The Alberni Project Society will be holding its 2020 annual general meeting at 3 p.m., March 2 at the Vancouver Island Visitor’s Centre, 3607 Small Road, Courtenay.
Celebrating its 21th anniversary in 2020, The Alberni Project was founded in Seattle, Wash. in 2000 before relocating to the Comox Valley in 2002. It serves as a memorial to honour the crew of HMCS Alberni, a flower-class corvette built in Victoria that served in the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War from February 1941 until it was torpedoed and sunk in August 1944 with the loss of 59 lives. The HMCS Alberni Museum and Memorial, founded in 2013, continues to assist in upholding the society’s mandate to honour the crew of Alberni as well as other veterans. This is achieved through school programs related to the Canadian Forces from the Great War to the present day, and collection and preservation of artifacts and stories from those who have served Canada during time of war and peace.
Over the years, the museum has also sponsored exhibits such as One War: Two Victories (subject of Chinese Canadian Veterans of WWII), Anne Frank: A History for Today, War Brides: One Way Passage (in honour of the 70th anniversary of
the arrival of WWII war brides), Innocent Eyes: War From Another Perspective, focused on children’s experiences during wartime, and most recently, A Soldier’s Sketchbook, a collection of drawings, cartoons, and sculptures created by soldiers, sailors, and airmen in response to armed conflicts. Events planned for 2020 include displays commemorating the Liberation of the Netherlands, the end of the Second World War, and the explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Reports presented during the AGM will include a recap of the year’s events, including displays at the CVEx in August and high school presentations throughout the year, as well as an update after the renovations resulting from the flood damage in July.
Membership forms can be found on the society’s website, and will be available at the AGM. For more information please contact the museum at 250-339-4322, email k103museum@Alberniproject.org, or visit the society’s website www.Alberniproject.org