Once the committee members determined that the Cleveland Bradley County region did not possess a means to display artifacts of its unique history, they decided that the concept of having a museum was feasible. The committee created a working mission statement, "The purpose of the Museum is to preserve, for education and enjoyment, the history and interests of our area, from earliest times to the present."

The Cleveland Bradley Regional Museum received its official charter of incorporation on March 12, 1993. At this point the committee recognized the need for start-up funds. An anonymous donor gave $2,000, which in essence led to other donations and fundraising efforts. Committee member Jim Finley organized the first fundraising effort in cooperation with the local Wal-mart. The committee staffed a display every Saturday in August, 1993, accepted donations from the public and recruited volunteers. The Bradley County Historical Society contributed to the success of this effort by donating $4,000 and copies of the Pictorial History of Bradley County for sale to the public.

On October 21, 1993, the committee approved bylaws for the Museum and the application for recognition of tax-exempt status by the IRS, which was granted. On December 19, 1993, the Cleveland Bradley Regional Museum held its first Annual Meeting. At this meeting, Joe Hamilton was approved for employment as the first Executive Director of the Museum.

With the employment of a new Executive Director the planning for the museum began to quickly take shape. Cleveland Associated Industries donated the use of an office in the Cleveland Bank & Trust Building. Temporary storage space for artifacts given to the museum was donated by Cleveland Bank & Trust. Many new volunteers were recruited.

In January, 1994, Board President Sherry Brown appointed four task force chairmen to begin the planning phases for the museum. Task forces were given approximately 9 months to research and report on their findings. The task forces and chairmen were:

Story Line Task Force: Jim Mayfield headed up this task force, which developed and recommended the "story" to be told by the museum. The story line will provide the basis of determining what artifacts will be on permanent display.

Collections Task Force: Robert George chaired this group, which was to develop a collections policy and begin collecting artifacts consistent with the shoreline. This task force is still very active today.

Facility Task Force: Chaired by Sherry Brown, this group researched possible sites for the museum. Through tremendous input and negotiating, both temporary and permanent sites were explored, selected and donated.

Development Task Force: Joe Hamilton oversaw this group, which was responsible for seeking the funds needed for operating expenses as well as facility/exhibit development. In February, 1994, the city and county voted unanimously to support the project by appropriating $5,225 each for operating costs. In April, 1994, through the efforts of Senator Lou Patten and Representative Richard Fisher, a state appropriation of $75,000 was approved for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1994. Fund raisers at Wal-mart were held in 1994 and each year thereafter to raise operating money.

In November, 1994 Whitney Jones, Inc., conducted more than 20 interviews of key individuals in the community, seeking their input on the museum's shoreline, preferred location and future direction. The consensus of all those interviewed was that the creation of a museum would be a strongly positive asset to the community. All agreed with the shoreline/timeline, "A River of Time," and most were in agreement that the museum needed to be located in downtown Cleveland. Another major point of discussion was that Cleveland has a tremendous need for a place where cultural programming could take place. It was suggested that the museum also serve as a cultural center for the community.

On December 6, 1994, Whitney Jones, Inc., conducted the first of two Long-Range Planning Retreats. Community leaders were invited to attend and participate in the planning process. The outcome of the retreat was that an LRP subcommittee should be formed to create a plan for the major issues raised at the retreat: facility, programming, personnel, budget, and research with other museums.

The members of the LRP Subcommittee were Hoyle Rymer and Gary Smith, co-chairmen; Sherry Brown, chairman of the Facility Committee; Connie Gatlin and Phyllis Callaway, co-chairmen of the Programming/Personnel Committee; and Jim Williams, chairman of the Budget Committee. The LRP Committee met three times to hear reports from the three subcommittees as well as Joe Hamilton's extensive research document on surveying 10 museums in the region. Issues addressed on the survey were facility size, permanent exhibit space, programming space, any building renovations, facility ownership, facility location, budget and storage space. All recommendations from the three subcommittees were approved at the final LRP Committee meeting on May 3, 1995.

Community leaders were invited to attend the second and final LRP Retreat on May 31, 1995, where the recommendations of the LRP Committee were presented. The recommendations that were presented and approved by the participants were:

On June 8, 1995, Don Lorton and Bill Burch of Maytag Cleveland Cooking Products presented a five-year lease (at $1 a year) to the museum for the former Callaway Motors Building on First Street Southeast in downtown Cleveland. With renovations completed in October, 1996, the 7,000-square-foot building is now occupied by the museum staff and will be used as a collections storage facility and work space for museum volunteers.

With unanimous approval from the Board of Trustees to move forward with the campaign, the first task was to identify and recruit its leaders -- Skeet Rymer, Hoyle Rymer and Sam and Anne McReynolds. The solicitation of leadership gift prospects began in mid-March, 1996. Thanks to the strong campaign leadership, it has resulted in more than $3.5 million in pledges, as of mid-1998, and the willingness of many other community leaders to take on other leadership roles for the campaign.

The Campaign Cabinet met regularly to discuss campaign strategy and museum planning progress. Besides the cabinet, two key committees were created:  The Building and Exhibits Committee and The Annual Operating Committee.

The Buildings and Exhibits Committee, chaired by Bill Burch, oversaw the work of the architectural firm as it worked on the design of the building. The Annual Operating Committee, chaired by Craig Taylor, researched other museums and created a realistic annual operating budget for the museum showing income and expenses.