Councillor McCann Meeting Report (February 1, 2022)

West Parry Sound District Museum Monthly Board Meeting
On Thursday evening, January 27, 2022, I attended the West Parry Sound District Museum Monthly Board Meeting via ZOOM.  It was a shorter meeting, although some important ground was covered.  The Manager's and Treasurer's reports were received and the Board approved its 2022 Draft Budget.  Looking at the bigger picture, we talked about our Strat Plan which highlights the following:
Enhancing Access: We want to explore beyond the traditional use of exhibits to showcase selected aspects of the district's history by providing access for others to discover through not only appropriate physical means but also, and just as importantly, online means.
Capture Our Ongoing History: History is made every day and the risk of it being lost is very much something to contend with.  We must actively and systematically collect, identify and capture digital and physical artifacts relevant to the human experience of our district.  Capturing the oral and visual elements that can be shared through non-traditional means is a priority and will require creative and resourceful thinking.
Resource to ensure security:
Funding continues to be a source of stress and distraction for Board and Staff.  We will need to secure human and financial resources beyond that is required to simply just display existing collections of artifacts.
Project infrastructure:
We are nearing the 30th anniversary of the construction of the building and that means huge capital outlay will be required to maintain and upgrade the facility.  The building is a very special building and its environment must be managed in a way that is conducive to protecting and preserving artifacts and any historical information stored on paper or digitally.
This is all in part of our mission which is to collect, preserve and share the history of the West Parry Sound District.
We discussed the Museum's Interpretation and Education Program policy recognizing that education is a lifelong, active, participatory and innovative activity. We want to facilitate learning by creating an environment that encourages discovery learning and where relationships between the collection, the Museum's mission, programming and the participant is made.  We aim to provide equal access to all schools in the District and liaison with community groups, parent groups, volunteer groups and others. Our ongoing objective is to ensure that staff, both paid and volunteer, will be adequately trained to implement the education policy.

The Museum is now open to the public from the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wednesday through to Saturday!


Congratulations and Good Luck to Parry Sound Olympians
I would like to take this opportunity to extend a note of congratulations and good luck to Parry Sound Athletes/Olympians competing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics this February and March.  To Mark Ideson, Megan Oldham and Graham Ritchie we are so very proud of your accomplishments thus far and are so pleased that you are putting Parry Sound on the map as our representatives in this year's olympics! Although in the spotlight now, and so well deserved, it is your vision, commitment, discipline, hours of practice and dedication of which you embraced so early in your lives. It is your fortitude that is a testament to your high level of caliber and where you are today.  You have already proven yourselves and you ARE winners already.  We wish you the best in your respective competitions!