The 鈥檚 annual conference will 鈥渞eturn鈥� to Cloverdale in 2021.

The April 25 their annual history conference will once again be scheduled for Surrey after this year鈥檚 event was cancelled.

鈥淗osting in Surrey next year made sense given the amount of work, passion, and excitement generated for this year鈥檚 event,鈥� said Shannon Bettles, BCHF president. 鈥淲e look forward to continue working with the Surrey Historical Society.鈥�

鈥淲ow! We were hoping for that!鈥� exclaimed Michael Gibbs, president of the Surrey Historical Society, after he was notified the SHS was once again chosen to host.

The SHS was set to host the original event in Cloverdale from June 5-7, 2020, until the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the world.

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鈥淓veryone鈥檚 excited and we鈥檙e all looking forward to hosting the conference in 2021,鈥� Gibbs told the Cloverdale Reporter.

After Gibbs heard the good news, he began working the phones. 鈥淚鈥檝e been in touch with everyone that was involved with the (2020 conference),鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e had positive responses 鈥� meaning they all said, 鈥榶es, we鈥檇 love to be involved again鈥� 鈥� from about one-third of them.鈥�

Gibbs added that no one he contacted said they weren鈥檛 interested in participating in the 2021 event, but that he had only heard back from about one-third of everyone he called.

鈥淚鈥檝e spoken with guest speakers, sponsors, partners, and there is great excitement. It gives me a good base to work from.鈥�

While Gibbs鈥檚 time as president will soon be up, he will still be the go-to organizer for the conference after his term ends.

He noted the date for the conference will most likely be in June again, but he stressed that nothing has been decided yet. He did say the conference鈥檚 theme would change.

鈥淏ecause it will be British Columbia鈥檚 sesquicentennial in 2021, the primary theme of the conference will relate to our province鈥檚 150-year anniversary.鈥�

Gibbs added, 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited for this second chance.鈥�

editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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