Staff at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum


Forrest Dunn (Thurman C. Smith Photography)


Forrest Dunn, Director, Louisiana State Exhibit Museum

In 1982, state Rep. Forrest Dunn and state Sen. Virginia Shehee founded the Friends of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum to provide a continuous financial base for the Museum. Since then, Mr. Dunn, LSEM director, has worked diligently with the Friends of LSEM to bring numerous nationally recognized exhibits to the Museum and to promote and enhance the outstanding collections, gardens and grounds of this exceptional cultural and historical attraction.

 

Mr. Dunn became director in 1988 and was instrumental in accomplishing the Museum’s affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution, allowing LSEM the distinction of being the only public museum in Louisiana to be so designated.
 

Among his community honors have been his selection for the Special Humanitarian Award of the Community Council in 1978 and as a Shreveport Times outstanding leader in the Shreveport-Bossier community in 2002.  He is a past president and a current member of the Executive Committee for the Louisiana State Fair Board, past president of Holiday in Dixie, and a former delegate to the White House Conference on the Handicapped. He also served as campaign chairman for the United Way and for the Caddo-Bossier Association of Retarded Citizens.
 
Active in numerous civic affairs, he was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for 12 years and served on the Caddo Parish School Board and the Shreveport Housing Authority. He was co-founder of the Hap-House and co-chairman of the Caddo-Bossier Committee to Elect President Gerald Ford. For 30 years Mr. Dunn was owner of Dunn Furniture Co., Inc. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

 

Staff Members


Forrest Dunn, Director
Nancy McInnis, Administrative Assistant to the Director
Ruth Stull, Receptionist
Perry Smith, Security Officer
Nita Cole, Curator and Archivist
Monica Pels, Curator and Registrar
Cindy Grogan, Special Events Coordinator
Melinda Graham, Education Coordinator
Betty Baker, Tour Guide
Sara Carpenter, Student Intern
Erin White, Student Intern
Steve Culbertson, Maintenance Foreman
Anthony Harris, Maintenance Repair
Jason Glass, Laborer
Johnnie Dickerson, Custodian
Pearline Wilson, Janitorial


For further information or to contact Museum staff, please call 318-632-2020 or email info@FriendsofLSEM.org.