The new manager at the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives may be just what the doctor ordered. 聽
Saskatchewan鈥檚 Rob Hubick has been on the job since April 3. A marketer with business acumen, he鈥檚 been looking for a way back into the museum industry since leaving the Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, where he was executive director a few years ago and 鈥渞egretting it.鈥�
鈥淲hat better place to work in a museum than in the Rockies?鈥� he said Monday. 鈥淚 always loved visiting here, so this was the perfect fit.鈥�
The society that runs the museum hopes his mix of experience will come together to put the deficit-ridden organization back on even keel.
Hubick hopes to balance the budget by developing programming that will attract more visitors, pursuing partnerships with the business community and chasing grants.
鈥淭hey want it run like a business,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have a business degree and my background is in marketing; I鈥檓 not an archivist or collections person.鈥�
He said he鈥檚 managed businesses related to manufacturing and self storage.
鈥淚 think over the last couple of years it has been a struggle鈥� for the museum, Hubick said. 鈥淲e need to get ourselves financially stable, and the way to do that is to make the museum a destination.鈥�
His marketing background compels him to build or refresh relationships with local hotels to make sure the museum is part of the conversation with guests. Since much of the workforce follows the ebb and flow of the visitor traffic, Hubick sees an opportunity to bring front line workers, for example, into the museum for industry days in order to verse them in what the museum has to offer when they鈥檙e giving advice to travellers.
鈥淲e want the community to see us as a first choice as a destination, not the last,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat you learn here you can take with you for the rest of your vacation. It鈥檚 what we鈥檙e about. We鈥檙e all about education and information.鈥�
Hubick is still looking for permanent accommodations, but he鈥檚 over the moon to be up in the mountains.
鈥淭he community has been hugely supportive,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 second to none, in my experience.鈥�
Craig Gilbert | [email protected]
