State losing keepsake with retirement of museum chief Millman

And maybe humble.

“Stress the staff, not me,” Millman said at the end of our interview Tuesday. Like him, the staffers were the ones who worked together to relocate the museum, formerly in Lorenzi Park, to the new $51.5 million digs at the Springs Preserve, which opened Oct. 28.

“We got the building built, we moved in, and we opened the place. I feel I’ve done my duty,” Millman said.

While he has been a dedicated state employee for 30 years, he also credits the other dedicated staff members.

Impassioned history buff and television executive Bob Stoldal believes the museum wouldn’t be open today but for Millman’s leadership.

“David is one of those human beings, one of those state workers, who is the glue to the system,” Stoldal said.

When the museum was built but not quite open, special events were held there. After those events, Millman would clean the toilets. Someone had to, and the custodian wasn’t on board yet, so the director did.

When he retires April 29, “David will be one of the most difficult people to replace,” Stoldal said. “David led by quiet leadership. You will follow David because of his intellect and the respect you have for him.”

Millman concedes the move and the reopening were among the toughest challenges during his three decades as a state worker, first with the Nevada Historical Society, then with the museum starting in 1983.

There was anxiety about whether the Legislature would provide the money to open the museum, which opened six years after it was supposed to, because the economic freefall forced the Legislature to cut the staff and the hours.

The museum is open four days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Monday, so all employees, including Millman, are part-timers working 32 hours a week. Except that’s a myth. Millman and others put in countless unpaid hours.

For a lot of the employees, going from 40 hours to 32 was a financial hardship. The museum lost 40 percent of its budget and one-third of its staff before the move.

“There are people here who have lost their homes like everyone else. They’re making $25,000 a year and lose 20 percent of that paying for health care,” Millman said.

The museum seems to have a new champion in Gov. Brian Sandoval. He likes it so much, he is holding a private VIP event there Wednesday for Desert Research Institute donors, partly to show the place off. Sandoval is sincere in his love of history, and Millman is optimistic that the GOP governor will find the money in his next budget to keep the museum open full time.

On the four-day schedule, the museum averages about 320 visitors a day. By being closed on three weekdays, the museum loses out on many school groups, the target audience.

Recently, the museum was given an Urban Design Award by Mayor Carolyn Goodman, yet Millman didn’t attend. “I’m more comfortable behind the scenes,” he said. “I’m not a self-promoter. I’m an old-fashioned public servant. We believe in public service and know there’s a place for it.”

From critters to showgirls, from mines to atomic tests, the museum holds the potential to spark something in a child.

“Children exposed to these kinds of places are better educated and become better citizens. There’s no telling what impact a visit will have on a child,” Millman said.

His retirement plans? First, help his sister in Berkeley, Calif., who has a rare disease. After that, he doesn’t know.

What Millman does know is that he was part of improving an institution to make Las Vegas stronger and protect historical accuracy.

And he did it with scant recognition, except by a discerning few.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison