Vegreville Regional Historical Society to Fold

Vegreville Regional Historical Society to Fold

 

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

With recent news that the Town of Vegreville will be deaccessioning artifacts from the Vegreville Regional Museum it prompted the question as to the future of Vegreville Regional Historical Society (VRHS) that was incorporated as a Society two years ago.

Vegreville Town Councillor David Berry was appointed acting Chair of VRHS on Jan 10, 2022. At that time, he hoped to develop the newly established society. Berry told the Vegreville News Advertiser on March 1, 2024, that the VRHS is “inactive without any memberships” and provided an explanation regarding the current status of the Society.

Berry stated, “Commencing two years ago, considerable effort was made to start the society by getting a certification of incorporation registered. However, despite extensive advertising, the first Annual General Meeting (AGM), March 28th, 2022, had only three interested residents in attendance.  Therefore, it was not possible to form an executive and continue with the society.

I was saddened by the lack of community support and have not continued with the initiative to re-establish a historical society. With the anniversary of the first AGM approaching with no membership, and no executive, it will be necessary to surrender the certificate of incorporation under the Alberta Society's Act.” 

 

In recent years the former museum had undergone changes to the interior of the facility. Meghan Saskiw, Corporate Services Director for the Town of Vegreville, stated, “The event centre renovation occurred through an MSP Grant that became available during the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant funded the $243,685 Event Centre Upgrade, $225,743 in various playground updates, and rebuilt the Pysanka Park Bridge ramp for $8,576. These projects were undertaken during Covid-related closures and allowed us to keep several staff members employed while working on this project during facility closures.

While we have not begun tracking facility rental data for the Event Centre as of yet, we can note that it has been the site for several meetings hosted by a wide variety of groups and organizations including the Vermilion River Watershed Alliance, the Vegreville & Area Stands With Ukraine Committee, a joint meeting between the Town of Vegreville and Elk Island Public Schools and more. The Event Centre is also home to the annual Corn Maze’s operations and concession which typically blocks out about a month in the late summer/early fall.”