Fair Ambassador Committee on panel at OASS Convention

Written By MARNI WALSH

The Shelburne Fair Board announced this week that their Ambassador Committee has been asked to participate in a panel discussion at the 2020 Convention of Ontario Agricultural Societies in Toronto.

 The annual convention, which takes place at the Sheraton Parkway Conference Centre from February 13 to 15, features speakers, panels, exhibits, entertainment and training programs valuable for fair organizers across the province. 

The Shelburne Fair Ambassador Committee is made up of the 2019 Junior and Senior Ambassadors and past Ambassadors, including sisters, and former Ambassadors, Kelsey and Carly Phillips. 

“So far, all our past Ambassadors since 2016, have remained a developing part of this amazing committee,” says Kelsey Phillips. 

The current committee includes: Kelsey Phillips, 2008 Ambassador; Carly Phillips, 2016 Ambassador; Megan Timmins, 2018 Ambassador; Sarah Bannon, 2018 Jr. Ambassador; Emma Holmes, 2017 Ambassador; Madison Wall, 2019 Sr. Ambassador; and Abby Litt, 2019 Jr. Ambassador. 

In the future,” Kelsey Phillips says, the committee “hopes to be able to include more interested past Ambassadors” as members in the future.

“We are excited that we have been asked to participate in the panel discussion featuring Ambassador programs at the annual OASS Convention,” says Kelsey. “We hope to continue developing the Shelburne program with more opportunities, invitational speaking events, public representation, skill development, and, of course, a $1000 bursary and amazing prizes.

Ms. Phillips says she and her sister “benefited greatly from the Ambassador program.” She says their goal on the committee “was to offer those same opportunities to other youth in the community.” She says they continue to develop “the former rural Agricultural Ambassador Program to reflect today's youth interests, career motivations and needed skills to enter the workforce - all while representing the highly important role of agricultural in today's modern world.”

Realizing the importance of raising funds for the Ambassador Program, the committee, under the sister's leadership, worked hard on money making initiatives, including, pancake breakfasts, spaghetti dinners, a live cake auction, and the derby car sponsorship fundraiser - which allowed the public to sign the ambassador derby demolition car by making a donation to the Ambassador Program.

“We have also introduced numerous activities to the fair, run soley by our committee and ambassadors,” Kelsey Phillips told the Free Press. “We believe this gives the Ambassadors a true chance to connect with children on fair weekend, while developing their impromptu public speaking skills in front of an audience.” 

The committee says one of their favourite events at the 2019 Fair was their “very first pink derby car.” The Ambassador Team won 1st in the figure 8 heat with Kelsey Phillips in the driver's seat, and second in the overall 4-cylinder class with Brian Burke as the driver. The committee members say they have already purchased their 2020 derby car for this September's fair. 

The theme for this year's Shelburne and District Fair is “Preserving the Harvest.” 2020 Junior Ambassador, Abby Litt and Senior Ambassador, Madison Wall will be representing the Shelburne Fair at the Polar Plunge on Feb. 17 at Fiddlepark in Shelburne. Follow the Fair Ambassadors on Facebook @ Shelburne Fair Ambassadors.