New CEO at Heritage Park plans to bring new ways for Calgarians to rediscover shared history

Lindsey Galloway, who has held top positions at both the Calgary Zoo and the Calgary Stampede, has been named the new president and CEO of Heritage Park.

Galloway returns to Calgary from the Edmonton Valley Zoo, and as he told The Homestretch, plans to get right to work at the historical attraction.

"It's a wonderful opportunity, such a fabulous place, so centrally located, so central to what Calgary is all about," Galloway said. "It's just one of those iconic locations [that] just felt like a wonderful opportunity."

Like most other public attractions, Heritage Park, a living history museum, has been hit hard by COVID-19.

"I'm also the outgoing chair of Canada's accredited zoos and aquariums," Galloway said. "I'm really familiar with the attractions world across the country and everyone's been suffering. So I have no doubt that Heritage Park has had challenges this summer. I was there a couple of times this summer and and they've been dealing with the capacity limits."

For their part, Heritage Park's board of trustees is happy to have Galloway on board, after a nearly nine-month search to replace retiring CEO Alida Visbach.

"Mr. Galloway's background in advocating for and elevating two of Calgary's most iconic not-for-profit organizations, coupled with his proven leadership and communications skills in the business and tourism sectors make him the perfect candidate to take the helm at Heritage Park," said Margriet Kiel, Heritage Park Society board chair in a release.

Heritage Park is a registered charity, and Galloway will be responsible for overseeing all operations including corporate services, donor relations, marketing and strategic planning.

Galloway said from his observation, Heritage Park has one key advantage — it's an outdoor facility.

"People are looking for outdoor safe things to do, and of course, they've got lots of space and lots of variety of activities," he said, adding that doesn't mean the people have been coming out.

"I think they've done a good job in attracting, but really nobody is getting the numbers that they need in terms of viability, economic viability. So I'm really keen to get there and see what the situation is like," he said. "I think that they've done a good job this summer, but like everybody, there's serious, serious challenges and they're not disappearing. This could be something we're facing for another summer."

Galloway has a vision, given his background, for expanding Heritage Park and keeping it viable for the future.

"Obviously, they need growth. They need to expand their audience footprint," he said. "There's always attention on attendance. But I think for an organization such as Heritage Park, really the question has to be, what's the impact? Why does it matter so much to Calgary? And I think this social impact is really key to creating a discussion and relevance for the organization."

Galloway said a place like Heritage Park can help define a sense of shared history and community for a city, and also has a role to play in Calgary's next steps toward diversity and inclusivity.

More inclusive voices

"History can't be static. History is an interpretation of the past. The stories we choose to present, the artifacts we choose to present, reflect the values of today," he said. "And it's really clear that our stories need to be more well-rounded as a community. This is a discussion that's happening internationally and Heritage Park needs to be part of that."

Heritage Park, he said, will continue to be inclusive and tell the many stories that have made up our history and our present.

"Those [voices] are the Black community, Indigenous community — there's many voices in our community that need to be heard."

One of the undeniable challenges for the attraction is the ability to raise capital during a downturn.

"I think that raising capital can be difficult in the next few years, but is always something we have to be thinking about. You know, the social impact I'm describing really depends on audience. So, you don't have an audience, you can't have a social impact. So the attendance there, we need to be focused on creating an experience that attracts not only the regular loyal audience, but new audiences as well. So we have to be thinking about the investments that are required to really create something exciting for Calgarians to rediscover." 

Galloway takes the helm on Sept. 28.

With files from The Homestretch.