CALEB NICKERSON
PONTIAC May 28, 2018
One of the members of the Shawville Fair board graced the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (CAFE) spring news as one of their picks for ‘Top 10 under 40’.
CAFE is a non-profit organization that represents fairs across the country and brings together stakeholders in the fair industry.
Charleen Moore has been heading up the agricultural awareness program at the Shawville Fair for the past eight years and has also been the director of the school program for the past five. She said that the recognition caught her off guard.
“I was surprised, honoured and humbled that I was chosen to be one of the top 10 under 40 in the 2018 Spring CAFE News,” she wrote in an email. “I was nominated by my friend and past president of the Pontiac Agriculture Society (PAS) Sara Knox, who is also a member of the CAFE.”
Moore thanked Knox for the nod, and said that even though Knox had mentioned nominating her, the news still came as a surprise.
Moore explained that she’s been participating in the fair for as long as she can remember.
“Shawville Fair has been a family tradition for me since I was baby,” she wrote. “In 1992, I joined the Shawville 4H Club and showed my first heifer from Robaye Holsteins which was owned and operated by my uncle and aunt Robert and Faye Howard.”
She represented the Dairy Club in the 1996 Miss Shawville Fair. She said that her reason for getting involved a decade ago was about continuing a family legacy.
“I first joined the PAS in 2008 along with my cousin Larry Howard and his wife, [current PAS President] Stacy Howard, after my uncle Robert Howard, who was director for many years, passed away,” she explained. “I wanted to help carry on his hard work and dedication to the fair.”
Moore said that she got involved with the educational aspect of the fair because she loves sharing her agricultural knowledge with children of all ages.
As for her favourite part about being on the fair board, Moore was straighforward.
“Having the opportunity to work alongside 30 energetic directors who all have the same goal as me: to make Shawville Fair the Valley’s Most Family Friendly Fair,” she wrote.
