[BCMA] (Fwd) Notice to Mariners

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

The RBCM should have absorbed this vital provincial collection decades ago; 
no other holding has as much historical significance to British Columbia 
that still lies outside the Government's mandate.

>From the 1930s onward, successive RBCM directors had no compelling interest 
in Modern History (including Maritime) or Native cultures  - narrowly 
absorbed instead in their own Natural History interests.

A very small window of opportunity arose in the early 70s for the MMBC to 
get on the Provincial Museum expansion bandwagon, but lack of vision - 
foresight, really - on both sides let it slip by. Indeed, it was a sad day 
when the Province let the Wax Museum grab the CPSS waterfront terminal - the 
perfect location for the MMBC - as well as continuing to fool itself that 
the equally disinterested core municipalities of Greater Victoria would 
pick-up the slack.

Now, in tough economic times, the best the MMBC can hope for is a rescue by 
the Province that would be no more than emergency preservation - close the 
doors and seal the collection away for a day in the future when a big 
thinker can reveal how the holding can be brought again to life - ideally as 
an integral part of the RBCM organization , but displayed separately in a 
re-purposed CPSS edifice.

Dan Gallacher


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv." <bcma at lists.vvv.com>
To: <bcma at lists.vvv.com>
Cc: <bcma-broadcast at lists.vvv.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 3:14 PM
Subject: [BCMA] (Fwd) Notice to Mariners


>
>
> Notice to Mariners
>
>
>
> The Maritime Museum of British Columbia Society Board of Trustees has
> called an Extraordinary General Meeting for 1700 Thursday April 15, 2010.
>
> The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the immediate and ongoing future
> of the MMBC in the light of its current financial crisis. One of the 
> options in
> the financial plan being prepared by the Board is the possible sale of 
> parts of
> the Collection to pay off outstanding debt, and generate operating capital
> for the future. Both National and International Museum Standards sensor 
> the
> capitalization of a Collection to pay for operational expenses.
>
>
>
> The MMBC needs your help. It is not enough for the Membership to defeat
> such a move. The Membership must be prepared to advise the Board on
> alternative strategies and revenue streams. To this end,  MMBC Society
> Members are urged to attend the April 15 meeting and contribute fully to 
> the
> discussion.
>
> As the oldest Maritime Museum in Canada, we cannot let this Institution 
> fail.
>
>
> Signed - A concerned member
>
>
> ------- End of forwarded message -------
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