Raffan to accept award on behalf of colleagues
When James Raffan accepts a meritorious service medal from Governor General Julie Payette at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Tuesday, he says will do so on behalf of all of those who helped the Canadian Canoe Museum become what it is today.
“This individual achievement is also a collective achievement that needs to be celebrated as such,” he said Monday, explaining how odd it feels to be singled out given work to make the museum a cultural gem has been a team effort since day one.
“We’ve brought something back from being on life support to being something that is vibrant ... it is the result of inspired leadership (by a team),” Raffan said, adding that it is nice to be recognized for giving his all. “It’s kind of nice to be recognized for that.”
The meritorious service medal is Canada’s highest civilian honour, given to “citizens who have demonstrated professional acts that are of considerable benefit to the nation.”
The explorer said he has always been invigorated by the energy of those around him and to him, leadership has meant enacting his beliefs and “jumping in” for a worthwhile cause. “That tends to bring out others that share that view.”
Raffan, who has lived in Seeleys Bay north of Kingston since 1984, served as executive director of the museum from 2007 to 2014, “rescuing it from near bankruptcy and transforming it into the vibrant cultural attraction it is today,” states the citation for the award.
“He laid the groundwork for a new facility and set the course for the museum to become a national institution that celebrates the lasting impact canoes have had on shaping our nation,” it states.
Museum general manager Carolyn Hyslop agreed, pointing out how Raffan was behind the strategic plan of 2010 that guided the museum for years and laid the groundwork for its planned move to the water and onto the national stage.
Hyslop, who has known Raffan since he was a professor at Queen’s University, called him the kind of person everyone wants to work with.
“He’ll do what is needed. He is someone you can count on,” she said, adding how she looks to him regularly for insight. “I feel very fortunate to have a colleague like James.”
The museum’s director of external relations works to share the museum’s story abroad, including its ambitious plans next to Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn Waterway.
“I’m very, very excited about lighting up the touristic darkness between Toronto and Ottawa,” Raffan said, adding how the move to the city’s other “huge draw” has huge economic potential for the city, both as a venue and in economic development.
The museum collection paints a unique portrait of Canada, Raffan said. “There isn’t another one anywhere in the world like it.”
Peterborough is the “natural, cosmic home” for the museum, given the countless trips on the Otonabee River over thousands of years, he said.
Not only does the museum tell the story of how Canada came to be, but it can tell the story of future Canada as well, Raffan said. That’s the exciting part, for him, particularly in light of continuing reconcilation efforts.
“The canoe is still a relevant and galvanizing symbol ... of common experience,” he said, adding how that can bind folks of all stripes and from all walks of life. “Canada is a nation of rivers. It is also a river of nations.”
Raffan, accompanied by his wife and two children, said he will also enjoy being joined in Ottawa on Tuesday by several long-time supporters.
With city council deciding on its level of support for the museum Monday night (council agreed to the requested $4 million, to be paid out over eight years), Raffan – not one to toot his own horn – used the news of his award to lend his support to the museum, calling its collection cultural assets of national significance.
“This award from the governor general is yet another affirmation of the importance of the Canadian Canoe Museum on the Canadian national cultural landscape,” he wrote to Coun. Lesley Parnell, noting that he could not be on hand Monday because he would be in Ottawa.
“As one of many staff who have given our all to bring the Canadian Canoe Museum to this pivotal juncture in its history, I implore you to vote to invest a full $4 million – as recommended by city staff – in the future of the City of Peterborough through the exciting possibilities that await us all in the plans for the new museum,” he wrote.
The support of city council is pivotal because it is needed to leverage support from elsewhere, he pointed out.
“This is an example of why this collection is important.”