The Lakes District Museum Society awarded life membership to long-time board member Russell Skillen at its annual general meeting held Sept. 28.
Skillen, who joined the museum society in the mid-1990s and has been its president for more than a decade, received a plaque honouring his contributions over the past 26 years.
Vice-president Lyle Graham, who presented the plaque to Skillen, noted that the museum society’s long-time president had joined the organization “as the original representative from the trappers’ association.” He added that Skillen’s contributions to the organization during that period were significant.
Skillen thanked the society’s members for the award, adding that he had “the help of a lot of other people” during his years on the board.
In other museum society news, the membership elected its board for the coming year. Val Anderson, Sashka Macievich, Sharon Marr, Joan Adams, and Cameron Hart join Skillen and Graham as directors. The executive for 2022-23 will be selected at the society’s Oct. 19 board meeting.
Established in 1978, the Lakes District Museum Society has been preserving items of historical and cultural interest for more than four decades. Its museum at 520 Hwy. 16 West in Burns Lake contains more than 5,000 artifacts from the Lakes District’s colourful past. The society also operates the only publicly accessible archives and art gallery in the region.