Provincial convention also honours longest-serving volunteers
By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The Saskatchewan Association of Agricultural Societies and Exhibitions (SAASE) recognized the Weyburn Agricultural Society and two dedicated volunteers at its provincial convention on the weekend.
The Weyburn Ag Society celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. The organization received a plaque and certificate for reaching this milestone, according to a Weyburn Review article today.
Volunteers Neal and Rae Keefe also received an honourary life membership in the SAASE for serving the local ag society for over 40 years.
“More than 40 years is a long time. You know, it’s so much fun, you just don’t want to quit,” Neal said when he accepted the award.
Neal has volunteered since 1974, serving as director and president of the ag society. Rae joined the society in the late 1980s and has helped with bookkeeping.
TJ Metheral, past president, and Jeff Clay, current president, accepted the 110th anniversary plaque on behalf of the ag society.
Marcel Roy, mayor of Weyburn, and Robert Kitchen, member of Parliament for Souris-Moose Mountain, attended the Volunteer Champion Awards luncheon on Saturday, according to the article.
“We recognize the great work that ag societies do for our community,” Kitchen said at the event.
He considers ag societies as “the backbone of my riding. Oil and gas are the appendages, but the backbone are the ag societies.”
Roy noted the significance of farming and the role that ag societies play in promoting its importance in their communities.
SAASW’s 62 ag society members will reconvene at next year’s convention on March 1 and 2 in Prince Albert.
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