Blatchford’s history continues to grow as we proudly welcome Naman Boparai and Lorne Roder to the Alberta Aviation Museum team!
Each with their own diverse perspectives and experience, we look forward to their future contributions to advance our mission and long-term sustainability of our organization. Our team, along with the commitment of our dedicated volunteers, is what makes our museum truly special.
Meet Our New Team Members!
Naman Boparai
Bookkeeper/Administrator
Naman Boparai joins the team as the museum’s new Bookkeeper/Administrator. He is responsible for maintaining records of the organization’s financial transactions, building profile and relationships in the community, and advancing the museum’s sustainability goals.
He came to Canada as a student and completed his diploma in Business Administration/Accounting at NAIT. While studying, he worked part-time as a Bookkeeper at AGS Accounting. During his studies, he was always curious about the planes parked outside the museum and was excited to explore the facility for the first time during his interview. Having an interest in aviation, he looks forward to learning more about its rich history while working for a truly unique organization.
Lorne Roder
Operations Director
Lorne Roder brings to the Alberta Aviation Museum, both international work experience and a diverse education. He was born and raised in Edmonton but educated at the University of Calgary. During his Bachelor Degree (BA) in History and his Masters of Environmental Design (MDes), he completed extra course work in: Museum Science, Heritage Resource Management & Project Management. He was then recruited by LORD Cultural Planning in Toronto. As a consultant for LORD Cultural he was sent to work on museums in Kansas City, and Singapore as the Regional Manager.
While in Singapore he worked on exciting projects, including the Singapore National Museum, S’pore Discover Center (as Military Museum), the Singapore Philatelic Museum as well as projects in Korea, Indonesia Hong Kong and Malaysia. Upon returning to Canada, he was the chief designer and project manager of the Western Heritage Centre in Cochrane Alberta. Mr. Roder has also worked on Reynolds Alberta Museum, Remington Carriage Museum, Head Smashed-in Buffalo Jump as well as a variety of other Provincial sites.
In 2012, Lorne moved to Winnipeg Manitoba to construct the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR). With a fabulous $353m budget the museum has become a “gold standard” for museums in Canada. Remaining in Winnipeg, he was then recruited by the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada (RAMWC). With a similar Aircraft Collection, similar Hangar, similar operations, he was responsible for daily functions, while preparing to move both staff & aircraft collection into a new purpose-built museum, on the YWG airport campus.
Lorne joins the Alberta Aviation Museum as the new Director of Operations. He hopes both staff and volunteers can assist him “finding his wings”, while staying COVID safe.
Apparently, Lorne also used to own a cat.