A lack of board members for the Nechako Valley Exhibition Society (NVES) could see the end of the Nechako Valley Fall Fair unless more volunteers step forward to help out.
The fair, which has been running for more than 40 years, usually runs under the guidance of an eight-person board. At present their are only four members.
Judy Gould, vice president of the NVES says the board are looking for three new members, a president and a chairperson on top of that.
“We had six board members last year ... but we have one board member that has moved, and the president, Justice has stepped down because he has got a bigger position at work and he’s busier and he didn’t feel he could dedicate the time to it so that leaves the president’s job open ... and we had another director who stepped down as a result of other commitments,” said Gould.
A mail-out was sent to every box in the region last week to highlight the problem to the community. It also invites everyone to join the NVES for a meeting on January 28 at the College of New Caledonia to discuss the problem and hopefully receive some support from the community.
“We would like support from the community because it is a community facility and I think that people just aren’t aware that we need it,” said Gould.
“ I know somebody out at Fort Fraser and she didn’t know we needed help - so we’re just trying to raise awareness and give people an open invitation to come and help and bring fresh ideas and to have their opinions heard in a respectful and open manner,” she said.
She added that for the last two years, the society has been trying to shift its model from one where the board directs everything to one where the board delegates certain activities to different committees
To start this process the board would like to see a sub-committee formed for the fair and see how that goes before developing other committees.
“We would like to have one committee going smoothly first ... and then we’d like to develop a marketing committee, financial and legal committees and a facilities committee,” said Gould.
The facilities, which are located on Northside Road by the golf course and airport, as well as being used for the fair, is also used year-round for many other events.
“I don’t think the average person realizes what happens at the grounds,” said Gould.
“We have everything from weddings to roping competitions and everything in between.”
She added that a lot of the kids who ride at the arena and the pony club there go on to excellent achievement.
“We’ve had some of the people who ride at the arena in the winter make it to the Canadian Finals Rodeo,” she said.
“And then theres just the pure enjoyment of the fall fair where the old timers come in and they get to visit everybody,” she added.
There doesmt appear to be any specific reason why the number of board members has dropped in recent years, Gould says it functions well and happily.
“I just don’t think we have done a good job of communicating the value of that facility to this community,” she said.
The meeting will be held on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at the CNC in room number 2-109.