Governance

Mission Statement:

The Stratford Perth Museum Association is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and celebration of the rich material and cultural heritage of the County of Perth and the City of Stratford. To this end, the Association operates the Stratford Perth Museum to provide curatorial services for the artifacts and collections placed in its care, and to present public educational exhibits, programs and information which bring to life the history of the region for its citizens and visitors, in accordance with the Museum’s agreement with the City and County.

Vision Statement:

To be recognized as a vibrant community museum, respected for our vital role in preserving, interpreting and celebrating our artifacts, stories and rich cultural heritage.

Our Strategic Plan

To reach a destination one has to know where you’d like to go and then plan the route. Thorough planning builds strong organizations and is the basis of attaining desired goals. The Museum’s volunteer Board of Directors and its staff team are firm believers in this simple but absolute truth.

For this reason, the Board and staff ensure that a Strategic Plan, or longer term planning agenda, is in place at all times. Ongoing strategic planning defines the central goals and priorities for the Museum for each three to five year period. The governing Strategic Plan for any given period becomes the foundation for annual business and operational plans, including budgets. Regular reviews assess the Museum’s strategic course and allow for adjustments, where and when needed.

As part of this ongoing planning process, the Stratford Perth Museum put a new strategic plan in place in January 2014, VISTA, and it will be the cornerstone document for the Museum through 2016.

VISTA defines five core goals for the Museum during this period.

  • 1. Adhere to the Stratford Perth Museum’s 10-year Funding Agreement but capitalize on all reasonable revenue opportunities.
  • 2. Increase membership and optimize SPM brand profile through sound communications/marketing strategy.
  • 3. Capitalize on the “historical campus” opportunity supported by a full site plan.
  • 4. Focus on a vibrant, relevant exhibit and public education program.
  • 5. Strengthen and reinforce the staff/volunteer dynamic.

Your Museum Board

The Stratford Perth Museum is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who are responsible to members of the Association and to the communities they serve, ensuring that appropriate preservation, conservation and curatorial services are provided for all collections placed in our care.The Board is elected at its Annual General Meeting by the Association’s membership. To read our current Annual Report, click here.

David Stones is the current board chair, having been elected at the museum’s AGM in February of 2022. David is a veteran of the museum’s governance body and has been involved with the board on and off for over 10 years. Most recently David chaired the Player’s Backstage capital campaign.

Board also includes two council appointed representatives from the City of Stratford and Perth County.The Board is responsible for setting the Museum’s strategic direction, reviewing the operating budget, developing policies and procedures, and for fundraising. And as a working board, you will find board members working side by side with the museum team everyday.

The board of the Stratford Perth Museum meets every two months and beginning in April of 2023, in person.

To view the museum’s 2022 audited financial report, the annual report and a video of our AGM, follow this link. 2022 AGM and financials.

Current Board of Directors, Stratford-Perth Museum Association:
David Stones – Chair
Vice chair – Katie DeBlock-Boersma
Mike Valliquette – Secretary
Janice Richardson – Finance chair
Cynthia Carlson
Ron Hikel
Deanna Horton
John McIntosh
Leanne Perreault
Brent Shackleton
Doug Kellum – County of Perth Representative
Larry McCabe – City of Stratford Representative

Our Funding Base

The Stratford Perth Museum is a vital part of the community, committed to preserving the past and promoting local history. The Museum’s two principle funding partners, the City of Stratford and the County of Perth, are committed to assisting the Museum carry out its mandate.

The Stratford Perth Museum Association generates over 40% of its total revenue from admissions, programs, fundraising, memberships, donations and grants.

2004 City/County/Museum Task Force click here.

Our Privacy Commitment

The Stratford Perth Museum Association and The Stratford Perth Museum are committed to respecting the personal privacy of individuals who visit our website, the museum, our events, and programs. All personal information held or collected by the Stratford Perth Museum is protected under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

  • This website does not automatically gather any personal information from you, such as your name, phone number or e-mail address. We would only obtain this type of information if you supplied it voluntarily.
  • Our website does not use “cookies” to track how our visitors use this site or to determine sites previously visited. (A “cookie” is a file that may be placed on your hard drive without your knowledge by a website to allow it to monitor your use of the site.)
  • Information provided voluntarily by individual visitors is used by Stratford Perth Museum employees who need to know the information in order to respond to your requests.
  • We only share the information you give us with other institutions if your inquiry relates to that institution.
  • We do not use the information to create individually identifiable profiles, nor do we disclose this information to anyone outside the association without your permission.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this policy, please contact us at the museum.

Our Accessibility Promise

The Stratford Perth Museum and its staff, volunteers and trustees, are committed to ensuring equality of access to the museum, our exhibits, programs, and events, for everyone in our community:

  • We are here to help make this Your Museum. The museum and its exhibits are carefully planned to be barrier free. Please let us know if there is any way we can assist you when you visit the museum.
  • If you require any information from this website or other museum publications in some alternative format, please let us know.
  • If there are any other ways we can help make the museum and our exhibits, events, and programmes accessible, please contact us so we can work together to create a museum for everyone in our community.
  • For our accessibility policy, click here:  accessibility-policy-2016