myself because I just hated going out and selling something that I knew people didn ’ t really want ,” she says . “ But , when it ’ s something you believe in , it ’ s not hard to ask for money , or time , or in-kind donations , because I truly believe [ Pella Historical ] is a place of value .”
And Van Kooten ’ s biggest challenge has always been money , from the museum ’ s operational budget to staff wages . Sometimes , that involves cutting and revamping programs .
“ I think having been a church youth group and girl ’ s club leader , I learned how to do things without a lot of money ,” she said . “ That ’ s been a challenge , but it ’ s been fun .”
Van Kooten has also helped launch Wyatt Earp Days , a festival filled with activities and local artisans that demonstrate what life was like in the mid-1800s ; Pillage the Village , a chance for members and the public to dig up tulip bulbs in Pella Historical Village ; and Windmill Winterim , a series of educational programs and classes offered during Pella Historical ’ s offseason .
“ We want [ Pella Historical ] to be a center of activity for things , not just special events ,” Van Kooten says . “ We now have members who come in with their kids after school , sit outside [ in the village ], feed the fish and have their coffee . That ’ s exactly the kind of thing I was hoping would happen .”
Above all , Van Kooten considers herself a storyteller — and she knows how important those stories are to Pella Historical and the community of Pella . Last year , Van Kooten was invited to speak at a conference in The Netherlands about Pella ’ s 175th anniversary and its founder , Dominie Hendrik Scholte . The conference offered an outside perspective of Scholte and why he decided to create a new life in America .
“ I got a totally different view of [ Scholte ’ s ] immigration from their point of view ,” she says . “ It burst a lot of bubbles , to be honest , and it surprised me in a lot of ways about things I hadn ’ t really thought about before . It was a great trip , but it was very interesting .”
If people say history is boring , she says , it ’ s because of the way they were taught history . Van Kooten recalled a social studies class where her teacher filled the chalkboard with dates of historic battles to copy and regurgitate for tests . If we learn history as a story of people , she says , the dates will come — but they have to be interested in the people involved .
“ We have a lot of people who will come here and say , ‘ Well , my wife wanted me to come ,’ or ‘ I don ’ t like history .” But then they ’ ll go through [ the museum ] and say ‘ Wow , I didn ’ t realize this was history .’ And it is ,” she says . “ It ’ s an important part of Iowa history . It ’ s an important part of Pella history . Not just keeping that heritage alive , but the economic draw that the museums and Tulip Time bring in is huge for our community .”
And the community knows what it ’ s like without Tulip Time . In 2020 , the festival was canceled due to COVID-19 , which created a financial hardship for the city ’ s local nonprofits , retailers and members of the hospitality industry , as many set their budgets each year in relation to the festival .
“ A lot of groups didn ’ t make their budget for the year , and we struggled ,” she says . “ I mean , everybody struggled , because the same amount of money wasn ’ t coming in .”
Van Kooten ’ s job duties are all-encompassing . But , she couldn ’ t execute them successfully without her staff and volunteers .
“ I have never worked with a staff of people who are so committed , who can catch a vision and just go with it ,” she says .
Jessi Vos , assistant director of Pella Historical Museums , will take over Van Kooten ’ s role as executive director after Aug . 31 , 2023 . Vos says Van Kooten has been “ an incredible role model ” for her .
“ She ’ s definitely a person who has a vision and then knows how to get it done and makes it happen ,” Vos says . “ I really admire that about her .”
“ One thing I learned when I first started here is that people have a lot of opinions about how things should happen , and they don ’ t like change … but Val is tough ,” she adds . “ Watching her work has definitely thickened my skin too — learning what ’ s worth fixing and working with people and what ’ s not worth getting upset about .”
Vos says Van Kooten ’ s strengths are her ability to discern what projects will succeed and building Pella Historical ’ s community presence .
“ She saw the organization , its potential and brought it out of a slump it had been in . She renewed interest in [ Pella Historical ] and made us a bigger community presence ,” Vos says . “ Everyone knows the windmill on the corner , and everybody knows Tulip Time , but they don ’ t necessarily know Pella Historical sponsors Tulip Time … She ’ s done a really good job of marketing us to the community and marketing everything that we have to offer .”
In September , Van Kooten will transition into managing her own grant writing and consulting business , Van Kooten Grant Consulting , which will give her more flexibility and free time for family . It will also allow her to continue to tell those important , local stories .
“ There ’ s such a need for nonprofits who don ’ t know where to start ,” she says . “ There ’ s such a learning curve , and it really excites me to see these places be able to get a grant to be able to do something to further their mission , their programs .”
But , Van Kooten says she ’ ll still be around to lend a helping hand , especially during Tulip Time .
“ I will really miss being in my office and having people just drop in to say ‘ hey ,’ or ‘ did you know this ?’ or even ‘ hey , you need to do this ,’” she chuckles . “ I ’ ve always wanted my office to be open … It ’ s very nice that people feel welcome enough to sit down , to ask questions , or just to talk .”
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