Fergus Fall Fair Ambassador Competitive Dinner
Ted Arnott spoke at the Fergus Fall Fair Ambassador Competition Dinner, held Sunday, September 12th, 2010. His remarks were as follows:
It’s great to be here with you tonight, as together we kick off this year’s Fergus Fall Fair—at 174 years young, one of the longest running fairs in Ontario.
It’s a real honour for me to bring greetings to you on behalf of the Province, and I wish to begin by expressing my thanks to the Fair Board and the other volunteers who work so hard, year after year to give us this outstanding celebration of our rural heritage and way of life.
Without them, there would be no fair.
Their dedication, their commitment, and their patience, along with the months of planning, weeks of preparation, and long days and nights setting up are their gift to our community.
We also say thanks to those who donate financially.
No one appreciates it more than all of us here, so let’s show them, with our applause, how grateful we are.
Next I want to congratulate last year’s Fair Ambassador, Jeremy Parkinson, who’s done just a fabulous job and who’s term is coming to an end, and all our Ambassador of the Fair contestants, each of whom are already winners, because they are all willing to step forward, demonstrate their keen interest in our community and farming, and offer to become leaders.
All of you deserve recognition for the super young people that you are, and I wish you all success in your future endeavours.
Finally, to all of you here:
Thank you for coming to support the Fair and help kick it off.
Agriculture and agri-business are such a vital part of our local economy, and of Ontario’s economy.
We must never let them forget that farmers feed cities, that if you’ve had a meal you should thank a farmer, and governments at all levels need to work together to support our farm families in every way we can.
I wish I could spend the rest of the evening with you, but with the Legislature resuming its sitting tomorrow, I have a lot of work to do tonight to prepare.
So let me conclude by saying thanks again, and I look forward to next weekend, when I hope to see you at the fair!