Q & A with Morgan Marks, Executive Director of the Museum

These interviews are brought to you by: 2020 Carriage Ball. Please consider making a donation to the Museum to help us fundraise $30,000 for operating expenses. We thank you in advance, from the bottom of our hearts, for your support and generosity in this matter.

Morgan Marks in the Executive Director of the Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Old West Museum.

Question: Morgan how long have you been with the museum and what does it mean to you to get to represent your hometown?

Morgan: I have been with the museum full time since 2015. I actually interned here twice before staying here permanently, and being able to represent Cheyenne and the Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Old West Museum has been such a big part of who I am. When I talk to people who aren’t from Wyoming and aren’t from Cheyenne, I get to explain what it’s like to be someone who lives in Cheyenne, and how open our community is with volunteering, and I get to be excited about the amazing community we have here. There’s just nothing quite like it.

Question: Why do you love working at the Museum?

Morgan: I love working at this Museum because of the community. We have the best volunteers, we have amazing staff, and we have this incredible place that’s been built because of passion; passion initially for the carriages that has grown into passion for the entire story of Cheyenne Frontier Days™ and the celebration of what it is to be from Cheyenne and to contribute to the story of what it is to be living in the west both today and yesterday. This Museum tells a story that you can’t find anywhere else in the world, and it is built by people who love it and who are so passionate about every bit of the story we tell and the event we celebrate.

Question: What does this Museum mean to you?

Morgan: This museum means everything to me. It has been such a big part of my life. I came to the museum as a child when my family would visit. I have pictures of me as a nine year old dressing up in our kids room. This Museum has been a part of my life from before I can truly remember and I have been able to watch it grow and change and evolve. Seeing how amazing this is and how great it can become is just so exciting.

Question: What do you see as the future of this museum, and what do you hope that we can accomplish in 2021?

Morgan: I see this museum as a cultural and community center. We were created over 40 years ago because people were so excited and passionate about what they were doing, and I think that we are in the perfect time and place to become this gathering center, for both our Cheyenne community and our diverse audience. In 2021, I think we’re going to be able to take the first steps to becoming this community center we want to be. We are going to really be able to reach bigger audiences and bring more people to this incredible place to learn about why Cheyenne and Cheyenne Frontier Days™ are so important to who we are.

Question: What makes this Museum different from other institutions who celebrate the West.

Morgan: This place is different because it is about Cheyenne Frontier Days, which is a celebration of the legend of the old west combined with the current realities of living in the west. We’re able to bring in the part of the old west everybody wants to see with what the west is today, and you can’t see that anywhere else in the world. Many other institutions who celebrate the west have great examples of western Americana, but because our story is about an event that could have only happened in Cheyenne, and could have only continued because of the care, passion, and volunteer spirit. We are part of the living, breathing west that we celebrate every day in our region.

Question: How can the community help this Museum?

Morgan: You can help the Museum by coming to see us, by talking about our exhibits, by talking about us on social media, by volunteering, and by donating. There are so many different ways to get involved. If the last time you came here was on a school trip that is great, and I encourage you to come back because we constantly change our exhibits. We are a really vibrant location, and we want you to come to see and tell us what you think, talk to us on social media, and then tell your friends to come. That is the easiest way to get involved with us and then once you’re able to fall in love with the story we tell, there’s so many other deeper ways to become involved.

Question: Why should people support this Museum?

Morgan: Supporting this Museum means that you are helping to contribute to a story that can only be told here. The story of Cheyenne Frontier Days™ and the growth of Cheyenne celebrates people from here it means that you are celebrating your own legacy and we are the only place in the world who can tell this story. And if you can help celebrate what it is to be from Cheyenne and what it is to be a person living in the west today, this is the one place that really lets you celebrate every aspect of that. I know I’ve said celebrate a lot, but that’s who we are. We are a celebration of western life, we are a celebration of volunteerism, we are a celebration of passion and dedication and hard work, and there’s no other place like this. So help us, continue to be who we are today.