The rodeo, the farmers’ market, the betterment committee and a stolen tractor are highlights to be discussed at the Boyle and District Agricultural Society’s Annual General Meeting.
The AGM is set to take place Jan. 8 at the Boyle Legion. A supper catered by Keep on Catering will begin at 6 p.m., while the meeting itself will begin at 7 p.m.
Boyle Ag Society president Ashtin Anderson said the theft of their tractor in early July really impacted their society and their ability to maintain their facility.
“We will obviously discussing that, as well as how to rebound from that,” Anderson said. “We were thankfully able to get it back, but there was some damage to it, mainly to the body of the tractor. We are in the process of repairing it now. I have not heard from RCMP about who did the crime or not.”
She said they are having the tractor repaired locally.
“Hopefully, we have it up and running again this spring,” Anderson added.
Anderson also said that plans are well underway for this year’s annual rodeo.
“We had some new committee members for last year’s event,” she said. “The members, Sarah Edwards and Kevin Foy, did a fantastic job of planning and running it, and we look forward to seeing what kind of ideas they have for this year, as well.”
Anderson added that this year’s event will take place July 19-21 at the rodeo grounds.
“Yes, we have the dates set for that already,” she said. “When I host barrel racing in the spring, we have people coming in from the Westlock, Lac La Biche and the St. Paul areas. Overall, our events draw huge crowds from the surrounding areas. The members of our board of directors can come from the Boyle, Athabasca and Lac La Biche areas, so we do reach a long ways.”
She said the schedule for the Boyle Farmers’ Market has already been decided for 2019.
“The regular market will begin May 16, and will run until Sept. 12,” Anderson said. “It will run every Thursday from 12-3 p.m. There will also be special markets happening throughout the year, including for Easter, Rodeo, Christmas, as well as for the Wildberry Festival.”
Board of directors
She said they are looking to fill two vice-president positions at the AGM, and are also in need of some directors for their board.
“Normally, we would only have one vice-president position open, but our other one stood down this year due to personal reasons,” Anderson said.
“As well, we are always looking for more people serve on our board. We had 18 serve last year. All positions are elected for two-year terms,” Anderson added.
Anderson declined to say whether or not she would run for re-election for another term as president.
“For me, that is still a year away,” she said. “I have held the position for three years, and was re-elected to my second term last year, so I have one more year to go for this term. Other than that, we will see where things go from there.”
Expansion
Expansion is one topic Anderson said has recently been discussed among the society’s membership.
“We hope to reach a more broader base of people within our community,” she said. “We do a variety of things within the community, and the people do not realize that the betterment committee and the farmers’ market are both under the Ag Society. A lot of people, when you talk to them, think it is just about the rodeo.”
As a result, she said they continue to talk about different ways to reach out to people.
“That’s going to be one of our biggest projects for this year,” Anderson said. “Whether we reach more people either through social media or different kinds of print advertising. Whatever we can think of, we plan to do.”
Anderson added they hope to continue with their annual $500 scholarship this coming year,
“It’s an essay contest, where they can talk about volunteering or how to help out in a smaller community,” she said. “An applicant does not have to be agriculture based. In fact, any graduate within our community can apply for it.”
