By Nicole Gowan
Last week, I had the privilege to represent our municipality as the Senior Ambassador of the Great Northern Exhibition in Toronto at the Ontario Association of Agriculture Societies convention at the Fairmount Royal York hotel.
Fair Board members attend this convention to generate new ideas for the fairs, examine what is and isn’t working, and think of ways to bring rural and urban communities together.
The 90-plus Senior Ambassadors in attendance, including myself, focused on creating awareness of the Ambassador Programs that are available to youth, as well as the amazing opportunities they bring.
The other main focus of the convention was the Canadian National Exhibition, which is held in Toronto in August. This is where most of us will be competing to be crowned ‟Miss CNE” and represent all of Ontario’s agricultural societies.
During the first day of the convention, there was an ice-breaker party, games, a seminar on public speaking, and, to end the night, an entertainment showcase that was extraordinary! It featured four musical acts, Moo’d Swing, Emily Flack, Ty Baynton and Leah Daniels, an award-winning magician and mentalist, Mike D’Urzo, and a World Champion Juggler who was featured on America’s Got Talent, Charles Peachock. It was a great way to re-energize our minds at the end of an exciting first day.
The second day started early and was full of things to do. First off was a seminar with the 2013 CNE Ambassador, Claire Milton, where we could ask questions, learn about her duties throughout the year and gain a better understanding of the entire responsibility of Miss CNE. It was a good opportunity to learn and calm some nerves before August.
There were two other seminars by Heather Hargrave and Gregory Smith. Heather, who represents Farm and Food Care Ontario, spoke about food safety and how to properly addressing agricultural issues when speaking with other people.
Gregory is a personality specialist whose seminar, “Flipping Your Iceberg,” taught us what to put our drive toward and how to focus our energy on being optimistic and making our efforts successful.
The last seminar of the day was for the Ambassadors as a group. We discussed more ways to get youth involved in the Ambassador Programs and we are hoping to encourage others to apply to the GNE. I heard that some Ambassadors do presentations in their local high schools, go to local events, and set up tables at their local farmers’ markets. My goal is to get more involved locally within the schools to promote our program and get more contestants for this year’s Fair.
After the seminars we got an exclusive tour of the Fairmount Royal York, which was amazing and also educational. That evening, there was the President’s Reception where all the Ambassadors got formally dressed to introduce ourselves to members (past and present) of the Ontario Association of Agriculture Societies Board – and everyone else who was there! There was live music and it was another great night for having fun together.
The last day there was a closing ceremony for the convention and the new OAAS President, Sylvia Parr, was introduced.
Throughout my time at the convention, I began many new friendships, and developed new ideas to bring to our Fair as well as ways to promote our Ambassador Program. Most importantly, I proudly represented the Great Northern Exhibition.
I hope to see many faces around the community as I promote this program and prepare for the CNE.