As fair organizers gear up for the 166th annual Great Northern Exhibition later in September, Diane Van Staveren, the 2022/23 GNE’s senior ambassador, has reached the final few days of her reign.
Van Staveren, a French teacher at Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School, will give her ambassador sash to a newly crowned ambassador on the first night of the GNE, Sept. 22.
And if she had to give some advice to the incoming cohort, it would be to say "yes."
“On the fair weekend they might say, ‘Can you sing O Canada?’ or, ‘Can you hop in the horse ring and get on a wagon?’ Say yes to all the experiences that are offered to you,” Van Staveren told CollingwoodToday. “Take advantage of those moments... and take lots of pictures.”
The GNE’s junior and senior ambassadors are called on to hand out ribbons and present awards on fair weekend, and visit with guests in attendance. They also give promotional speeches in line with the goals of education in agriculture and community building. Following the fair weekend, ambassadors continue networking through community events such as a volunteer appreciation dinner, 4-H banquet and local Santa Claus Parades.
The senior ambassador is also responsible for attending the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies convention in February to meet other ambassadors from across the province. In August, the senior ambassador also goes to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) to compete.
This year, Van Staveren placed in the top seven group of ambassadors Ontario-wide.
“I was quite happy with that. It was awesome getting to spend some more time with young leaders from across the province,” she said.
Van Staveren’s family is rooted in agriculture on their Stayner farm, ever since her brother took a shine to farming years ago.
“My mother said she would never marry a farmer. When my brother was around the right age for 4-H, he decided he wanted to get into it,” said Van Staveren. “It started with my brother having a couple of beef cattle. Between 15 and 20 years later, we now have 400 acres of crops and more beef cattle.”
“We became farmers over the past 20 years,” she said.
Last year, Van Staveren said she was inspired to apply for the senior ambassador position as she had served in the junior ambassador position few years prior. To prepare, she did an interview with the committee and performed a speech.
“I really enjoyed the (junior) experience. It helped me with public speaking and communication,” she said. “I really wanted to network more and continue building on the skills I started in the junior program.”
Over the past year, Van Staveren says she’s learned skills through the senior program that will help her in all aspects of her life.
“(I learned) relationship-building in terms of meeting more people both in our local community but also in the agricultural community across the province,” she said. “It’s been really interesting.”
“My off-the-cuff speaking has improved quite a bit.”
As an educator, Van Staveren says the agricultural learning aspect of the annual fair is integral.
“Going back to the history of fairs – this was the community event that everyone looked forward to all year long. It still is that, whether you’re in agriculture or not,” she said.
“It’s a place everyone can gather, eat some good food, check out some cool shows and just build community.”
The Great Northern Exhibition runs Sept. 22 to 24 on Fairgrounds Road in Clearview Township. Applications for the 2023/24 GNE Ambassadors are open until Sept. 13, with the winner named on Friday, Sept. 22 at the fair.
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