The New Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia (3H Paper) (Regional, State, Or Local Organization Overview‪)‬

(Original Title: Founding a Chinese Historical Society in Canada: Challenges and Lessons from the United States) In May 2004, a dozen of us formally established the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia. We began accepting members in October and held our founding event in November. That was a two-day workshop on doing Chinese Canadian genealogy and local history We invited three CHSA members, Him Mark Lai, Marji Lee, and Russell Leong, to come and act as an informal panel discussing how similar organizations have been established in the United States and some related issues. One hundred fifty people attended, and most of them signed on as members of CCHS. Within the space of two months we went from twelve members to two hundred members. Part of that surge was due to the attractiveness of the program--the panel referred to and the genealogical discussions. It was also related to the bargain price of membership, $20, that we had set. But part of it was clearly a definite interest in the subject and the goals we were setting ourselves. In January 2005, we held a Research Fair in which twenty of our members who were doing independent research on aspects of Chinese Canadian history in British Columbia displayed their work. This event was held in a museum on a rainy Saturday. Normally, that museum draws about seventy-five visitors on such days. But on that day about three hundred people went through our fair. The publicity around the fair also drew considerable response, especially callers, to a phone-in radio show. Since then we've sponsored or cosponsored a variety of events, all of them well attended. At our next Annual General Meeting in January 2006, we will find out how well we maintain that initial surge of membership and interest.