A new board and president have been elected for the Ponoka Agricultural Society (PAS).
An organizational meeting was held recently and the society nominated Lauraine Weir for the position as president for one year. Past-president Sherry Gummow decided to step down from the position.
Weir is proud of Gummow’s efforts. “She did a great job for the ag society.”
While there are many plans for the future, Weir hopes to continue on with programs they have been hosting, especially events at the Calnash Ag Event Centre. Equine sports such as team penning and cutting are popular with their members and help provide provincial grant money to the society, explained Weir.
“We want to make sure those things continue at the building,” she said.
The more events they host, the more they can take advantage of provincial grants. Weir says much of that grant money goes towards supporting the 4-H clubs and their leadership programs.
There are new executives on the board, too that Weir is excited to see; Lorrie Jess, secretary, brings gardening experience to the table.
“Lorrie comes with a horticultural background from Olds College and a real love for gardening,” said Weir.
Trish Friis is familiar with the equine world. “She’s a barrel racer, so she comes with that knowledge.”
Dan Dixon can be found helping out in many of the events the society hosts. “He’s a great person with a cattle hook working the chute,” says Weir.
Another new executive member is Dennis Ecklund. Weir feels he is a great addition to the team. “He’s just a kind of handy guy…He was looking for something to do to give back.”
Weir invited him to join the executive and Ecklund decided to take a stab at it.
The society also has three members on Ponoka Ag Event Centre Society board and Greg Bowie stepped down as a board member at PAS’s AGM to pursue his career. Society vice-president Linc Drynan was nominated to take over Bowie’s position.
“He’s been a person that’s logged considerable hours to the building (ag event centre),” explained Weir.
For the near future Weir said people can expect to see her board out in the community seeking individual and business sponsorship, usually in the months of January and February.
The society is also looking at hosting a women’s conference, which Weir says has not been done for many years. “We’ve had requests to do a women’s conference and we’re looking to do one in April this year.”
Expect to see two dates for the ag fair. The bench show is now called the Home Hobby and Horticultural Show, set for Aug. 22 and 23. A Ranch Rodeo is set for Sept. 6 and 7 and Weir said the board is considering adding a Gymkhana to the rodeo weekend. A Gymkhana is usually timed events for younger ages such as pole bending and goat tying.
“It seems to be making a comeback,” said Weir.
The PAS board generally meets every second Tuesday of the month at the ag event centre and meetings are open to the public, said Weir.
Here is the PAS board:
• Lauraine Weir, president
• Linc Drynan, vice-president
• Cecilia Dykstra, treasurer
• Lorrie Jess, secretary
• Dan Dixon
• Karen Douglass
• Dennis Ecklund
• Trish Friis
• Sherry Gummow
• Inger Laing
• Ken Pohl
• Verna Pohl