The affairs of the Association Heritage New Brunswick (AHNB) are managed by a Board of Directors of a maximum of fifteen members. These fifteen members are nominated and voted in by the members of the AHNB at the annual Conference and AGM in the fall. All of the 15 directors are volunteers from across the province and are also members of the AHNB. The Board includes an ex-officio member from the Tourism, Heritage and Culture Department of the Provincial Government. The AHNB also employs a Executive Director and one part time Administrative Officer.
Board Members
Gaëtane Saucier Nadeau – President
For 15 years Gaëtane has been a cultural and community development agent for the municipality of Haut-Madawaska, in northwestern New Brunswick. Heritage, history and culture have always been at the heart of her activities. Joining the New Brunswick Heritage Association was an opportunity for her to familiarize herself with the expectations and needs of New Brunswick’s museums and historic sites. Being named president of the AHNB was flattering, even if the challenge was great, with almost all the members of the committee are English-speaking and Gaëtane being one of the only French-speaking members. “The year 2020 will be marked by this pandemic, which has challenged us all in the face of our way of seeing things from different aspects. At the end of all of this we will come out a winner with a lot of experience.”
Gerry Gillcash – 1st Vice President
Captain (Ret) Gerry Gillcash was born and brought up in the Moncton area. At the age of 18, he joined the Royal Canadian Airforce as an Aero Engine Technician working his way through the ranks to Warrant Officer. He was then Commissioned to the rank of Lieutenant and later Captain and received training as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. During his career, he and his wife Judy and their two children lived in Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and back to Nova Scotia where he retired in 1994. Gerry was approached in 1995 to join the Board of Directors for the Lutz Mountain Heritage Foundation Inc. and has served with them ever since. As a function of this Directorship he has been attending the AMNB/AHNB Conferences and AGM for many years. He was presented with the “Award of Merit” in 2017 and was asked to join the Board of Directors of the AHNB in 2019. He currently holds the position of 1st Vice-President and is Chair of the Built Heritage Committee.
Marion Beyea – Past President
Marion joined the Board of Directors in 2014 and has worked with others to merge the interests of museums and built heritage supporters in the AHNB. She has worked on the Built Heritage Steering Committee, in contributing to the program for annual conferences and now chairs the Advocacy and Communications Committee. A primary objective for her has been to help helping New Brunswickers understand the economic, environmental, aesthetic and cultural benefits of our heritage buildings and structures. I hope this will lead to their supporting the conservation and continued use or adaptive reuse of this unique and rich resource we are fortunate to have. I have been active as a volunteer in Fredericton Heritage Trust since 1985. My career was in Archives and I was Director of the Provincial Archives from 1978 to 2013.
Evelyn Fidler – Secretary
Evelyn Fidler joined the Board of the Association Heritage New Brunswick in 2016 as the representative from Kings Landing. A graduate of Acadia University (Bachelor of Arts Honours History) and University of New Brunswick (Master of Arts History, Post-Secondary Diploma in Material History). She has been involved in the Heritage/Museum community for over 30 years. Evelyn is currently the Registrar/Collections Manager at Kings Landing. Evelyn has also served as Curator at The School Days Museum and volunteers for the Keswick Ridge Historical Society and The New Brunswick Mat Registry. She also serves on the Executive Board of the Council of Archives New Brunswick.
Guy Tremblay – Heritage Branch
M. Guy Tremblay is the manager of the Museum Services Section, Archaeological and Heritage Branch, Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, since January 2002. In partnership within the community museum members in New Brunswick, he has established the Museum Network and developed several funding programs to support the needs of those organizations. Guy has more than 35 years of practical experience in project management and supervision of multidisciplinary teams. He was the executive director and curator of the Musée régional de la Côte-Nord and the Old Trading Post in Sept-Îles from 1990 to 2000. He also worked in the Province of Québec as a consultant for organizations such as the Musée amérindien de Mashteuiatsh (Lac-Saint-Jean) and Espace Virtuel, an artist-run centre in Chicoutimi, and he promoted a number of heritage sites, including the Banc de Paspébiac and the Gaspesian British Heritage Centre in New Richmond. During the 1980s, he worked at the Parks Canada regional office in Québec City for the National Historic Sites Interpretation Service. Mr. Tremblay holds a master’s degree in organizational management from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. He also has completed a master’s degree in history from the Université de Montréal.
Shawn McCarthy – Beaubears Island
An AHNB Board Member since 2016, Shawn McCarthy (Executive Director, Friends of Beaubears Island) is a doctoral graduate of Western University, and specializes in experiential heritage offerings, utilizing on-site, character-based, re-enactment. During his 19 year tenure at the Boishébert / Beaubears Island Shipbuilding National Historic Sites of Canada, he has worn many hats, both figuratively and literally. He is a self-published author, and has lectured for the University of New Brunswick.
Joan Pearce
Joan Pearce, retired school teacher, political activist, amateur history buff, genealogist, environmental activist and heritage advocate. She was a founding member and first president of Saint John Heritage Trust. In 1980 Joan was appointed to the first Saint John Preservation Review Board which oversaw the creation and administration of Saint John’s first preservation area, Trinity Royal. She served several terms on that Board (now renamed the Heritage Development Board) and remains actively abreast of and responsive to their work. She is a board member of the Associates of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Within our association Joan has been a key player in the transition of AMNB to include built heritage protection as a key member of the Built Heritage Committee.
Clarence LeBreton
Originally from Caraquet, Clarence LeBreton spent 35 years working for the government of New Brunswick. After earning a history degree from the University of Ottawa, Mr. LeBreton began his career with the Department of Historic Resources. Drawing on his training as a historian, he contributed to the creation, in the 1970s, of the Village historique acadien. He spent 15 years as Director of the New Brunswick Aquarium and Marine Centre, before becoming an assistant deputy minister within several provincial ministries. Throughout the years, Mr. LeBreton has contributed to his community – including serving as a municipal councillor, school board president, and Chair of the Board of Acadie Nouvelle, the only French-language daily newspaper in New Brunswick. He previously served on the Board of Radio-Canada and has authored several books on the history of his region.
Aline Landry – Ville de Caraquet
Aline Landry is originally from Pokemouche, but has lived in Caraquet for 30 years. She graduated from the Center Universitaire de Moncton, Shippagan campus. After having worked in the legal field for more than 20 years as a paralegal, Aline joined the Chamber of Commerce and Center-Ville Caraquet in 2000. Ms. Landry was a member of the Board of Directors of Center-Ville New Brunswick, of the Board of Directors of the New Brunswick Chamber of Commerce and of the Board of Directors of the New Brunswick Public Libraries Foundation. She also sat on the Board of Directors of the Organizing Committee of the 2009 World Acadian Congress, of the Organizing Committee of the 2016 Acadian Games, as well as of the UNI Community Cooperative Committee. Very involved in her community, she currently sits on various boards of directors, including that of the Caraquet Hospital Foundation, the Caraquet Cultural Commission, the Welcoming and Integration Committee for Newcomers to the Acadian Peninsula, of the New Brunswick Heritage Association and is president of the business improvement zone of her municipality, Center-Ville Caraquet. In 2013, Aline Landry was hired by the City of Caraquet as Manager of municipal decrees and Heritage Officer. One of its responsibilities is to raise awareness, educate and inform citizens about the importance of the application of municipal decrees, policies and regulations, including that on Heritage Protection, the mandate of which is to protect and safeguard municipal heritage.Aline joined the AHNB Board of Directors for a few years because she sincerely believes in the importance of their mission, which coincides with that of her mandate as heritage officer for her municipality. Safeguarding built heritage concerns her more particularly since it constitutes a legacy whose preservation requires long-term work and on which people must act on a daily basis.
