<div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">FOR IMMEDIATE RE</span><span style="color:black">LEASE</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">October 24,
2018</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black"> </span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black">BC MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES
THE BEST &amp; BRIGHTEST OF THE MUSEUM SECTOR</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black">Awards given out for community
engagement, exhibitions, distinguished service and innovation</span></b><span style="color:black"></span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black">VICTORIA,
BC – </span></b><span style="color:black">The BC Museums Association (BCMA)
handed out its Awards for Outstanding Achievement last night in Kelowna as part
of its annual conference. This year’s sold-out conference attracted museum
professionals and industry representatives from across the province who came to
explore issues around the theme of <i>Innovation
&amp; Technology: Keeping Pace with Acceleration</i>. </span><span style="color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">The BCMA annual awards recognize
institutions and individuals who exemplify excellence in the province’s
museums, galleries and history community. </span><span style="color:black"></span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">“This year’s recipients really showcase the
breadth of amazing things happening in BC’s museum sector,” says BCMA Executive
Director Erica Mattson. “From community involvement to digital programming to volunteer
engagement, BC continues to be at the forefront of museums in Canada.”</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">The <b>Nikkei National Museum</b> received
the <b>Award of Merit, Excellence in
Community Engagement</b></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">for its commemorative programming, exhibits and publications marking the
75^th anniversary of Japanese Canadian Internment and the 30th
anniversary of Japanese Canadian Redress. The Museum worked closely with
survivors and their descendants of both detainment/internment locations, as
well as helped rally the community to obtain official highway signage denoting
spots of significance.</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">The <b>Reach Gallery Museum</b> in
Abbotsford received the<b> Award of Merit,
Excellence in Exhibitions </b>for its Grand Theft Terra Firma exhibit by
artists David Campion and Sandra Shields. The exhibit combines popular culture,
namely gaming and humour, with original source material to consider colonization
specific to the experiences in S’ólh Téméxw, now commonly known as the Fraser
Valley. </span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">The <b>Mayne Island Museum</b> went
home with the <b>Award of Merit, Excellence
in Collections </b>for the<b> </b>John
Aitken glass plate negative digitization project, which preserved more than 300
historical images of 19^th and early 20^th century Mayne
Island and made them available online as high-resolution images. </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black"> </span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">Several individuals were also recognized for their extraordinary contributions.
</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black">Marl Brown, </span></b><span style="color:black">Curator,
Fort Nelson Heritage Museum, received the<b>
Distinguished Service Award </b>for his passion and dedication to founding,
maintaining and growing the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum. As a mechanic with the
Canadian army,<i> </i></span><span style="color:black">Brown started collecting items in the 1950s with
the intent of preserving the past for future generations. He founded the Fort
Nelson Historical Society in 1977 and worked tirelessly to eventually open the
museum in 1987. At 86 years young, he is still the first person at the museum
in the morning and the last one to leave at night.  </span><i><span style="color:black"></span></i></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black"> </span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black">Sherri Robinson</span></b><span style="color:black">, a
volunteer at the Esquimalt Municipal Archives, received the <b>Museum Service and Stewardship Award</b>
for her extensive knowledge of the community of Esquimalt and for her
dedication to the documentation and preservation of the municipality’s history.<b></b></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u><span style="color:black"><span style="text-decoration-line:none"> </span></span></u></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black">Rachael Bell-Irving</span></b><span style="color:black">,
Curriculum Programs Coordinator, Ocean Wise received the <b>Innovation Award</b> for her work on <a href="http://education.ocean.org" target="_blank">education.ocean.org</a>. This online
learning space inspires the global community to increase its understanding,
wonder and connection to our oceans.<i> </i>The
Innovation Award is generously sponsored by NGX Interactive. </span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">A full list of winners, honourable mentions
and nominees is available at <a href="http://museumsassn.bc.ca" target="_blank">museumsassn.bc.ca</a></span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">-30-</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black">About
the BC Museums Association:</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">Founded in 1957, the British
Columbia Museums Association (BCMA) creates a bright future for British
Columbia’s museum, gallery, and related heritage communities through
networking, advocacy, innovation, and professional development. It delivers
programs and services to the benefit of its members and the sector at large,
acting as the cultural and heritage information hub for British Columbia while
providing a unified voice for the institutions, trustees, professional staff
and volunteers.</span><span style="color:black"></span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="color:black">Contact:</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">Erica Mattson, Executive Director, BCMA</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">Tel: 250-356-5694</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span class="m_-6246701187563917006gmail-MsoHyperlink" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration-line:underline"><span style="color:black"><a href="mailto:emattson@museumsassn.bc.ca" style="color:rgb(5,99,193)" target="_blank"><span style="color:black">emattson@museumsassn.bc.ca</span></a></span></span><span style="color:black"></span></p></div>