$1,000 bursary awaits the next Senior Fair Ambassador

September 2, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Marni Walsh

The Shelburne and District Fair is looking for candidates to compete in the 2016 Fair Ambassador program.

The program is open to all young people within a 32 km range of Shelburne and the big prize for the Senior Fair Ambassador is a $1,000 bursary towards their post-secondary education.

Along with several prizes for both the senior and junior winners, the program is a great learning opportunity for young people hoping to build a strong resume going forward into the world of higher learning and the workplace.

“Past Ambassadors have found that this program has given them increased confidence, great public speaking skills, leadership in everyday life, and life-long friends,” says the Ambassadors committee.

To be eligible for the Junior Ambassador position, competitors must be between 12 and 16 years of age. Senior Ambassador applicants must be between 17 and 25 years of age.

Applicants do not need to reside on a farm or have a farming background.

“The opportunity will help you see how agriculture affects your urban area,” says the Ambassador committee.

The Shelburne Fair Ambassador will have many opportunities to represent the Shelburne District Agricultural Society at various events, including bringing greetings to other communities from Shelburne.

According to the committee, “the competition is a great opportunity to be more a part of your community and meet many new people.”

The 2015 Junior Fair Ambassador was Warren Swidersky of Melancthon. Jade Fleming was the Senior Ambassador. Jade recently represented Shelburne with pride at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) as is the honour of all Senior Ambassador winners.

“[Both the Junior and Senior winners] attend some fairs following the Competition and most Parades throughout the year,” says committee member Taylor Wallace. “There will be a variety of community involvement opportunities as well, such as Canada Day, Remembrance Day, the Heritage Music Festival, and Shelburne Agricultural meetings.

“For the Senior Ambassador, there is attending the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies (OAAS) annual Convention, where all the fair ambassadors in Ontario, along with their fair boards, group together to learn new activities and share input on their fairs.”

Ms. Wallace says the Ambassador Committee is also interested in having the young Ambassador at other activities throughout the year.

“If anyone would like our Ambassadors to attend, we would love to have them at more community functions.”

Interested parties may contact the committee at shelburneambassador@gmail.com.

Competitors must prepare a resume and cover letter, which they will present in an interview on the Friday evening of the Fair, September 16.

Senior Competitors are also asked to have a short speech, three to five minutes in length, prepared around the theme: “Our Community and Agriculture” to present to the judges. The winner presents their speech to the Fair crowd on Friday night.

“The Shelburne Agricultural Society works very hard at all aspects of the fair all year around,” says Taylor. “We want more youth involved in our fair. By having this competition, it helps bring the youth out and helps them get involved and gives them the chance to gain great social and communication skills needed in becoming leaders in our community.”

Currently, the committee has only five competitors in the competition.

Interested competitors are asked to contact the committee through Facebook at Shelburne Fair Ambassadors or through email at shelburneambassador@gmail.com or by phoning Taylor Wallace at 519-217-8272.

PHOTO BY JESSICA FRASER PHOTOGRAPHY