Volunteers remain the backbone of successful fairs

PENTICTON – Some 40 delegates from across the province attended the BC Association of Agricultural Fairs and Exhibitions (BC Fairs) Learning Exchange in Penticton, April 14-16.

“We changed the title from ‘conference’ to ‘learning exchange’ a couple of years ago because that is really the focus of our event,” says BC Fairs executive director Janine Saw.

The presence of younger delegates is something that has changed over the past five years.

“Going back 10 years, most of the people at this event were retired, but that is no longer the case,” says BC Fairs board president Tom Harter. “I believe it is because younger people see fairs as an important family event and want to see them continue in their communities.”

Volunteers are the backbone of an agricultural fair. They always seem to be in short supply, but they always seem to come through and the event goes on as planned.

“We have about 450 volunteers at the Interior Provincial Exhibition,” says Harter, a director on the IPE board. “We could always use more and that would lighten the load, but we have never been in a position where we had to cancel the event.”

A session on volunteers discussed recruitment strategies such as media ads, posters in the community and information sessions with pizza.

“We always put out an extra call about 10 days before the event,” says Stephen Kass, treasurer of the Vancouver Island Exhibition in Nanaimo.

Volunteers are always recognized for their contribution, he adds. Besides a free fair pass, volunteers are usually fed (often with tickets to on-site vendors), given a

t-shirt and a follow-up thank you.

The management structure of fairs is as diverse as the communities that support them.

The Agassiz Fall Fair and Corn Festival is entirely volunteer-run.

“We have no paid staff,” says Victoria Brookes, who has been volunteering at the fair for 52 years and is currently the president of the event.

The Cowichan Exhibition falls within the job description of Cowichan Exhibition Park executive director Shari Paterson, whose full-time job entails managing the building and grounds, including pickleball courts and wedding venues as well as additional events such as the Islands Agriculture Show.

Regardless, as a non-profit society, a volunteer board of directors runs each fair. Boards evolve and change over time, and running a board requires a set of procedures on how the board is to govern.

Tim Carson, CEO of the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies, gave a governance workshop that was well attended.

“A board of directors operates at the 50,000-foot level,” Carson says. “They deal with the ‘what’ and staff and committees deal with the ‘how’ of putting on the event.”

Boards have a set of bylaws that are the basic rules of the organization. Boards also have a set of policies that describe what the organization will be doing and they have procedures that contain the details to take policies into action.

All three of these can be modified or changed with agreement, and should be written down together with the board’s strategic plan, the vision, mission, mandate and values. And they should be reviewed regularly.

“This written information serves to orient new board members and also as a reminder to the current board as to how things are done,” says Carson.

Carson covered common governance issues, including lack of clarity around roles and a lack of strategic focus. He also addressed communication flow, transparency issues and group dynamics.

“One thing I must stress is that the board speaks as one voice,” Carson says. “All board members must publicly support a decision of the board even if there was not unanimous support.”

Successful society governance is a complex and detailed topic, Carson acknowledges; indeed, his presentation was three hours long.

To help build governance capacity, the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies has developed a governance game that will help orient new board members and serve as a review for current members.

“It’s generic, so it can apply to any type of board,” Carson says.

The game is available through BC Fairs for a fee.