FORT SMITH -- The U.S. Marshals Museum hopes to hire a president and chief executive officer by either late this month or early August.
Doug Babb, chairman of the museum's board, said Thursday that Lindauer, a Boston-based executive search firm the museum hired, is in the process of identifying finalists for the position. Determining this group will happen "in the next few weeks," although the museum doesn't know how many candidates this will include yet.
Babb said the museum has had leadership with considerable experience in the construction of museum facilities and creation of museum experiences. The new president and CEO will have a history of leading a museum successfully, which includes all aspects of operation.
"This is an operating person who has successfully managed a museum business, and can now come in to the Marshals Museum and successfully manage this business and grow the business," Babb said. "So it is very much a set of museum business leadership skills that we're bringing to the table."
The museum announced its previous president and CEO, Patrick Weeks, had resigned effective immediately March 4.
Weeks, 53, of Fort Smith was arrested Dec. 21 on two felony counts of aggravated assault with a firearm after two utility workers reported he pointed a gun at them, according to police. He was released the following day from the Sebastian County jail on a $6,000 bond and pleaded innocent at his arraignment Dec. 30.
Weeks' jury trial is scheduled to take place in the Sebastian County Circuit Court the week of Oct. 3, court records state. It was originally set for last week.
Babb has said the museum's board decided Dec. 23 to put Weeks on administrative leave until the charges were resolved. The museum hired Weeks in 2016. He previously worked as head of the Dublin, Ohio-based museum exhibit consulting firm Strategic Experience Solutions before moving to Fort Smith.
The process to search for Weeks' replacement began in late April, according to Babb. The museum developed a search committee that, with Babb, will make a final recommendation of who to hire to the museum board.
The committee consists of Laurice Hachem, chairwoman of the Marshals Museum Foundation board; Robert Young, chairman emeritus for the foundation board; Jim Spears, former chairman of the museum board; and Jim Dunn, former museum president and CEO who has served on both boards.
Babb said finalists for the president and CEO position will be invited to Fort Smith and meet with members of the two boards, as well as museum staff and members of the community.
"It'll be an open process and we'll want to seek input from everyone, not just the search committee," Babb said.
Babb said although the candidates being considered are from across the country, they all have years of experience successfully leading a museum in various positions.
"Museums call these leaders different titles, but essentially, they are the people who operate the museum, are responsible for the museum financially, are responsible for the visitor experience and guest services experience, and the thing that all these people have in common is they come out of the museum industry," Babb said.
Babb said the salary for the position will be negotiated with whoever is hired for it. He also declined to disclose the cost of hiring Lindauer.
The museum foundation is still raising money for its capital campaign for the museum project. Babb said it has raised more than $45 million so far, and is seeking about $5 million more for a total of about $50 million.
Babb said of the $5 million, about $2.3 million will go toward developing the museum building's interior to allow for the exhibits that will educate the public on different aspects of the Marshals Service, or museum experience, to be installed. In addition, about $1.7 million will go to the exhibits themselves and $1 million will go to furniture, fixtures and equipment.
The museum signed a $7.8 million contract with Thinkwell, a Los Angeles company, in November to build the exhibits, according to Babb. The need for about $1.7 million more to build them stems from inflation in material and vendor costs.
Babb said fabrication of the exhibits is planned to be finished by spring, barring any vendor labor or supply-chain issues, with everything to be installed by late spring or early summer. The museum will announce a public opening date once the exhibits are substantially completed.
Fort Smith voters rejected a proposal in March 2019 to levy a nine-month, 1% sales tax to pay for the museum's completion. Construction on the main museum building, which consists of about 53,000 square feet at 789 Riverfront Drive along the Arkansas River, was completed in January 2020.
The interior of the United States Marshals Museum is seen on Friday in Fort Smith. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)