Update!!!
There was a time – and not too long ago – Sheila Johnson questioned whether the Fanshawe Pioneer Village would survive long enough to reach this spring’s 50th anniversary season.
The village, however, has not only survived, but Mrs. Johnson, the village’s executive director, says the ongoing turnaround could well serve as a blueprint for other financially struggling institutions.
“I clearly remember the words of Controller (Gord) Hume who said we were a hair’s breadth away from closing. In 2005 it was do or die and we knew it. Controller Hume has been a champion for us and at that time that was a pretty accurate statement,” Mrs. Johnson says.
“It took three years to implement our new master plan, but it has made a huge difference. Today we are all very upbeat, very positive. We are looking forward to the 50th season with excitement.”
Mrs. Johnson says there were two major components to the village’s turnaround – a revitalizing of the village’s infrastructure and then a renewed commitment to customer service.
Revitalizing the village’s many buildings, Mrs. Johnson says, was seen as an immediate necessity.
“The site was in bad shape,” she admits. “For more than a decade there was no money for maintenance, the site was not well maintained. It was visibly derelict throughout. It was missing a proper visitors entrance and a visitors’ centre where we could keep heritage elements properly and do year-round programming. That’s what the capital campaign has been about.
“We’re doing really well. It’s a $3 million capital campaign and we have raised (as of the most recent update) $2,076,220. And that’s all private sources, individuals, businesses, corporations, associations. We wanted to see the community demonstrate they’re interested in our survival before we asked for public money. And they have certainly shown that support.”
The village immediately began work on revitalizing the site’s 30 buildings, investing $1 million on everything from new paint to chimney repairs and the construction of ramps and proper steps.
“The site has gone from derelict, visibly rundown, to now very well maintained,” Mrs. Johnson says. “In three years we have definitely exceeded our targets. There is still work to do in the village. I would say we’re about 60 per cent completed, probably with another two years to go. We can’t do it all at once, shut down the whole village. So we have been working on two-to-three projects a year.”
The largest remaining capital project – and there are no plans for any new buildings inside the village – is the construction of a proper visitors’ centre where the staff could not only store artefacts, but also to have space large enough to create year-round programming. While the funding has not yet been secured to build the centre, Mrs. Johnson says it will get built.
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“The Spriet Centre (so named after a $300,000 contribution by the Spriet family) would cost about $1.3 million,” Mrs. Johnson says. “It would be 8,000 sq. ft. and have three functions; artefact storage (there are about 24,000 items stored in basements and storage closets through the village), it would replace the portables we have been using as offices since 1991, and it would include about 2,000 sq. ft. of public space for exhibitions, to run education programs and to be available for community rental. We would become a year-round facility.”
The second component of the turnaround was to put the focus back on the village’s customers.
“We had to move to a more customer focused program. We had to create new revenue sources, make a new marketing plan, refocus on re-branding the village, focus on history and on fun,” Mrs. Johnson says. “We did customer surveys day-to-day. They showed our customers were multi-generational family groups. The typical group of visitors was a family and another adult. And our surveys said 55 per cent of those visitors came from London and Middlesex County. Forty-five per cent of visitors came from outside that area, from other parts of Ontario, other regions of Canada and even outside the country.”
While the surveys established where the village’s customers were coming from, it also established what they were looking for.
“Five solid years of survey analysis showed us this is what people like, this is what they don’t like. We were learning their needs, what were their higher-level wants. They wanted an enjoyable experience, but it had to have a high quality educational component,” Mrs. Johnson says. “We’re really good at that. If you think back to Grade 10 history, you could have had a history teacher who was dry and boring and just read things out of books or you could have had a teacher who made history relevant, who illustrated it, demonstrated. We believe the best way to teach history is for people to experience it. So we focused on a more interactive experience. There right inside talking to the printers who are making cards, the people who are doing their day-to-day work. They are seeing re-enactments. That animation of the past is what we are all about.”
Those two things are the basis of a turnaround Mrs. Johnson says has put the village into a strong financial position with a bright future ahead of it.
“We are in a very stable position. We asked our customers what they wanted and they told us they want the village run in a responsible, business-like manner. So we run it like a business, very efficient, very effective. We’re very trim, count every dime, check on every minute,” Mrs. Johnson says. “We are going to continue to refine our programs. We need to keep our programs high quality, but keep updating them and developing new ones. People want new and fresh and that’s what we focus on delivering.”
That focus could, Mrs. Johnson says, serve to help other organizations now dealing with their own troubling financial situations.
“We have actually done presentations on the lessons we’ve learned through this process. What we tell people is you have to have a solid business plan. It has to be developed with the entire organization involved. From the board to senior managers, staff, everyone has to be onboard. And you have to think long term. Our plan is 10 years,” Mrs. Johnson says. “You have to run your museum, your charity organization, whatever it is, you have to run it in an efficient, business-like manner. The same rules and practices apply. And whatever you do, it has to be customer focused.”
The customer focus is what Mrs. Johnson says made all the difference in the village’s survival and would do so for any other organization facing a crisis.
“You are not going to be anywhere without your customers. You have to know what their needs are. Your programs have to be relevant and you have to create programs your customers want,” Mrs. Johnson says. “You have to stick with your plan too. It doesn’t help to be counter to whatever your plan is. It might be a short-term plan to get you somewhere, but you have to be true to it. True to what your customers want.”
And in the case of the pioneer village, Mrs. Johnson says that plan helped save what has proven to be a well-loved community institution.
“Even in our darkest hour, I knew this place was worth saving. This is a gem in London. It’s an enjoyable experience for sure, it’s important to this community, but also to southwestern Ontario,” Mrs. Johnson says. “I think there was a universal belief in this organization. Our success comes directly as a result of the City of London stepping up with operating dollars, but we had no part in that. It was when they community saw what was happening. How dire things were, that’s when they stepped up. I would call it a roar of support and council recognized that. This year we are celebrating our 50th season and we couldn’t have done that without the community support we have received.”
WANT MORE INFO?
¦ Fanshawe Pioneer Village, 1424 Clarke Rd., inside Fanshawe Conservation Area, opens for its 50th season May 16.
¦ For more information about the village, phone 519-457-1296, email
[email protected] or online
www.fanshawepioneervillage.ca.
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