Report on October 7, 2010 Annual General Meeting, Cedar Heritage Centre

Friends of Morden Mine were privileged to have W.J. (Jack) Peake as guest speaker at its 2010 AGM. Jack has an impressive record of public service in Central Vancouver Island and is currently Chair of the Kinsol Trestle Capital Campaign and Board Member of the Island Corridor Foundation (owner of the E&N Rail Corridor).

The subject of Jacks talk was Preserving History: To Do or Not To Do. Members and non-members attending were impressed not only with his valuable insights but with his relaxed and affable style.

Jacks talk focused on his participation in the ten-year old battle for Kinsol Trestles remediation funding. An organization hoping to preserve such a major artifact, he emphasized, must make a strong case not only for the importance of heritage as an irreplaceable cultural part of the community but for the benefits such preservation can bring in the form of increased and economically viable tourism.

He stressed the necessity for such an organization to be aggressive, courting useful contacts in various sectors of the community, consistently following up for publicity and fundraising purposes. The three components of a successful preservation campaign were, he said, grass roots support, endorsement of two levels of government, if possible, plus media sponsorship.

David Gogo, FOMMs 2009/2010 President, welcomed members and guests and oversaw election of 2010/2011 directors. David Gogo, John Hofman, Eric Ricker, Ingrid Greenwell, Charlie Christopherson, Frank Garnish, Mark Drysdale and Louise Shuker were reconfirmed as directors. Rick Morgan was elected to fill the vacancy left by Mike Gogos resignation.

John Hofman, FOMMs Vice-President, summarized 2010 activities. The major focus in the past year, he said, was on developing a new landscaping and redevelopment plan for Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park. The plan was created by Gemella Design after considerable consultation with concerned stakeholders. The final version can be viewed at www.mordenmine.com Site Development Plan, Figure 1.

Other activities included sponsorship of three 2010 Black Track Tours, led by historian/author Tom Paterson: two in May, one in September. These tours of historic mining coal-mining sites in the Nanaimo area create much needed publicity and monies for Mordens remediation. Toms time and knowledge, as always, are donated.

FOMM collaborated with South Wellington Area Citizens Association (SWACA) on the construction of a float for Nanaimos Empire Day parade, celebrating the coal mining background of Morden and the South Wellington area. In addition, FOMM had booths publicizing its goals at several other local area events, including SECAs June Miners Heritage Picnic, and the August Coaltown Music Festival.

John pointed out the role of FOMMs newsletter and website in publicizing Mordens predicament: now almost one hundred years old and continuing to deteriorate, in critical need of remediation. He mentioned, as well, another welcome donation, that by the City of Nanaimo of old Foundry timbers to be reused at Morden.

FOMMs treasurer, Ingrid Greenwell, John explained, had been in hospital for the past two weeks so he was substituting for her in summarizing membership and financial activities. From the information he had, John advised that FOMM now had more than sixty members, and that FOMMs financial status was reasonably healthy with something like $8,000 in its credit union account at the end of July. Detailed copies of the financial statement would be e-mailed at a later date to those requesting.

Discussion included suggestions that the site development plan be created in powerpoint form to enable it to be more widely distributed throughout the community, as well as the advisability of pre-planning before embarking on major fundraising so that goals and focus are clear for potential donors.

The motion to adjourn was made by Lynne Bowen, seconded by Gord Miller. All in favour.