About Us
On January 12, 2015, a group of people got together to talk about sharing the history in northern Alberta and the concept for the History Check mobile app was born. The intent was to gather information from various sources across the northern portion of the province and add them to a one source app for heritage preservation.
As the concept progressed, it became apparent that it could be used for more than history. History Check could be a hand held attractions, heritage and services map for the entire province!
Launching the northern Alberta beta in the fall of 2017 has allowed for the History Check team to demonstrate the app and its many variables to collaborators and a large collection of diverse and enthusiastic partners, has been gathered. We anticipate launching the entire province in June of 2019 and the work has already begun!
The entire project is based on partnerships & alliances.
- For municipalities it is a ready made app to share municipal run sites and services, creating return on investment for years to come.
- For Direct Marketing Organizations it is a ready made app to guide your visitors to the attractions you promote, along with links back to engage with you to provide more local and current content.
- For Historical Societies, it allows you to share your local history and heritage sites and engage people in your history.
- For Indigenous Communities it allows for sharing your history in a truthful and respectful manner, as well as economic development in listing businesses and attractions. Consultation ensures your community goals and wishes are respected.
- For other non-profits it provides a no cost option to attract out of region guests to you facilities and events, complete with keyword searches.
- For Alberta businesses, it provides inclusion at no charge, along with cost effective marketing options including Keyword Targeted Marketing.
After 4 years of hard work our successes are being recognized and we can now say we are an Award Winning project. In October 2018, Sheila Willis, Project Manager and Historian, received one of three, Outstanding Achievement Award for Heritage Awareness, a bi-annual award presented by Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, a division of Alberta Culture & Tourism.
The 2019 Marketing Award was presented to the History Check app at the Growing Rural Tourism Conference. Sheila has also been nominated for an AWE Award through Alberta Women Entrepreneurs which will be awarded in May of 2019.
In the first several years of the project, A society was formed called the Friends of Historical Northern Alberta Society (FHNAS) with the mission “To Preserve and Promote the History of Northern Alberta.” The expectation was that is was the best financial environment for the project to grow. Due to several factors, including the lack of grant availability, the project has been moved to Impact Tourism, a for profit business. This move has been well received, as the general consensus it, whatever it takes to make this dynamic and far reaching project a success.
We look forward to growing along with all of you! This is truly a one of a kind project that embraces the entire province. If you haven’t already we invite you to go to http://www.historycheck.ca and download using the links to the App Store and Google Play.
The History Check Team ~ Impact Tourism