Don Descoteau | Special to the Mirror
When Lee Boyko looks around at the sprawling grounds of the Sooke Regional Museum and Visitor Centre, he can see history: that of the community and his own.
As he looks ahead to retirement next spring and back on the past 12 years as executive director, Boyko voices as much pride in the behind-the-scenes work accomplished as for the successful initiatives he has led, such as hosting the Sooke Night Market and expanding public and school outreach.
From overseeing the “not very sexy” work of putting new roofs on buildings to helping to fine-tune collections management, his attention to background details has better equipped the facility to offer meaningful public-facing presentations in the long term.
He jokes about being in “year 11 of a two-year inventory program” for the museum’s always-growing collection.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work on that and it’s coming together really nicely,” he says. This critical back-room activity is “essentially the museum’s record keeping and making sure we know what we have, we know where it is and we know more about it.”
Sooke Region Historical Society president Doni Eve admits Boyko will leave big shoes to fill when he retires in March.
“He’s got extensive knowledge and experience in the museum sector and we’ve appreciated all of that knowledge,” Eve says.
She echoes Boyko’s pride in getting the “back room” in order. She applauds his vision of bringing in the night market and overseeing growth in outreach activities such as author readings, school tour programs and workshops.
Boyko recognizes the value of a museum in appealing to young people. He has fond memories of visiting the Royal B.C. Museum as a Grade 7 student from Steveston.
“Certainly that was inspiring to me to be able to do that,” he recalls. “Our school programs are very important because they connect the youth of today with the past and the contemporary – and they often end up bringing their parents in later.”
His first industry experience came at 14 when he helped set up the Steveston Museum. He became “a jack of all trades,” performing research and developing new exhibits.
Years later, after working for the B.C. Museums Association and its Saskatchewan counterpart and doing museum consulting, Boyko says he was ready to return to Sooke when curator Elida Peers called in 2011 to invite him back.
He had fond memories of working as a museum manager for five years, starting in 1989. During that time, it operated the Sooke Fine Arts Show.
In his second stint, the museum added a collections and exhibit manager, built a workshop building for its Forestry Path exhibit, and worked more efficiently with its able and willing community volunteer corps.
While the museum visitor count plummeted during the COVID pandemic, there were silver linings, Boyko says. “Interestingly enough, our gift shop sales actually stayed steady. People were coming in and using the shop here, thinking more about shopping local.”
He says Having fewer visitors while receiving government financial support allowed the museum staff to get ahead on the backroom work.
The museum and visitor centre rebounded to enjoy near-record numbers this year.
Eve says the posting for the executive director position is being advertised nationally in an attempt to find the right person. That said, the museum always welcomes new volunteers.
Boyko, part of the hiring committee, mainly plans to relax in retirement but hinted at what might keep him busy: “I’m a traveller and I like to dance.”
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