Twenty-five years ago, Amy Klassen was a university student with a summer job at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum, when things were a little less busy.

Today, in 2025, she’s the head of the museum’s finance and marketing, at a time when it’s grown to a size of more than 100 volunteers, six staff members and, soon, another 8,000 square feet.

“We’ve just really been able to bring together the Niagara-on-the-Lake community.”

This fall, Klassen has found herself on a list of ten nominees for the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business Awards. She’s nominated in the not-for-profit category.

“There’s so many great non-profit organizations in the region,” she says. “It’s big competition.”

This comes at a time when the museum is going full steam ahead on its plans to expand its physical space in the community, in an effort to offer more to people in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and have space to store more artifacts.

These past few weeks, the museum has announced that it’s been the recipient of funding from the Royal Bank of Canada, the NOTL Rotary Club and, this past Wednesday, $2 million from the Canadian government, all to support its growth.

Already, however, in the past 25 years Klassen has worked at the museum — starting with her summer job, before her role there “morphed” into taking on all its administrative roles — she’s watched things grow.

“We’ve really expanded,” she says. “Now we have a larger staff.”

She says her job description has changed over the years and she’s been able to have a hand in all parts of what goes on at the museum.

“You just become a jack of all trades and dip your foot into so many facets of the organization.”

During her time, one of her favourite projects she’s worked on with the museum is a book called “Making Her Mark: The Women of Niagara-on-the-Lake,” which details the histories of women who influenced the history of this town, including Molly Brant, Chloe Cooley, Janet Carnochan, Elizabeth Simcoe and more.

“I got to write one of the chapters, too,” Klassen says.

Alongside its historical preservation efforts and community programs, one of her favourite events the museum hosts is the Niagara Polo charity match — Klassen is the chair of the committee that puts on the event, held every other year at the Commons.

“It’s a huge day but it’s a lot of fun.”

During her tenure with the museum, she’s been there for the celebration of a number of milestones, including the 100-year anniversary of Memorial Hall, a part of the NOTL Museum, which opened back in 1907, plus the bicentennial for the War of 1812.

But what keeps the museum going through its presence on Castlereagh Street, its programs, events and more is the people who invest their time and energy into it.

“It’s really just a place of community here. We have an amazing core group of volunteers who become like your second family,” she says. “And members, who you see all the time.”

For Klassen, working at the NOTL Museum is all about being part of that group of people who are working hard to preserve the town’s history and show people why that history matters.

“Looking at the past can help inform the future.”

The winners of the Women in Business Awards will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 13.