Penticton Museum and Archives will have a new manager and curator starting Nov. 18.
Dennis Oomen is replacing Peter Ord, who took up a new position at the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria on Oct. 6 after nearly 10 years association with the Penticton museum.
Oomen’s last position was curator at the Kamloops Museum and Archives, where he has been since 2006. But his background includes a range of experience in the heritage field, beginning with contract work for the federal Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que. in 1988. According to his bio, the new museum was still months away from opening at the time and there was a lot of work to be done building new exhibits. More work followed at the Museum of Nature and the National Aviation Museum.
“Dennis brings a wealth of experience in the heritage and knowledge industry, and has overseen operations in several museums throughout Canada. He will be an excellent steward of Penticton’s history for generations to come,” said Chuck Loewen, general manager, Recreation and Facilities.
Oomen writes in his bio that not all of the work was as exciting as his first tenure with the Museum of Civilization. At the Aviation Museum, he had to learn to drive a forklift to do an inventory of the propeller collection, lifting them off the cradles to look them over.
In 1991, Oomen took a position at Calgary’s Glenbow Museum as a curatorial assistant, then moved on to the work with the Kelowna Museum as an exhibit curator before moving on to Kamloops. Oomen is also very active in the B.C. Museums Association, chairing committees and the annual conference.