Village News

Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) will be welcoming a number of new team members in 2018. This week we are pleased to introduce Robert Goertzen, who has joined us to take on the role of Program Manager. Robert is a lifelong resident of the Steinbach area and has been involved in various aspects of community life, including work, recreation and church. He has a bachelor’s degree in history, with particular interest in Mennonite history.

As MHV’s Program Manager, Robert will oversee our Program Department, which includes three major focus areas:

Our Volunteer Program is crucial to the health of our museum. Museums typically rely heavily on volunteer labour, and we are no exception. Robert will be responsible for the recruitment, supervision, training, and recognition of many of our volunteers. This is a critical role, given the significant number of volunteers we need to call on throughout the year and the amount of turnover our volunteer pool experiences.

Our Education Program provides off-site learning opportunities for many students in Southern Manitoba. Each year we serve between 3,000 and 4,000 students, coming from our Southeast region, from Winnipeg, and sometimes from beyond. Although most of our student visitors descend on us in May and June, to take advantage of our outdoor village, Robert will be looking for ways to provide education programing throughout the year.

MHV’s festivals are a large part of our service to our community. Each year we provide three major festivals: Canada Day (in partnership with the City of Steinbach), Pioneer Days (in partnership with the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce), and Fall on the Farm. These festivals help to bring our community together, develop tourism in the Southeast area, and generally make Steinbach a great place to live. Robert will be taking the lead in planning and delivering these festivals.

While these three program areas are each separate “deliverables” in Robert’s job description, they are all focused on increasing MHV’s relevance in our community, enabling us to continue telling the stories of the Russian Mennonites, and engaging with an essential community of volunteers. We are pleased to have Robert on our team to lead this important part of MHV’s work.