In July, 2024, Libby Hopkins joined the staff of The Plant City History & Photo Archives as its Community Outreach Manager. David Moon, who served as director since August 2023, resigned in December. Hopkins has been selected to replace Moon. “I don’t want to really change anything, because what we have going on here is wonderful,” Hopkins said. “I do want to improve our archiving abilities, and make all of our photos available online through our website.”
Hopkins has worked for non-profit entities for more than 12 years. She is a Journalism/Mass Communications graduate of the University of South Florida, and previously served as Executive Director of the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association. “I love getting involved with my community and giving back to it,” she said. While working, she is pursuing a certification in Grant Writing, and, in the future, plans to add to this another certification in Nonprofit Management.
Since joining The Archives staff, Hopkins increased its social media presence, and developed new events to get individuals and groups inside The Archives offices. The purpose is to expand community engagement so people can learn more about what The Archives does. “The Archives needs the Plant City community to help us preserve its local history and preserve it for future generations,” Hopkins commented. Sip & Paint, History Talks: Riding the Rails, and a Santa Brunch are among the fun events The Archives has offered Plant City residents.
In 2024, she created the Archives’ History Talks Program—a free, quarterly program in partnership with Preserving Brandon, and The Tampa Bay History Center, to celebrate Plant City, Brandon, and Tampa history. In 2025, the plan is to grow the program by bringing in other history-focused organizations.
Most recently, Hopkins spearheaded The Archives’ first street festival, “History, Whiskey & Wine,” which was held on March 22. The event celebrated The Archives’ 25th anniversary. The 100 block of South Evers Street was blocked off for food trucks, vendor booths, and live music. Whiskey, cigars, and light bites of food were made available inside the Archives office.
The Archives is in the process of installing a new scanning and archiving system. Once it’s in place, and staff has been trained in operating it, Hopkins will start a program in which volunteers can scan and upload photos to the database.
The mission of The Archives is the collection, interpretation, accessioning, cataloging, exhibition, storage, and preservation of photographic history of the greater Plant City area, East Hillsborough County, and West Central Florida. The Archives offers access to these photographs, documents, and files to the public to promote and facilitate a richer and fuller understanding of local heritage and history.
The Archives holds a collection of over 100,000 local historical photographs, negatives, and documents that are available for the public to view at no cost. Inside the gallery, visitors can see slideshows of digital photo reproductions on large display screens, or browse through the archives. The exhibits include things like a salute to veterans, and the Strawberry Festival. Staff is available to answer questions. The Plant City History & Photo Archives is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
“My vision for the future of The Archives is to have our collections available online and host more exhibits that feature our collections and Plant City history,” Hopkins said. “I’m excited to take The Archives to the next level and preserve history for future generations!”