2010
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation
Desmond Canning, Christine Freake, Lisa Fudge, Karen LeDrew-Day
The Beothuk Interpretation Centre team members thrive on each others’ energy and commitment to the site and its visitors. Their willingness to work toward common goals and standards, as well as the mutual respect and open communication essential to building and maintaining a strong and healthy work environment has led to delivering quality visitor experiences and ongoing partnership initiatives.
Faced with ongoing challenges such as limited resources, ensuring summer students were properly trained, and the ‘unknowns’ that arise on a daily basis, the team’s creativity was evident in how they responded to these challenges.
The Beothuk Interpretation Centre is recognized as a best practice leader in the heritage and tourism sectors. The exceptional work by team members has led to the increased appreciation and understanding of the Beothuk culture and the fundamental role of Aboriginal cultures in the province’s history, as well as increased the profile and brand positioning of Provincial Historic Sites, the Notre Dame Bay region and the province as a whole. The centre is now known as the anchor visitor attraction in the region resulting in spin-off benefits for local businesses. It also worked with local residents and the Provincial Archaeology Office to facilitate the recent find of significant archaeological materials around the Change Islands.
Various service delivery improvements developed at the Beothuk Interpretation Centre have been adopted across the 12 sites in the Provincial Historic Sites network. Their annual programming plan, used to guide the delivery of interpretive activities and special events, was the basis for the recently developed Provincial Historic Sites Programming Strategy and their customer service practices were the basis for the recently developed Provincial Historic Sites Visitor Service Standards. Other improvements included the development of curriculum-based school programs, the development of season passes for local residents, fostering of stakeholder relationships with tourism industry partners and communities, and the incorporation of exceptional elements of their tours at other sites.
The Beothuk Interpretation Centre team continually reviews visitor feedback, strives to increase operational efficiency as a means to exceed customer satisfaction and expectations, and works toward a common goal of delivering exemplary service.