THUNDER BAY - Scott Bradley has worked for the past 16 years bringing the past to life south of the border and now he will be bringing his expertise and passion for history to the north.
The Thunder Bay Museum announced on Friday that Bradley has been chosen as the new executive director.
“This is a very fascinating place with all of the different industries here between forestry and mining and all the outdoor life that we thought would be a really rewarding thing to be part of,” Bradley said. “There are a lot of good things happening in Thunder Bay.”
An extensive national and international search was conducted by the Thunder Bay Museum’s board of directors. Bradley will be taking over for Tory Tronrud who recently retired after serving as executive director for more than 20 years.
Bradley and his family are coming to Thunder Bay from Dayton, Ohio, where he served as a curator at the National Museum of the United States Airforce.
“We moved to Thunder Bay because we wanted to be with a good institution and a good community and this institution fit all the right boxes,” Bradley said. “I like big projects, I like complex organizations. So it’s really exciting to take on some of those challenges as the museum moves into a new era with me.”
The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society already has a strategic plan in place for the institution for 2019-2023 and Bradley said he is looking forward to seeing that vision through.
“They are really looking at expanding their visitor-ship, looking at expanding their fundraising, strengthening their collection, and eventually expanding the facility as well,” he said. “But all those things will take some careful planning and work through the next few years.”
Bradley added that it is a little too early to say what an expansion of the museum might look like, but the space on Donald Street is basically full.
“We are reaching a point where we’ve filled it,” he said. “It’s been more than 20 years in this facility, so who knows what the future will bring. Right now we are happy where we are and we are doing good things.”
Since arriving in Thunder Bay in October, Bradley said he has been learning about the rich history of the city and the region, but he knows there is still a lot of history to cover.
“There’s a lot to learn. This is a very different place from where I came,” he said. “So I am still very much the student at the moment but it’s all exciting stuff to learn about.”
“The history of the port and the rail industry in town and becoming this kind of centre for the movement of material through Canada is really exciting to learn about and I hope to tell more of that story.”
A formal welcome for Bradley will be held at the Thunder Bay Museum on Thursday, Jan. 23 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The general public is invited to attend.
