Matthew Francis resigned his position as executive director of the Chilliwack Museum, but the reason has not been given.
His final day of work at the Museum was last Thursday, The Progress has learned.
Charlie Fortin, chairman of the Chilliwack Historical Society board, confirmed that Francis had tendered his resignation.
“And the board ultimately accepted it,” Fortin said.
They’re looking “positively” toward the future, he underlined, despite the departure.
“We’re trying to plot a new course now so there is lots of work the board and staff are doing to pick up the loss.”
Retired former museum head Ron Denman might be stepping back into his old role, as he has before on an interim basis, as this situation gets sorted, but that remains to be seen.
READ MORE: Francis vowed to create future for history
Francis took the reins at the Museum in February 2015, after a leaving a position that he’d had in municipal heritage services with Province of Alberta since 2008.
One of the Chilliwack Museum projects Francis oversaw in recent years was upgrading to custom-made, modular display cases for the 60th anniversary of the Museum, at a cost of $142,000. The ambitious project received funding from the federal government, City of Chilliwack and the Chilliwack Foundation and more.
READ MORE: New display cases purchased
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