CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE Jan. 30, 2020
On Jan. 30, members of the Pontiac Agricultural Society (PAS) held their annual general meeting at the . . .
Shawville Fairgrounds, to go over the results of the 2019 fair and elect a new executive and slate of directors for 2020.
After adopting the agenda from last year’s meeting, 2019 President Tyler McCann gave an overview of the previous year’s accomplishments.
McCann said they had made improvements to the fair operations, and estimated that 2019 was the second highest fair attendance ever, with larger than average crowds throughout the weekend.
The PAS hired their first full-time general manager, Sara-Lynn Richardson, and hosted the RCMP Musical Ride in the summer. Also new for that year was a cake decorating contest that raised around $2,400 for the local Lions Club.
Mavis Hanna gave a breakdown of the 2019 financial statements for the group. This year’s take at the gate was $425,960, up from $345,347 in 2018. The big crowds came thirsty, as the beer garden brought in a staggering $254,595, up from $198,787 the previous year.
Overall, 2019 was highly successful, with a surplus of $245,344 resulting from $1,136,504 in total revenues and $891,159 in expenses.
Diane Coleman was appointed the Chairman for the election of directors and briefly addressed the room before getting down to business. Coleman spoke about her experience working the gate at the fair for the first time, and said she enjoyed the excitement of the attendees as they arrived. She also asked for a brief moment of silence for the members of the PAS community that passed away the previous year.
After the slate of 30 directors was determined, the attendees elected Charleen Moore as their President for 2020, along with the rest of the executive. Moore has been a director for the past 12 years, with the previous five as Vice-President. Her participation in the fair started young, as she showed Holsteins in 4-H for roughly a decade as a youngster.
Moore said after the meeting that she was excited and up for a challenge, noting that the big job would come with an increase in responsibility. She said that she really enjoys volunteering her time and being involved in all the different jobs necessary for a successful fair.
The full executive team is as follows:
President – Charleen Moore
First Vice-President – Vaughan Bastien
Vice-Presidents – Kayla McCann, Lisa Coles,
Paul Scheel and Kelly King
Secretary – Beth Campbell
Financial officer – Tyler McCann
