Re: Parksville Museum hosts museum archive workshop (The NEWS, March 13).
I’ve been silent on this topic because I wanted to protect my career and be respectful of the organization that provided me work for five years, but the latest article regarding the Parksville Museum conference has encouraged me to reach out.
What the article doesn’t clearly state is that this project was initiated by Qualicum Beach museum in 2017, and is the result of their hard work and expense.
Around August/September 2017 I was approached as Director of Parksville Museum and we were invited to be the hands-on teaching component of their Re-Org project. I jumped at the opportunity and facilitated the process of getting Parksville Museum signed up, which was confirmed in October 2017. It was one of the last tasks I accomplished before being let go with no warning.
Our new museum intern had been there only a month when the staff was let go, and she took the reins to make sure Parksville Museum was ready for the conference. Despite having no museum professionals to supervise her, she did an amazing job.
This conference and workshop is the result of hard work by highly trained and educated museum professionals who understand the importance of preventative conservation, heritage stewardship, collaboration and teamwork.
One or two current board members are trying hard to right the ship after the last few disastrous months, but credit should be given for work that was done by Qualicum Beach Museum staff, me, and my team to make the Re-Org project happen.
I had many, many successes during my time with the museum but facilitating this collaboration was a highlight. It was an incredible opportunity and I’m appreciative of Qualicum Beach Museum for including Parksville Museum in their project.
Nikki Gervais
Nanaimo