate recommendations. Here the museum was well-funded, appropriately led and staffed, and did the highest quality work in exhibits, collections and public programs. Germann's role was to serve as discussion leader among director and staff, to focus them on which tasks were continuing and which could be separated into finite projects, and to help to update and refine previous strategic plans.

Lapeer County Historical Society, Lapeer, Michigan. This organization was in an exciting but difficult time in their history. The Society had received permission to occupy and administer a grand mid-nineteenth century Greek Revival style courthouse that was undergoing renovation. As the architects and contractors moved ahead with their work, Germann was engaged to help the Board plan the use of their new home, and how to use the spaces in the courthouse. Adding to their challenges was the Society's need to move (and properly store) their extensive museum collections from their current office building location into the basement of a bank building across the street from the courthouse. In his report, Germann recommended ways of configuring and building out spaces in both the bank basement and the new court house to serve the Society's museum needs. He also recommended approaches to the development of collections policies and procedures, materials to be used in building storage and exhibit furniture. Finally, he made recommendations on building the society's audience and funding base.