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Congratulations to the 2010 OMA Awards of Excellence recipients!

Dave Benson

Award of Excellence for Lifetime Achievement

 

Dave Benson, Heritage Coordinator for Chatham-Kent, was nominated by his staff for his exceptional leadership skills and his support of the preservation and presentation of heritage beyond his role with the Chatham-Kent Museum.  During his 30-year career, Benson has nurtured museum staff, interns and volunteers, providing them with the support and training they need to excel.  In addition, he has been actively involved in the community, supporting initiatives such as Tecumseh Parkway Project, Mary Webb Centre, Moderwell House, and Lanoue House.

“His passion for history, and making our community a richer, and better place to live is contagious.  He has become the go-to guy for all things heritage related.  Dave is truly deserving of the award of excellence – excellence in empowering his staff, empowering others, and excellence in promoting and preserving history.”
Nominator Stephanie Saunders

Allan Symons

Award of Excellence for Lifetime Achievement

 

It was a passion for clocks that led Allan Symons to his second career as a museum professional.  After a long career as a chemistry research scientist, Symons retired early to open Canada’s only formal clock museum, The Canadian Clock Museum in Deep River, Ontario.  He financed, organized and opened the museum on his own, and today he continues to act as curator, exhibit designer, acquisitions manager, tour guide, bookkeeper, conservator, maintenance man, gardener, and web site developer.  In the process, Allan has also become a valued colleague and an effective advocate for heritage and museums.

“Allan’s two greatest achievements have been maintaining his absolute integrity as a private individual who has selflessly opened and maintained his own collection for the use and enjoyment of the public while generating an infectious enthusiasm which has benefitted the entire museum community.”
Nominator Janet Carlile

Ottawa Museum Network

Award of Excellence for Enhancing Conservation Standards

 

Limited resources for artefact conservation means objects important to telling our stories are at risk.  To address this issue, the Ottawa Museum Network worked with its ten member museums to pool resources and leverage additional funding in order to hire a Conservator to assess collections at all sites, treat the artefacts in need of conservation, and develop an exhibition to highlight the conservation work completed and to build public awareness of the need for conservation.  All participating museums benefitted from increased knowledge, long-term conservation planning, and the ability to exhibit objects previously too fragile or unstable to display.

"This project is truly an example of the success of network partnerships in the museum community to share resources and achieve shared goals.  The museum community has been brought together and strengthened by this project and have set a higher standard for community museums.”  
Nominator Laura Peters

Grey Roots Museum and Archives

Award of Excellence for The Good People: Know Our Stories, Know Us

 

Culture is not defined simply through material representation, but it shines through beliefs, stories and other intangible methods of transmission.  Grey Roots broke with the traditional museum presentations about Aboriginal people focused on tangible aspects of culture and community: housing style, clothing and tools.  Instead, Grey Roots worked in partnership with Aboriginal elders and artists to develop an exhibition that features 15 stories and legends of the Anishinabe People, presented through text and art installations. These stories, handed down over generations, connect people with history and help keep alive the traditions and beliefs of the past for future generations.

“The Good People exhibit provided a forum for another community partner, the first community group on this land, to express their views and sense of identity.”  Nominator Brian Manser

Museums of Mississauga 

Award of Excellence for the Benares DVD Project

 

The Museums of Mississauga has expanded public access and enhanced the visitor experience of Benares Historic House with an innovative DVD project.  As part of the project the museum produced a “Welcome to Benares” DVD introduction to Benares which is available in English and French with Chinese, Urdu, Polish and Japanese subtitles, and “Upstairs and Downstairs at Benares,” a guided tour of the basement and second floor of the house which until now has been inaccessible for those with mobility limitations.

“This project is all about improving public access and enhancing the visitor experience of Benares Historic House.  The rich resources of Benares can now be accessed and enjoyed in a way that would previously not be possible, particularly by people who have physical limitations or limited English.” 
Nominator Annemarie Hagan

Adele Espina 

Award of Excellence for curating For King and Country: Soldiers of the Haliburton Highlands

 

While cataloguing the collection of the Minden Hills Cultural Centre, Adele Espina is always thinking about more than how to make a record, but what the true significance of each artefact is and how it may be used to tell a relevant story to visitors.  Pushing the boundaries of space, money, time and operating season, Espina created For King and Country: Soldiers of the Haliburton Highlands, an exhibition recognizing the soldiers from Haliburton County who served and died in the First and Second World Wars.  The exhibit struck an emotional chord in the community, and has inspired further work towards an online exhibition of the same theme.

“What made Adele’s work exceptional is that she researched the heart-breaking stories of these young men and put the awful loss into a meaningful context for a story that had never been told in this community.” 
Nominator Carol Simmons

*Photo Credit: All photos from Graham Iddon for the Ontario Museum Association