By Valerie Posthumus
The Haldimand Press
DUNNVILLE — On Thursday, November 17, 2022, the Dunnville Agricultural Society (DAS) held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Knox Presbyterian Church where two important motions were on the table to be voted on.
The first motion was: Addition to the constitution, language for dissolution. The second was in two parts: Part A – that the Dunn-ville Agricultural Society be properly disbanded and that all assets be disposed of according to direction of a motion; or Part B – the Dunnville Agricultural Society continue looking to the future to provide an agricultural fair to Dunnville using the spaces available until a more permanent venue may become available.
However, quorum was not met at the meeting. Out of 208 potential voting members, only 17 of the needed 20 members were in attendance to pass the motions.
Without quorum, DAS First Vice President DeirDre McKay said, “It’s my understanding that because we don’t have quorum tonight, we can delay our fair one more year without penalty by any of the overlords. At that point, we have to try to have an AGM again and, if we do not have quorum again, I believe our society may become unsupported or not in standing…. Then there is a government process that takes over and we don’t want that.”
Michael Philpott of District 6 Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies suggested, “You don’t have to have a two-day fair; if you can put a half-day fair together folks and feel good about it, that’s all you need.”
Philpott added, “Let’s do it up gradually and build yourself up. This organization is not the only one that has problems with volunteers. You have to have some people to steer us in the right direction. That is a top priority.”
Discussions in the room suggested that Dunnville has been overlooked in terms of adequate space for an annual fair.
McKay pushed the issue to Haldimand County, suggesting that “the municipality can give us property” but that “they never open their minds to that…. They will not let us use decommissioned school sites, empty crown land, or empty agricultural land…. They won’t give us occupancy on anything where we could put up a building and actually do something year-round to sustain ourselves. We do not have the buy in of our government.”
Discussion also revolved around the need for active members and new volunteers. While one participant asserted there is never a shortage of volunteers for the day of the fair as “the kids volunteer their time because they need community hours”, there is a greater issue of volunteers coming to meetings to help organize the event and bring forward fresh ideas.
Anne Vanderknyff said, “A lot of our volunteers have gotten older, and they figure let the younger people take over. The younger people just don’t seem to be coming out and taking over. I have my daughter who was a junior volunteer who is now on the board as a regular volunteer, and I have a new junior volunteer on the board – so the younger people are starting to come out.”
McKay concluded, “Because we don’t have quorum, we must continue, because we can’t vote on any of these motions…. Hopefully we will have new members to decide if they are going to put on a fair.”
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Dunnville Agricultural Society or volunteering for the fair, contact the the Fair Office at Knox Presbysterian Church, 223 Lock St. W. Dunnville, by phone at 905-774-8199, or by email at info@dunnvillefair.ca.
For sponsorship and/or marketing opportunities email
marketing@dunnvillefair.ca.
