Randy Forster is a familiar face around Austin. People may recognize him as the co-director of Summerset Theatre or from standing behind the register at Sweet Reads Books and Candy on Main Street.

But Forster now has a new title: director of the Mower County Historical Society.

“‘I’ve always had an interest in local history and when I saw the Mower County Historical Society was looking for someone, it intrigued me to explore more to see what they were looking for and see how my skills could be valuable to them,” he said.

Forster, who brings more than 20 years of business experience to the job, started at his new position on Tuesday.

He is replacing outgoing director John Haymond.

“I’m pulling from my business and marketing background to hopefully take the Mower County Historical Society to the next level,” he said.

Ardis Jenson, president of the Mower County Historical Society Board, said Forster’s enthusiasm made him stand out.

“He was excited about finding different ways in fundraising, program development, and ways to enhance the Mower County Historical Society,” she said.

As director of the Mower County Historical Society, Forster says he looks forward to facing the challenges that come with running a non-profit organization.

“One of the challenges that all non-profits face is trying to do more with less and looking at what resources they have and making the best use of those resources and getting more people involved,” he said. “One of the first ideas is that we need to increase our awareness so that more people know that the Mower County Historical Society exists. They’re doing some great work out here in research and trying to upgrade the museum exhibits, but we need to have more people come and enjoy that.”

Jenson agrees.

“We need to involve more people, both on a volunteer basis and through membership, and to be more community involved,” she said. “History was yesterday, and we don’t want to be about just 1800s through World War II. And the Mower County Historical Society is not just the city of Austin. We want to have the involvement of the entire county in preserving the history of Mower County.”

Forster said that he plans to reach out to other non-profit organizations in the area in the hopes of forming partnerships that will allow each organization to build upon the others. He is also looking forward to getting to know the board members and members of the Mower County Historical Society.

“We need to make history relevant to today’s society, get more youth involved, and increase our membership,” he said. “There’s lots of great opportunities here and I’m excited to get started.”