Shelburne and District Fair members elect new board at AGM

January 23, 2016 · 0 Comments

The Shelburne and District Fair held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) Friday, January 15 at the Agricultural Building on William Street.

The meeting saw the election of many new board members, as well as the re-election of several key positions from 2015.

“The meeting went really well with about 40 in attendance at the meeting and pot luck,” said Diane Johnston, Chair of Arts, Hobbies and Crafts, and a volunteer for the Shelburne Fair for nearly 25 years said.

Johnston said she looks forward to the coming year and is excited about continued upgrades to the event grounds and an excellent 2016 theme for the 149th fair: “Country Roots and Rubber Boots.”

The board filled eight positions with eleven nominees at the meeting; Past President Ralph Evans oversaw the election process. Kimberly Evans, a fair director, congratulated the new board on behalf of the members with “sincere thanks to those directors whose large shoes they will be filling; not goodbye, though, as they will continue to support the fair.”

The new 2016 Board of Directors elected on Friday night at the AGM is as follows:

EXECUTIVE:

Bruce Peterson – President

Larry Braiden – 1st Vice President

Jason Yarwood – 2nd Vice President

Earl Smith – Past President

Lindsay Wegener – Homecraft President

Sue Peterson – Homecraft 1st Vice President/Secretary

Janet Piper – Homecraft 2nd Vice President

Donna Allen – Director

Althea Casamento – Director

Murray Crawford – Director

Cheryl Devlin-Blasioli – Director

Kimberly Evans – Director

Patti Hossie – Director

Cathy Lyons – Director

Amanda Peterson – Director

James Piper – Director

Nicole Smith – Director

Chris Wallace – Director

Pauline Lennox – Treasurer

The board welcomed representatives from the Orangeville, Grand Valley and Caledon Fairs to the meeting, which was chaired by board President Bruce Peterson.

Director Kimberly Evans reports Chris Wallace, also a fair director, presented an update on the progress made in the revitalization of the fairgrounds and “the success of those changes to date.”

“This year saw the prior cattle barn re-invented as our Assembly Hall, a new cattle shelter erected, a good deal of grading and landscaping improvement, and a small amount of signage,” says Evans. “The membership of the Agricultural Society agreed to funding to allow us to make additional improvements to the Assembly Hall, including a new floor and repairs to the roof, as well as fencing and more signage.”

Shelburne resident and fair volunteer Karren Wallace, Clerk of Wellington North Township, “presented a short power point presentation on how an organization can increase its effectiveness,” said Evans, who referred to Wallace as “an excellent speaker – very succinct and humorous.”

“Everyone enjoyed her contribution to the evening, and benefitted from the wisdom of her comments,” said Evans. “The new board of directors will be meeting in early February to discuss new ideas and assign tasks for the 2016 Fair.”

They invite the community to share “ideas or suggestions.”

Anyone interested in joining a fair committee may contact the fair via email at shelburnefair@gmail.com or call 519-925-0243.

By Marni Walsh