102 www.Farms.com/UsedFarmEquipment Ontario | July 2024 Are you looking to develop your leadership skills while networking across the province, participating in community betterment projects locally, and having fun at competitive events through out the year? “To Build Future Rural Leaders, Through Self-Help and Community Betterment,” is the mission statement of the Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario (JFAO). “With Junior Farmers we are always looking to build leaders as we have members between 15-29 years old and each member is always willing to help each other out with the older members being mentors for the younger members,” exclaimed Carson Wagner, the new JFAO President for 2024. We are not just for farmers, for example, we have members who are teachers, nurses, and financial advisors. We are a welcoming group of people of all backgrounds, coming together as one, building leaders, building communities. There are various provincial events across the province, throughout the year, that all members have the opportunity to attend and work on their team building, communication, and leadership skills. There is something for everyone; we just held our AGM and March Conference the end of March in Peterborough, ON. We welcomed “a new executive this year with new roles so as we go on with this year, we are all excited to work together and see what we can achieve,” explained Carson Wagner. He continued, “We encourage everyone to try something new and with our executive group this year we had members step up and take a chance to help lead the association forward.” It is a great opportunity to join the executive board and continue to grow and expand on the personal development opportunities within JFAO. Our next provincial event is Autumn Profile in Middlesex on October 19th, and OYFF November 25-26 in Toronto. Members also have the opportunity to participate in International Exchanges with several countries. This year we have 5 members each travelling to a different country which includes; Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Austria, Switzerland and Scotland this summer. It is an excellent way to travel and learn about agriculture in another country and learn more about their culture, make new friends and explore like a local. We also host international delegates and help them travel across Ontario; meeting all of the club counties along the way (Grey, Renfrew, Stormont-Glengarry, Oxford, Middlesex, Carleton, Wellington, Wentworth Niagara, Huron Perth, Essex-Kent, Durham Region, Peterborough, University of Guelph, North Simcoe, and Brant). We also have a club in Leeds County that is looking to restart. If you’re interested, please connect with our East Zone Director, Dana Quinn at Dana@jfao.on.ca. “For Junior Farmers this upcoming year we have our 80th anniversary planned for August 17th which is quite amazing to have!” Carson Wagner eagerly announced. If anyone is interested in attending and celebrating at this milestone event, tickets are available at https://www.jfao.on.ca/event-calendar/80th-anniversary-tickets/. Carson noted, we are “always looking for new members as we have clubs all over the province so if you are ever looking to join Junior Farmers please reach out,” to any of our executive (also found on our website). TO BUILD FUTURE RURAL LEADERS Junior Farmers Association of Ontario JFAO Director of Communications Christena Jenkins-Giffen
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