MONROE - Take a common thing in your community and build on it.
"You got it," Barry Levenson told members of Green County's National Cheese Center Initiative on Friday.
Levenson, curator of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum, will be coming to Monroe to share his experiences of creating his nationally famous museum. He'll be at the Minhas Craft Brewery at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 20.
The event, open to the public, is a continuation of a series of informational meetings for the National Cheese Center Initiative. Committee members expect the presentation to generate more ideas for a National Cheese Center in Green County.
The idea for a national center was sparked last fall, after community members, including the Green County Historic Cheesemakers organization, visited the Potosi Brewing Company Complex. An abandoned brewery has become home to the Potosi Brewing Company Transportation Museum, Great River Road Interpretive Center, National Brewery Museum and Potosi Brewing Company Restaurant.
John Bussman, president of the National Historic Cheesemaking Center, appointed Donna Bahler, Sharon Riese and David Riese to the committee, tasked with looking at the future of the center.
"The Potosi trip caused us to start looking ahead ... to what we'll be in five years from now," Bahler said.
"And beyond," Sharon Riese added. "We need to grow."
The National Cheesemaking Museum has been housed in the Green County Welcome Center on Wisconsin 69 in Monroe, where it receives 3,000 to 6,000 visitors each season.
Bahler and Reise called Green County the "gateway" to Wisconsin.
"This is a fabulous county, and cheese and dairy have been a foundation of the county for hundreds of years. We need to bring those two entities together," Riese said. "We need to toot our own horn."
"Cheese and dairy are the signature of our area," Bahler said. "And Barry told us, 'You need to build on what you do best.'"
According to the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum Web site, "...Barry Levenson found himself awash in grief after his beloved Red Sox lost the seventh game of the 1986 World Series. He went to an all-night grocery, roamed the aisles, and heard the voice coming from the mustards: 'If you collect us, they will come.' He did and they have."
That fateful evening, Levenson bought about a dozen jars of mustard, which have grown to more than 4,400 mustards and hundreds of items of mustard memorabilia.
The Mustard Museum has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, HGTV's "The Good Life," and in the pages of dozens of national magazines and newspapers.
Samples of Levenson's mustards will be offered along with Minhas beverages, cheese and pretzels at the April 20 event.
Levenson's presentation will be followed by an invitation to attendees to participate in a strategic planning session, led by Green County UW-Extension agent Cara Carper.
"You got it," Barry Levenson told members of Green County's National Cheese Center Initiative on Friday.
Levenson, curator of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum, will be coming to Monroe to share his experiences of creating his nationally famous museum. He'll be at the Minhas Craft Brewery at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 20.
The event, open to the public, is a continuation of a series of informational meetings for the National Cheese Center Initiative. Committee members expect the presentation to generate more ideas for a National Cheese Center in Green County.
The idea for a national center was sparked last fall, after community members, including the Green County Historic Cheesemakers organization, visited the Potosi Brewing Company Complex. An abandoned brewery has become home to the Potosi Brewing Company Transportation Museum, Great River Road Interpretive Center, National Brewery Museum and Potosi Brewing Company Restaurant.
John Bussman, president of the National Historic Cheesemaking Center, appointed Donna Bahler, Sharon Riese and David Riese to the committee, tasked with looking at the future of the center.
"The Potosi trip caused us to start looking ahead ... to what we'll be in five years from now," Bahler said.
"And beyond," Sharon Riese added. "We need to grow."
The National Cheesemaking Museum has been housed in the Green County Welcome Center on Wisconsin 69 in Monroe, where it receives 3,000 to 6,000 visitors each season.
Bahler and Reise called Green County the "gateway" to Wisconsin.
"This is a fabulous county, and cheese and dairy have been a foundation of the county for hundreds of years. We need to bring those two entities together," Riese said. "We need to toot our own horn."
"Cheese and dairy are the signature of our area," Bahler said. "And Barry told us, 'You need to build on what you do best.'"
According to the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum Web site, "...Barry Levenson found himself awash in grief after his beloved Red Sox lost the seventh game of the 1986 World Series. He went to an all-night grocery, roamed the aisles, and heard the voice coming from the mustards: 'If you collect us, they will come.' He did and they have."
That fateful evening, Levenson bought about a dozen jars of mustard, which have grown to more than 4,400 mustards and hundreds of items of mustard memorabilia.
The Mustard Museum has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, HGTV's "The Good Life," and in the pages of dozens of national magazines and newspapers.
Samples of Levenson's mustards will be offered along with Minhas beverages, cheese and pretzels at the April 20 event.
Levenson's presentation will be followed by an invitation to attendees to participate in a strategic planning session, led by Green County UW-Extension agent Cara Carper.