An astronomical gift

DAYTONA BEACH — In July 1969, Lowell Lohman was among the millions of people watching in fascination as Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.

Lohman had just graduated from Florida State University that summer with a degree in biology and chemistry, and he was in love with all things science. In the midst of the moon landing excitement he regretted not taking an astronomy class, so in the five decades since he has amply remedied that.

He and his wife, Nancy Lohman, not only took an astronomy course at Daytona State College, they also toured observatories nationwide from the Keck Observatory located near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii to Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.

But never did the couple think an observatory or planetarium would bear their names. Now one does.

The state-of-the-art planetarium at the Museum of Arts & Sciences that's capped off with a 40-foot-diameter dome has become the Lowell and Nancy Lohman Family Planetarium.

As was announced Friday night at the museum's $100-per-ticket annual fundraiser and gala complete with a cocktail reception and silent auction, the Lohmans have donated $2.5 million to the nonprofit Daytona Beach museum founded in 1955.

The $2.5 million will go toward a $15 million museum endowment that's still building toward its goal, news that brought the 260 people packed into the museum's Root Auditorium to their feet for a standing ovation. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra performing in the auditorium Friday night played Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me To The Moon" to celebrate the planetarium being named for the Lohmans and their donation.

"We're so blown away with their generosity," said Andrew Sandall, who's been the museum's executive director since 2012. "Tonight we really need to give a massive thank you to Nancy and Lowell."

Sandall said when the Lohmans visited his museum's 94-seat planetarium for the first time a few weeks ago, "you could see their eyes light up."

"We spent a day there, and that really solidified our decision," said Nancy Lohman, who's also president of Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens.

"It's fascinating and humbling to study the galaxy and beyond, and it's my hope that our donation will inspire others to keep learning," Lowell Lohman said.

"Lowell has always believed that life's adventures begin with learning, so it's fitting that the Family Planetarium at MOAS — a place where learning comes in the form of exciting exploration — be named in his honor," Nancy Lohman said. "We are so lucky to be in a position to help sustain this form of stimulating education for years to come."

Those who know the Lohmans well said it's one of many acts of kindness they've seen from the Ormond Beach couple. Just in the past couple years, the Lohmans have also given $1 million to the Halifax Humane Society for its recent renovation and expansion project, $1 million to the Council on Aging, $200,000 for local diabetes programs, $100,000 to Bethune-Cookman University for student scholarships and athletic support, $100,000 to the Mary McLeod Bethune statue project, $100,000 to The Community Foundation, and $50,000 for welcome signs in Ormond Beach.

"They're among those families in our community that are willing to make contributions that will improve the quality of life, and then they become full, active supporters of the causes they get behind," said Kent Sharples, a museum board member, former president of Daytona State College and president of the CEO Business Alliance that stimulates job creation and capital investment in Volusia County. "They make their decisions to direct their resources toward a legacy that improves the quality of life for everyone in our community."

Local auto dealer Randy Dye, a museum board member who has known the Lohmans for decades, said the $2.5 million is a surprise, but the Lohmans' generosity is not.

"It's truly in their character," said Dye, owner of Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram & Fiat and other local auto dealerships, and the 2019 chair of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce. "The fact that they recognize the value of the arts in our community does not surprise me."

He said the Lohmans are "the type of people you try to be like."

'Extraordinary gifts'

The impact of the Lohmans' $2.5 million gift will be tripled by the two-to-one endowment match being provided by Hyatt Brown and Cici Brown, a museum board member and longtime supporter. The $2.5 million contribution is effectively a $7.5 million donation with the $5 million the Browns will send to the endowment.

The Browns are also having that triple-multiplier impact on the $250,000 the museum's Board of Trustees members have personally contributed, as well as hundreds of thousands from other philanthropists. With the matching funds added in, the running endowment tally has reached nearly $9.8 million. But more is needed to grow the endowment to a level where museum operating costs are sustainable without the help of grants, which have dried up for the arts in recent years.

It's just the Browns' latest act of major generosity. In the last few years, the philanthropic couple's donations to the museum, Stetson University and Daytona Beach's Riverfront Park have tallied $60 million.

"We are thankful for Cici and Hyatt Brown's amazing leadership," Nancy Lohman said. "They are transforming the landscape in Daytona Beach, especially in the world of arts and culture. Their vision along with their generosity is remarkable. The results will be their legacy — extraordinary gifts within our community for generations to come."

Over the past decade, the Museum of Arts & Sciences has undergone a dizzying blast of expansion and improvement.

In addition to the 1,300-square-foot planetarium that opened five years ago, an overhaul was completed on the building that houses a mock train station with two historic railroad cars and a large collection of yesteryear railroad memorabilia. There have also been improvements to the Root Family Museum that includes antique automobiles and the largest collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia in Florida.

The flood-damaged west wing was rebuilt into a sleek modernized replacement. The museum's front entrance lobby was expanded and remodeled. And most recently the hurricane-damaged boardwalk trail that winds through an outdoor natural preserve was repaired.

With all the rebuilding complete and bills paid, the museum's 19 trustees realized they had one more project to tackle: Raising enough money to operate and maintain everything well into the future. The museum's annual operating budget is $3 million.

Sandall and the museum's Board of Trustees agreed creating an endowment was going to be the best way to preserve the remodeled 100,000-square-foot facility and do justice to the nearly $9 million poured into reconstruction and updates since 2012.

The endowment fundraising effort that began in April, which was originally aiming to raise $10 million, has a goal of hitting its new $15 million target by next spring.

'Vital for the future'

Museum leaders decided to secure their future with their operating costs at a new high and state funding plummeting. State money for cultural programs has plunged from $43 million in the 2014-15 fiscal year to $2.65 million in the last budget year.

Fifteen years ago, the Museum of Arts & Sciences received about $1 million from the state. In the 2014-2015 fiscal year, that fell to $390,000. The museum's annual state funding has since steadily dropped to $10,000-$50,000.

"Any museum not properly endowed will probably go under," Hyatt Brown, chairman of the board for insurance firm Brown & Brown, Inc., said earlier this year.

With changes in both state funding and the economy, Sandall said an endowment is "the safest, most reliable form" of funding and "it's vital for the future of the museum."

"Arts and culture are expected to look after themselves now," he said. 

Sandall said the endowment money will be invested with a goal of earning 5 percent annually. He said the money will earn interest in banks and go into moderate risk stocks and bonds.

Creating an endowment with a two-for-one match was a formula that worked for the Browns and the museum just a few years ago. In 2015, the Browns pledged to give $10 million for another museum endowment if other donors would chip in $5 million.

The other endowment was set up for the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, which opened four years ago. The 26,000-square-foot art museum was named for the Browns after they donated $14 million to build the facility and filled it with 2,600 of their Florida-themed paintings dating back to the early 1800s that are worth tens of millions of dollars.

The art museum is located on the same heavily wooded 90-acre property that's home to the Museum of Arts & Sciences, and it's owned and operated by the Museum of Arts & Sciences.

The Brown museum endowment has already grown from $15 million to $18 million with "prudent investing," said Sandall, who's a trustee of the Florida Association of Museums.

"This success was one of the major factors in driving the desire to build a similar endowment for (the main museum)," he said.

'Making a tremendous impact'

At one time, Lowell Lohman owned 60 companies spread across Florida cities as well as Atlanta and Phoenix. In 1997 he and Nancy Lohman founded Lohman Funeral Homes, which became the largest family-owned funeral home and cemetery chain in Florida. 

They sold Lohman Funeral Homes in 2013, and then went on to own and operate over 2,500 apartment units in Daytona Beach, Orlando and Jacksonville that they have since also sold off.

They have both served on various local boards and helped many community organizations, volunteer work that former Daytona Beach mayor Glenn Ritchey said has improved Volusia County.

"It's not just the dollars that are making a difference. Time is a precious commodity," said Ritchey, owner and president of Jon Hall Chevrolet and a CEO Business Alliance member. "They've been blessed and they turned around and shared those blessings. We're fortunate to have people like that who will step up. They're really making a tremendous impact on our community."

Carl Persis, a friend of the couple, said Nancy Lohman spent three years leading the effort to raise money for the Halifax Humane Society.

"She didn't just write a check," said Persis, who got to know Nancy Lohman 20 years ago when he was Ormond Beach's mayor and she was president of the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Persis said Lowell Lohman has quietly helped young diabetics by telling his story as someone who has lived with the condition since his early 20s, encouraging kids to not let it stop them from doing anything they want.

Persis, chairman of the Volusia County School Board and a former school principal, said it "thrills" him to know money will be in place to ensure local students are able to learn at the planetarium for years to come. Sandall said the planetarium is one of the most popular attractions at the museum, drawing more than 200,000 people since it opened in 2014.

"Anytime they're aware of anyone needing help they offer, but they try to be quiet about it," Persis said. "Whenever the Lohmans say they'll do something, they do it right."

Dye said the Lohmans are "very visionary."

"If you listen to them, you learn a lot," he said. "You come away just feeling better they're part of the community. Their enthusiasm for our community is amazing."

He said their $2.5 million gift will pay dividends for generations.

"It makes a huge difference in the museum's ability to be here forever," Dye said. "It's our honor to partner with them in this."