Fond Farewells

By Sandra Hudson

Communications Consultant

We Say Goodbye to Some Familiar Faces

Melissa Sands

This spring has seen the retirement of several committed Royal BC Museum staff members, all of whom have left a legacy of hard work and excellence at the museum. We will miss their collective wisdom and their incredible commitment to their work, the museum and the people of BC.

Jon Roodbol

After 30 years spent looking after the Royal BC Museum building and facilities, facilities supervisor Jon Roodbol headed into retirement. Jon began his public service career with the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Culture, which at that time managed the museum. When an opportunity presented itself to join the museum itself in 1991, Jon applied and got the job. His role has expanded throughout the years; in 2003, when the museum became a Crown corporation, responsibility for the entire cultural precinct—including the BC Archives, the Netherlands Centennial Carillon, Thunderbird Park and St. Ann’s Schoolhouse—fell on the museum, and Jon took on greater responsibilities.

A highlight of Jon’s time has been working with the knowledgeable, experienced staff at the museum and getting to be a part of an institution that is of vital importance to the people of BC. Darren Glover, venue rental manager, who has reported to Jon for the past six years, says “Jon has been a great supervisor, who lets you do your job and brings compassion to the workplace.”

Pam Lowings

Jon Roodbol

Melissa Sands

Pam Lowings

Melissa retired after holding the position of executive financial officer and VP for corporate finance for six years.

Originally from Toronto, Melissa Sands graduated from York University with a BA in economics, followed by an MBA from the University of Manitoba. Following a four-year adventure living and working in Singapore, Melissa returned to Victoria and applied for the position at the museum. Although she had not previously worked

Director of museum modernization Pam Lowings retired after 14 years spent at the museum, following a career in property and facilities management. Pam, who worked previously for Alberta Infrastructure, found that the work involved in maintaining a museum posed different and unique opportunities and challenges. Pam will miss her team and all the other dedicated staff at the museum, recalling lots of hard work and fun on the job.

A highlight of her time at the museum has been the advocating for and working on the plans for the new Collections and Research Building in Colwood, together with executive, museum staff and BC government staff. Pam calls it a “once in a lifetime” project for the organization, and she is pleased to be leaving with the knowledge that the new building is underway.

Pam plans to spend more time with her family following her retirement, as well as finding new ways to give back to the community. in the museum sector, Melissa described it as “a new challenge and a new adventure.”

Reflecting on her time at the museum, Melissa remembers working with the Royal BC Museum Foundation to purchase the Emily Carr painting Chinese Boy from auction in time to be displayed as a highlight of the feature exhibition Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing—French Modernism and the West Coast. Melissa also fondly remembers working with the 22 board members, nine vice-presidents and two CEOs during her time at the museum, calling it “a pleasure and an honour.”

Post-retirement plans for Melissa include enjoying time with family and post-pandemic travel, with a trip to England first on the list, followed by a return to Southeast Asia.

Janet MacDonald, Head of Learning (Emerita) By Liz Crocker, Kim Gough and Chris O’Connor, from the Learning team

After 22 years, Janet MacDonald, head of Learning at the Royal BC Museum, hung up her hat, her cape, her Egyptian pyramid and the many other props and souvenirs from her storied museum career.

Janet started at the Royal BC Museum as a program developer after 11 years at the Redpath Museum at McGill University in Montreal. When she joined the museum, it was already known for presenting largescale blockbuster exhibitions. But it was the exhibition Out of the Mist: Treasures of the Nuu-chah-nulth Chiefs that gave Janet her first opportunity to work with Indigenous communities. This experience grounded her in respectful, collaborative work that profoundly shaped how she engaged and continually learned from communities throughout her time at the museum.

Throughout it all, but particularly during the last year, we have especially valued Janet’s exceptional communication skills, her intolerance for cynicism on the job and in life, and her respect for museum visitors and community. We are grateful to have worked with her and wish her much time, post-pandemic, to travel and finish curating the paintings of her late husband, artist Terrence Patrick Coady.