Kamsack’s Power House Museum board, which held its annual meeting last month, has embarked on the establishment of planning, policy and event committees which will help ensure the sustainability of the museum.
“Our museum is a link to our past and helps us understand our present and our future,” said Darlene Brown, the treasurer. “To ensure sustainability, we need to be an inclusive organization in our mission statement, our mandate and budgets and performance measurements and we must see that they are appropriate for the changing times. We need to evaluate our performance annually for our tomorrow world.”
At the annual meeting held March 6 at the Kamsack Seniors’ Centre, the board’s executive committee was re-elected: Lydia Cherkas, president; Betty Dix, vice-president; Darlene Brown, treasurer, and Connie McKay, secretary.
Beginning their second year on the board of directors are: Peter Cherkas, Lydia Cherkas, Tannis Negrave, Betty Dix and Cliff Paluck. Having another year on their terms on the board are: Len Buenneke, Ed Yurkiw, Bill Zbeetnoff, Marvin McKay, Connie McKay and Darlene Brown.
Mary Vereschagin and Faye Zbeetnoff, who have completed their terms on the board, have agreed to continue with the museum as volunteers.
At the meeting it was agreed to increase the number of members on the board from a minimum of 10 with a total of 11 persons, to a minimum of 10 with a maximum of 15 members.
The board has made inventories of the museum and its holdings and has set plans in place to update, renew, build or repair whatever needs to be accomplished in a three-year plan, Brown said, adding that items have been prioritized by year and budgets have been set to match.
Members have been meeting as planning, policy and event committees.
The planning committee has prioritized tasks to be accomplished for 2016 with budgets attached, Brown said. “We need to ensure responsible use of our resources and to be responsive to the needs and wants of our changing communities that we serve.”
The policy committee has updated all the museum’s policies and developed new ones to meet standards that have been set by the Museums Association of Saskatchewan (MAS), and the museum’s articles of incorporation and bylaws have been updated.
The events committee has drawn up a list of events that members want to hold during this year and over the next few years, along with the museum’s traditional opening and harvest festival events, she said. “We are very excited about the next few years and are working hard to involve our multi-cultural community, our membership and our loyal volunteers in our events.”
During the 2015 season, the museum had a total of 488 visitors, of which 311 were district residents; 169 from other parts of the country; seven from the USA and one from South Africa.
In the president’s report, Lydia Cherkas reviewed the events of the past year which began in April with the Museum in a Suitcase program, which had volunteers take artifacts to Eaglestone Lodge.
As is the custom, the museum opened for the season on the Sunday of the May long weekend with a pancake breakfast and displays. Members attended the MAS annual meeting in Regina and in May, two members attended a community Engagement Animateurs workshop in Yorkton, sponsored by Parkland Valley Sports, Culture and Recreation District.
A Victoria School Grade 3 class visited in June when members devised activities for the students, including scrubbing socks and towels on old scrub boards and shaking cream in jars to make butter. The students were treated to a short session in the Poplar Point schoolhouse with Tannis Negrave as the teacher.
Residents of Eaglestone Lodge and the Kamsack nursing home visited the museum during the summer and members of a CNR Via tour visited the museum in August.
The 30th anniversary of the museum was observed on September 6 when activities included a program of entertainment and information on the formation of the museum. The museum was able to provide items to help enhance the program celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Victoria School and members participated in the community’s annual Culture Days event.
Members attended a volunteer workshop held in Yorkton and the year ended with a supper for board members and volunteers on December 3.
Daniel Ruten of Kamsack has been hired for the third consecutive year as the student employee at the museum for this summer, Cherkas said.
Representatives of the Power House Museum plan to attend the Seneca Root Regional Museums Association meeting in Preeceville April 27, she said. The fall regional meeting will be held in Veregin.
