240320 Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special Awards Advisory Committee Minutes 1
The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg
Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special Awards
Advisory Committee
MINUTES
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
4:30 PM
30 Tillson Avenue
ATTENDANCE: Carrie Lewis
Amie Varga
Isaac Card
Doug Cooper
Joan Weston
Tabitha Verbuyst
Courtney Booth
Rosemary Dean
Kelly Spencer
Deb Gilvesy
Regrets: Lindsay Munroe
Staff: Patricia Phelps
Hillary Miller
_____________________________________________________________________
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 4:35 pm.
2. Closed Session
Resolution # 1
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Moved By: Kelly Spencer
Seconded By: Amie Varga
THAT the Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special Advisory Awards Committee
move into Closed Session to Consider the following:
2.3.1 Spring 2024 Volunteer Achievement Award Nominations
239 (2) (b) personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal
or local board employees
2.3.2 Naming of Northcrest Park - Public Consultation and
Recommendation
239 (2) (b) personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal
or local board employees
Carried
2.1 Adoption of Closed Agenda
2.2 Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof
2.3 Reports
2.3.1 Spring 2024 Volunteer Achievement Award Nominations, CLD-
CS-24-002
2.3.2 Naming of Northcrest Parks - Public Consultation and
Recommendation, CLD-CS-24-003
3. Adoption of Agenda
Joan Weston returned to the meeting.
Resolution # 8
Moved By: Amie Varga
Seconded By: Isaac Card
THAT the agenda as prepared for the Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special
Awards Advisory Committee meeting of March 20, 2024 be approved.
Carried
4. Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof
None
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5. Adoption of Minutes of Previous Meeting
Resolution # 9
Moved By: Joan Weston
Seconded By: Courtney Booth
THAT the minutes of the Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special Advisory
Awards Committee of January 17, 2024 be approved.
Carried
6. Presentations
None.
7. General Business & Reports
7.1 Patty Phelps, Culture & Heritage Manager/Curator RE: Museum
Updates
Patty Phelps, Manager/Curator of the Museum provided the following
verbal updates:
Recap of January and February
Throughout January staff and volunteers took down Christmas and
put up the quilt exhibit in the Pratt Gallery
Attendance for the month was 476, which included 2 group tours
and 2 room rentals. This number is a significant increase over
January of 2023, which had an attendance number of 180 visitors.
Museum was open on Family day 10 to 3 with tours, games, crafts
and new exhibit – saw 218 visitors
With this number, expecting to exceed Feb. 2023 attendance
numbers as well
Lunch & Learn series starts tomorrow
Have 50 people signed up between Thursday and Friday
Most have bought a series pass, so will be attending all 4 lectures
Leap year Tea planned for February 29 – currently have 20 people
signed up
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February Attendance – 2023: 417 and 2024: 505, Year to date - 2023:
597 and 2024: 981
Up-coming in March
o Women’s Day Luncheon on March 8 – currently have 31
women signed up
o March break programming registration open – different program
each day about animals connected to the museum parrots,
song birds, otter, turtles and cows – have a spots left
o March’s Lunch & Learn features guest lecturer Joan Weston
and her talk on the history of flue-cured tobacco in Tillsonburg
and area. A tickets left for this lecture.
o Oxford County Book Bus will be in our parking lot on March 12
from 10 – 12
o Motor Coach of 52 booked for a tour on March 14
o Easter falls at the end of March and the Museum will be closed
for the Easter weekend from Friday, March 29 through Monday,
April 1
7.2 Tabitha Verbuyst, Executive Director/Curator RE: Station Arts Centre
Updates
Tabitha Verbuyst, Executive Director/Curator provided the following verbal
updates:
March break camp is completely sold out.
Summer programs are already sold out as of March.
Spring into Art Market is coming again this year. Will span over two
weekends. Open house with a few farmers markets. Circus aerials
and a band. People can shop and be entertained and will hopefully
bring more traffic into the gallery.
Big Cheese Day, part of the Cheese Trail coming up.
Painters and Potters exhibit is currently on.
Membership has seen an increase in 100 new people.
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Women and History online platform for Station Arts. Looking to
highlight women in town and show how many amazing women are
in the community.
7.3 Founder's Day
The Committee decided to have Founder's Day the weekend after
Thanksgiving. Themes of thankfulness and living in the town can be used.
Carrie will reach out to the Community Centre to try and book the
auditorium for that weekend. Having the event at the auditorium provides
more space to come up with other activities for the day.
Joan will reach out to Theatre Tillsonburg to see if a play could be put on
for that day to showcase the history of Tillson's arrival to the area.
Other ideas included having blacksmiths and woodworkers in the parking
lot to embrace the pioneer sense of what the land was like in Tillson's
time.
7.4 Separate Social Media Pages for Parks, Culture and Recreation and
the Museum
Tabitha Verbuyst left the meeting at 5:35 p.m.
Resolution # 10
Moved By: Joan Weston
Seconded By: Doug Cooper
THAT the Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special Awards Advisory
Committee does not support the merger of the social media page of the
Museum and the social media page of the Recreation Culture and Parks;
THAT there are very different demographics in which the Museum has
heritage awareness and that the focus of Recreation is on wellness and
active living;
THAT the Committee feels there is no reason to risk losing a social media
page that is already well established;
AND THAT these comments be provided to the Director of Recreation,
Culture and Parks for consideration.
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Carried
7.5 Museum, Culture and Heritage Master Plan
Resolution # 11
Moved By: Rosemary Dean
Seconded By: Amie Varga
THAT the Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special Awards Advisory
Committee recommend to Council that a Museum, Culture and Heritage
Master Plan be created.
Carried
7.6 Terms of Reference
Isaac Card left the meeting at 6:01 p.m.
Resolution # 12
Moved By: Carrie Lewis
Seconded By: Kelly Spencer
THAT staff provide the previous terms of reference of the Museum
Advisory Committee for review at the next meeting.
Carried
7.7 Retirement Celebration for Patty Phelps
The committee thanked Patty for all of her hard work and wished her well
on her retirement.
8. Next Meeting
The next meeting is April 17, 2024.
9. Adjournment
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Resolution # 13
Moved By: Rosemary Dean
Seconded By: Amie Varga
THAT the Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special Awards Advisory Committee
be adjourned at 6:09 pm.
Carried