The Mower County Historical Society is closing the book on a five-year chapter in its history.

Executive Director Dustin Heckman is leaving March 28 to take the same position with the Goodhue County Historical Society in Red Wing.

The move will be bittersweet for Heckman, 29, as he has been in Austin for more than five years and has built strong relationships with his staff, the board and volunteers.

“It’s hard to leave, but at the same time it’s the right move for me right now,” he said.

Heckman described the decision as an economic one for he and his family, which includes a young child at home.

The historical society’s board is sad to see Heckman go; in fact, board member Glenn Medgaarden went to the Mower County Board of Commissioners Tuesday asking for more money to entice Heckman to stay in Mower County.

Commissioner Tim Gabrielson told Medgaarden it’d be difficult to set aside more money after the board already approved its 2014 budget. The board would first discuss the issue with the personnel and finance committees, which wouldn’t make a recommendation to the board until late March. Commissioners voiced concern about such a move setting a precedent for other county employees. The historical society is largely funded through memberships and the county.

However, Heckman said the move is final, and he’ll start March 31 in Goodhue County.

Heckman said he’s proud of the many accomplishments made during his tenure, including work to improve collections care, programming and energy efficiency in many of the historical society’s buildings.

It is a busy time for Heckman to leave. The historical society is planning additional projects this spring to improve energy efficiency, and the historical society is working on a deaccessioning project to remove some items from the historical society to make space for new material. The historical society removed the Herald J. Williams American Indian Collection and gave much of the exhibit back to the Williams family last October to make room for collections storage and new exhibits.

Heckman is confident his staff and the board will continue in a positive direction and continue growing.

“There are very capable people here, and I think they’ll handle it just fine,” he said.

Heckman reflected fondly on his time in Mower County.

“The Austin community and Mower County community has been awesome to me,” Heckman said. “It’s been a privilege to be here and be able to lead this organization.”