Village News

Hello, fellow wayfarers! It has been a wonderful, busy five years for me as Executive Director of Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV). Unfortunately, my time here at MHV has come to a close. I am so thankful for this role I had in the community, for the great people I have met along the way, and the work we accomplished.

Personal highlights of my past five years include:

• The ‘All My Relations’ initiative which is helping MHV and our constituency to connect better with our neighbours, to be a more socially engaged organization.
• The ‘Well-being’ initiative which is improving our green spaces, making our pond with its new trail, large fountain and trees a destination for visitors. Also, the thousands of free passes we have provided low-income families and other non-profits that work with the vulnerable so that they could have times of rejuvenation here. I would even add ‘Winter in the Village’ to this initiative as it provides a satisfying and grounding way for people to get outdoors and ‘take in’ our village setting during winter.
• The restoration projects. The expertise in keeping our 30+ heritage buildings and monuments looking good is amazing. I loved seeing a retired sawyer and his coffee shop friends exuberantly restore our World War Two era sawmill my first year here.
• People. I loved working with MHV staff and volunteers to host festivals for 1000s of people (ie. Canada Day) or just running into one of you in the village and chatting about our heritage and personal connections.

I hope we keep running into each other in the coming years and keep helping our village along. It is worth it! Please keep supporting MHV and the precious role it has in our world. MHV’s volunteer orientation is April 25th, and then the outdoor village buildings and restaurant open to the public again on May 1st.