Chair of the American 1 Board of Directors Philip E. Hoffman shared, “The American 1 Credit Union family values our community’s automotive history and the people who helped shape it. We are happy to help the Hackett Auto Museum in telling the under-told story of Jackson’s automotive and labor heritage.”
The donation dollars will go toward ongoing public education, programming, capital outlay and exhibit planning.
Ted O’Dell, museum founder and executive director said, “We are pleased to be the recipients of this gift and look forward to a collaborative partnership with American 1.”
Future programming and exhibits include Voices From the Factory Floor, an exhibit documenting the experiences of Jackson's automotive workers. Another exhibit, Driving History: South Central Michigan’s Contributions to the Automotive Era, tells the story of the integral automotive past of Jackson, Hillsdale, Branch, Calhoun, Lenawee and Washtenaw counties and will open in spring of 2020.
The Hackett Auto Museum is also the new home to The Model T Experience, an interactive presentation where observers help to assemble and start a real Ford Model T car within 10 minutes.
The museum site located at 615 Hupp Avenue is the birthplace to the Jaxon steam car, Jackson gasoline car, Standard Electric, Argo and Hackett automobiles.
Established in 1950, American 1 Credit Union today serves over 58,000 members with branches in Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Calhoun, Lenawee and Wayne counties.