“It Changed Everything”

Portals of History in Annapolis County Spring Conference

Keynote Speaker Larry Powell – “Moments That Shaped the Future“.

Guest speakers:

Bill Linley – “The Evolution of Railways in Annapolis County“

Alex Morrison – “Democracy Comes to Nova Scotia Municipalities“

Barbara Bishop – “Among Friends: Family Doctors as Indicators and Agents of Change“

DATE: Friday, May 23rd in the evening and Saturday, May 24th all day.

COST: $60  

Cost includes lunch, snacks, coffee and tea.

For more information or to register to attend the conference please contact Barbara at barbarabishop84@gmail.com. 

Our Presenters

	KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Larry Powell with "Moments That Shaped the Future" A journalist and communicator for over forty years in Nova Scotia, Larry has been consistently recognized for professional excellence by the Atlantic Better Newspapers Competition for awards such as “Best editorials” and “Best newspaper”. He knows how to listen to the people he interviews, to gather context and express it for the rest of us, to take just the right pictures and ask just the right questions. For the past twenty years Annapolis County has been gifted with his contributions. As well as his professional work, he has been and is deeply involved as a volunteer on Boards, Committees, and organizations of our community. At last year’s conference we learned about Mapannapolis, the Governor General’s Award Winning project of our county. Larry works with this organization, researching local history, heritage and culture and interpreting it for us through social media, press releases, photos and videos. In both professional and volunteer life, he incorporates his skills in public relations, social media, digital reporting to give himself and us layers of understanding of who are are, who we were, and who we may become. He lives with his wife Susan in Lawrencetown.
	GUEST SPEAKER: Bill Linley with "The Evolution of Railways in Annapolis County" Bill joined the CPR family as a telegram routing clerk in the summer of 1965. He was already taken with trains, photographing Quebec Central Steam trains as early as 1959. He worked as a reservations clerk and ticket agent at the Ottawa Station through 1969. After graduating from Carleton University’s geography program, he worked in business development with the federal, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments until 2002. In 2012 he received the Canadian Railway Historical Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Long retired, Bill volunteers at the Middleton Railway Museum and other charitable organizations, often serving as treasurer. He’s the Maritime Regional Superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Historical Association and chairman of the Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society. He has authored four best-selling books on Canadian Railways. He enjoys researching and writing at the 1840s home on the Fundy Shore in Paradise that he shares with his spouse, Marilynn. We will be gifted at the conference not only with stunning photographs and visuals, but with the deep knowledge and understanding of the importance of railways in Annapolis County- as they evolved, so did we.
	GUEST SPEAKER: Warden Alex Morrison with "Democracy Comes to Nova Scotia Municipalities" Alex served over 40 years as a career Canadian Army officer, including with Canada’s North American Treaty Organization forces in Germany during the Cold War, Headquarters of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, and for six years as a member of the diplomatic staff of the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. He has taught at Canadian and American universities and at Japanese security institutions. He is the Founding President of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre. In 2002 Alex was the 23rd recipient of the Pearson Peace medal, sharing this honour with such Canadian humanitarians and peacekeepers as Steven Lewis, Lois Wilson, Murray Thomson, Flora MacDonald, Ursula Franklin, Roméo D'Allaire, Ernie Regehr, Donald Ethell, Nigel Fisher, Louise Arbour, Lloyd Axworthy, Wilton Littlechild and Beverley McLachlin. He has served his own community on Annapolis County Council, elected in 2012, 2016, and 2020, and as Warden in his last term. He did not re-offer in 2024. His longstanding interest in the role of democracy and the culture of peace includes a special concern for the ways in which children, young people, and youth organizations might be involved in creating such a culture.
	GUEST SPEAKER: Barbara Bishop with "Among Friends: Family Doctors as Indicators and Agents of Change" Barbara loves to learn stuff, be in community, and tell stories about the places, people and times that teach her. Her formal education- at Paradise School, Bridgetown Regional High School, undergraduate and postgraduate at Acadia University, Dalhousie University- prepared her for fifteen rewarding years of teaching high school in Halifax, Montreal and its suburbs, and Brampton Ontario. McMaster Divinity College prepared her for her second career of over thirty years in church ministry. She served for twelve years as Senior Pastor in a wonderfully diverse community in east end Toronto, and three years in a Hamilton church, near McMaster University and shaped by that proximity. Then life changed. When her spouse retired and family matters called, she and Robert moved to Paradise twenty years ago. They have been active volunteers in their community since. She has also un-retired several times and served a number of churches in the Annapolis Valley. She has been a writer, researcher, speaker, community organizer, even a novelist once-always asking the questions of herself and her community: Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? Her presentation maintains that family doctors in our communities for the past few centuries have been “Among Friends” but unique among us. As such, they have been both indicators of change and agents of change.