The exhibit was produced by Maison Saint-Gabriel in Montreal which is run by the Congregation of Notre-Dame. Also pariticipating in the exhibit are the Museum of Education in Rouen (France), the Museum of Civilization (Hull) and Saint-Boniface Museum (Manitoba).

In early March I was very fortunate to be in Miami on work purposes.  I say this with tongue in cheek, as it was March break and the place was flooded with school kids enjoying the sun, taking up all the restaurant space and generally coming to life when we "normal" folks are heading to bed!  

I was there to meet with senior representatives of the cruise industry (who all have their corporate offices in Miami or Ft Lauderdale), talking to them about Louisbourg.

Five staff from the Heritage Presentation and Client Services unit joined me and did two presentations to groups of cruise industry representatives, tour operators and other types of suppliers at two separate venues.  The presentations were very well received.

Between the formal office meetings and the networking at the venues, we were able to enhance the awareness of where and what Louisbourg is and give them a sample of what their clients would experience on a visit here.

We now have a much better understanding of what the industry needs from us, what would make them come our way and stay a day here with us, how we can promote interest in Louisbourg to their passengers and have begun establishing relationships that will make it happen.

The cruise and bus tour industry is a huge market for us and is our primary target for the near future.  We will be working to solidify relationships and offer programs that match the market in the next year.

It was a very successful visit and getting a bit of a tan was an accident..  sorry about that.

The Government of Canada has announced this year to be the "Year of the Veteran".

This will pay tribute to all Canadian service men and women including veterans and current members of the Canadian Forces, veterans of the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War.

Many events will be taking place throughout the year both here in Canada and overseas to thank and remember our veterans of the past wars.  

Below is a letter from the Letter Books, January 29, 1885 written by John Fiske in Washington D.C. to his wife describing Alexander Graham Bell:

Now, back to the present.

Work is underway to replace a 30 year old installation of smoke detection devices with new units and conductors.

Heavy rainfall in March highlighted the leaks in some areas of the museum and the potential for flooding in the women's washroom became a reality in the admin area. It is of note that the only dry area in that washroom when it flooded was the area around the drain. Solutions for these situations include the strategic placement of our growing assortment of buckets and use of the Shop Vac and a fan in the interim while we wait for the roof renovation which is scheduled to begin in September.

We are continuing to respond to requests for enhanced programming for cruise visitors.

Digital photos for FHBRO purposes were taken and forwarded of the unique wood construction features in the original museum A-frame which opened in 1956.

With regard to the Baddeck Liberated Learning Showcase (BLLS), Valerie Mason reports that over the past month, several heritage interpreters from AGBNHSC have begun training their voice models for the coming visitor season. To train their voice models, they speak into the computer using a microphone, and then go back and correct any transcription errors the computer may have made.  In this way, they "train" the computer to recognize their individual ways of speaking. At this point, IBM researchers in Israel are working on an even faster way to improve users' voice models, and the guides involved were interested to learn that their digitalized "voices" were being sent to

Israel for research purposes! IBM expects to have the BLLS up and running at the beginning of the Visitor Season. The benefits derived from the research  being conducted in Israel will be available to guides next month, as part of the Showcase.

Gary Pierrard, General Works, attended the "Communities in Bloom" information session held at Inverary Inn. Baddeck is applying to become part of this program which strives to improve the tidiness, appearance and visual appeal of Canada's neighbourhoods, parks, open spaces and streets through imaginative use of flowers, plants and trees. A focus on environmental awareness and preservation of heritage is also part of the program's success.       

The CBI-FU Marketing Group (Georgina Leslie, Mark Sajatovich, Elaine Wallace, Heather Dixon, Aynsley MacFarlane, Sharon Morrow) met at AGBNHSC and is drafting the makings of a marketing plan and looking at developing a publication to promote all operations.

Aynsley MacFarlane attended a session on "branding" for Baddeck and area that will help place the community in the tourism marketplace. The initial discussion showed that those present view Alexander Graham Bell as a very strong identifier for the area.

Congratulations to Sharon Morrow on the marriage of her son January 31st at La Malbaie, Quebec; to Anne MacRae on the marriage of her son February 28th in the Dominican Republic; and to Sean Cox, Electrical Contractor, on the birth of his son Jake (9lbs. 8 ozs.), March 8th in Antigonish.

Condolences to Sharon Morrow on the death of her father who passed away February 10th after living courageously with cancer for one year after his diagnosis.

Sincere condolences to Sheila Fudge and family on the death of their brother, Carl Skinner on February 27^th.

Sincere condolences to Alex Campbell and his family on the death of his mother-in-law, Selena Hollohan on March 16^th.

Anyone wishing to submit an article to the Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Please forward to Donna MacNeil at donna.macneil@pc.gc.ca  or telephone 733-3551.