2024 President's Report

President: Andrea Fleming

2024 was another amazing year for the RVCAS group! We received a grant to purchase a new tractor and it was put right to work.

The Family Fun Fair kicked off our events for 2024 with families coming out to have some fun and visit after being cooped up all winter. This year it was held at the Rec Centre so we could utilize the corral for some steer riding and trick riding. The SARBA group held their rabbit show again which is always a big hit. We were very lucky to have the Calgary Stampede Batter Boys join us to put on a pancake breakfast. This year we also added some seminars about composting and soil health and continued to grow our plant and seed exchange.

July welcomed another sold out event- the 4th Annual Bulls on the Beach. We welcomed back Joel Olstrom and the Tin Star Band and they played late into the night. We also had a surprise zombie vs. cowboy standoff during intermission to entertain the crowds.

It was a scorcher of a day for the 35th annual Country Fair this year. The rodeo committee scaled back the rodeo offerings a bit but still had a lot of entertainment in the corral. Mutton busting, junior bull riding, lady broncs and the ever-popular charity bull riding were all enthusiastically received by the crowds. The red ribbon bench show worked with a skeleton crew this year, but still had lots of amazing entries. Our ever popular zucchini car races also went off without a hitch. Other activities included an indoor market, an outdoor market, beer gardens, kids zone and more. Although we didn’t get a farm safety grant this year, we welcomed back the junior firefighter program again to teach the kids about fire safety.

Last but not least in the rodeo department, we hosted a junior and senior high school rodeo event at Siksika in the spring. It was a very busy event and we were impressed with so many talented up-and-coming rodeo contestants who participated.

We will be wrapping up the year with the 4th annual Christmas event ‘That Winter Thing’ at the Rec Centre. There will be breakfast with Santa, the Kids’ Holiday Store and a Saturday full of hay rides, games, crafts, blazing fire pits, hot cocoa and roasted marshmallows. There was also a small vendor market.

Sadly, we did lose an integral board member who has had a major role within the organization. We are grateful for committed volunteers who dedicate so much of their time to improving our organization. She will be missed but knowing her, she is already finding other projects to occupy her time. One of our oldest members, Carol Smailes, passed away this year. She was a long term supporter of our Agricultural Society and was our volunteer bookkeeper for a number of years. We appreciate all of the time she dedicated to our organization and we were deeply saddened that she lost her battle with cancer. We have also gained some new board members which is always positive. We will be looking for some new, enthusiastic board and committee members to welcome aboard in 2025.

Plans for 2025 are already underway, and we can’t wait to see how they unfold.