Four well-spoken young candidates from the local farming community vied for the honour of being named Shawville Fair Ambassador in a competition held in the Homemakers Building at the fairgrounds last Tuesday evening.

Each was already an ambassador representing one of the divisions of the Fair.

Ben Judd, the Ambassador for the 4-H Division, lives on a beef and sheep farm in Bristol and is heading into grade 9 at Pontiac High School. He has shown beef, sheep and chickens at the Fair.

Ben’s cousin, Kathleen Kelly, is the Ambassador for the Fair’s Sheep Division, and also lives in Bristol, on a dairy farm. Heading into grade 11 at PHS, Kathleen has shown sheep, among other animals at the Fair.

Felix Vereyken, the Ambassador for Ag Awareness, also lives on a beef and sheep farm just outside Shawville in Clarendon, and is going into grade 7. He says Ag Awareness is to teach people who don’t know much about animals about the importance of animals and agriculture.

Felix’s brother, Mason Vereyken, the Ambassador for the Produce Division, is going into grade 9. He was unable to attend the event on Tuesday because he was previously booked for a shift at a local store, so he provided a pre-recorded message that was played when it came time for the candidates to make their speeches.

Laura Mayhew, last year’s Shawville Fair Ambassador, introduced each candidate as they approached the lectern to make their speech before an audience of a few dozen people.

Saddled with the responsibility to make a difficult choice among the outstanding candidates were judges Sara Knox, a former Fair president and former Miss Shawville Fair, and Giant Tiger owner Brandyn Gauthier.

Within the hour, the verdict was in. Kathleen Kelly was named Shawville Fair Ambassador 2023 and was presented with THE EQUITY Rose Bowl, the trophy that has been given to the Shawville Fair Ambassador and, before that, to Miss Shawville Fair, for decades.

The event was organized by Hayley and Holly Campbell, both directors of the Pontiac Agricultural Society who have been running the Shawville Fair Ambassador program for years since they were both ambassadors themselves, Hayley in 2011 and Holly in 2013.

Kathleen Kelly (centre) was named Shawville Fair Ambassador last Tuesday evening, seen here with contestants Felix Vereyken (centre left) and Ben Judd (centre right). The event was organized by Holly Campbell (far left) and sister Hayley Campbell (far right). Laura Mayhew (second from the left), last year’s Fair Ambassador, assisted in the evening’s proceedings. A fourth contestant, Mason Vereyken, was unable to attend.

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