Schomberg Agricultural Society Fair Ambassador a great opportunity .. great learning experience!
It seems so long ago “back in the day” when the “Miss Schomberg Contest” now known as the “Schomberg Ambassador Contest”, brought out all the young women to vying for this prestigious title. I don’t know what the prizes were that first year, but I do know the excitement, the new venue at our local fair created. I believe there were about 40 – 50 young women vying for the title, there were so many that a preliminary contest whittled the contest down to 10 contestants and then 5 for the actual crowning ceremony on the Friday night of the Fair. The first crowned Miss Schomberg was Marion Illohan and that was in 1970.
Turn the page forward some 40 – 45 years later, how times have changed. The Ambassador contest is now a non-gendered affair, boys are encouraged to enter and we saw our first male Ambassador in the 1990s.
The contest the last few years has had the crowning taking place on Sunday afternoon. The preliminaries have long since gone as the number of contestants has slowly dwindled, (that’s surprising since the population in the area has increased greatly).
What hasn’t changed though, is the enthusiasm of the winners. This is the opportunity of a lifetime…something to put on your resume… a chance to represent your town…sharpen your public speaking skills…meet new people…see new places…experience things you may not have had the opportunity to experience otherwise…all the while bragging about our great town and educating others about the fun you are having. Schomberg is a very unique rural community, and as Ambassador you will be able to tell the rest of Ontario about it.
When your reign as Schomberg Ambassador ends, you will be able to compete in the CNE Ambassador of the Fairs Contest and possibly represent the CNE as you have represented Schomberg. My wish for Schomberg Ambassador is to represent us and win the CNE contest. We have come so close in the past as two Ambassadors have placed as 1st runners up. They are; Nadine Prince and Becky Guardhouse, both of Schomberg.
These next few years will bring with them some changes in the contest to encourage the young people of our community to compete. This is a contest that can help teach them skills that they can use later in their life. The prize package will hopefully change too, offering larger scholarships, gym memberships, minor hockey seasons passes and much more.
It is now the time of year when contestants for our 2012 Fair are being accepted. We are asking for help from the community in that you nominate a young adult to compete in this year’s competition. Help honour our young adults by letting them know that you feel they would make great Ambassadors for our Community.
Young adults sometimes need that helping hand. Be their helping hand. Nominate them for this year’s Schomberg Agricultural Ambassador competition and let them know you would be proud to have them represent our community across the province. If you know a young adult between the ages of 17 to 24 that you would like to nominate, please contact Cyndy Rowlands at (905)939-7158.
