Fair board pushes back annual meeting

The Rainy River Valley Agricultural Society needed 15 members for a quorum at its annual meeting on Dec. 14.
But only nine showed up—ending the meeting before it started.
Of those who came out to the December meeting, most were board members, including RRVAS president Emily Watson, who also is reeve of La Vallee.
The RRVAS has 18 board members, although none of the nine whose terms are up for renewal at the next general election showed up.
The stalemate was a rare turn of events for the annual gathering of the RRVAS board, its general membership, and their ideas, said Reeve Watson.
“There are 152 members out there and we still had no quorum to have a meeting. Yes, that’s unusual,” she remarked.
“I don’t think people understand that when they pay their $10 to exhibit something or enter products or animals into the [Emo Fair], they become a paid [RRVAS] member and can vote.
“Do they think ‘I only exhibit so that meeting doesn’t include me?’” she wondered.
Reeve Watson said important issues pertaining to the Emo Fair are at the hub of the annual meeting and thus input from everyone involved is needed.
“We discuss our audited financial statement, goals and objectives for the coming year, and achievements in the previous [fair] year,” she noted.
Those achievements included a sizable 20 percent increase in attendance at the 2004 fair.
“General members can contribute to what we are going to do [in the future] and if they want changes made, they can voice those requests [at the annual meeting],” Reeve Watson said.
“And those nine seats [up for renewal] are open and members can still run for them,” she added.
Once the annual meeting has been held, board elections occur at the following monthly general one.
“The general meetings are also always open to the public,” Reeve Watson noted. “We have very little [by way of issues] that are private—we do very little meeting behind closed doors.”
The next date set for the RRVAS annual meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. upstairs at the Emo Curling Club. For more information, contact secretary Jan Judson (482-2428).