The Rural Voice, 1998-02, Page 48GREY
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050
• The Rural Voice is provided to all Grey
County Farmers by the GCFA.
For any organization to stay strong
and effective it is absolutely necessary
for the elected Executive and
Directors to be aware what the needs
and expectations of the membership
are. Only when we know this can we
make plans and take actions to
achieve our goals.
The Ontario Federation of
Agriculture representing more than
40,000 member farmers right across
the Province of Ontario sure has its
work cut out. It is not an easy task, but
when you take a big project and divide
it into smaller segments it becomes
much more manageable. That is the
reason why we have County
Federations. In Grey County we are
even more blessed by having
Township Federations to be most
effective and to stay in close contact
with the membership.
Sometimes we hear the question
being asked "What do I get for my
$150 membership?" A fair enough
question.
OFA uses the Farm and Country
newspaper and other news media to
give feedback to the members on the
issues facing farmers today and what
is being done to solve some of the
problems.
The Grey County Federation of
Agriculture holds monthly meetings
with the Township Federation
Membership Reach "98"
Directors and the meetings are open to
all farmers in the county. Here we get
feedback from the townships and in
turn they are kept up to date on what
is happening at OFA. For the most
part this approach has worked well,
but as always, there is room for
improvement.
With better communications in
mind we have launched Membership
Reach "98" in Grey County. The plans
are that directors will visit about 500
members every year for the next three
years in a two-week period in early
February. The purpose of this plan is
to have a one-on-one contact with the
members and to ask them about their
concerns and issues. We would also
like to thank them for being a member
and for their support to the OFA.
Promoting the Environmental Farm
Plan is another goal. We also want
them to know what issues we are
working on at the county level.
The target for the visitation is
February 2 to 14, 1998. We will form
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
DIRECTORS' MEETING
Thursday, February 26, 1998
1:00 p.m.
OMAFRA Boardroom, Markdale
Members are welcome to attend.
1998 GREY COUNTY EFP WORKSHOPS
Monday February 2 & Monday February 9
Carnegie Hall, Mount Forest
Tuesday February 3 & Tuesday February 10
Trinity Lutheran Church, Ayton
Thursday February 5 & Thursday February 12
Keady Community Centre
Friday February 13 & Friday February 20
Durham Presbyterian Church
Monday February 16 & Monday February 23
Participation Lodge, Holland Township
Tuesday February 24 & Tuesday March 3
Rocklyn Community Centre
Friday February 27 & Friday March 6
Swinton Park Community Hall
Monday March 2 & Monday March 9
Carnegie Hall, Mount Forest
Wednesday March 4, Thursday March 5,
Thursday March 12 (all 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.)
OMAFRA Boardroom, Markdale
Monday, March 23 and Monday, March 30
to be confirmed
Call OMAFRA Office, Markdale for more Information
519-986-2040 or 519-794-2322 or 1-800-265-9153
44 THE RURAL VOICE
25 teams comprising of county and
township directors. The expectations
are that the visits will bring many
benefits for the organization, for the
individual team member and for the
farmer.
We believe that at the end of the
program: 1) We will know what the
members are thinking; 2) Find out
what we are doing right or wrong; 3)
It is an opportunity for personal
development; 4) Directors will get
satisfaction from contact with
members; 5) Most important it will
develop large grassroots involvement.
It takes a lot of team work to get a
project like this off to a good start, but
when it is completed we all will be
better informed and it will help us to
reach our goals.0
— Karl Chitlka, 1 s1 Vice President
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
CURLING BONSPIEL
Markdale Curling Club
Saturday, February 7, 1998
Draws at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.
Each Township Federation is
asked to enter a team!
Entry Fee: $80 per team
2 Eight End Games Delicious Dinner
Everyone takes home a prize!
Contact: Albert McLean 519-376-0648 or
Hanover Office:
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
GCFA 53RD ANNUAL
PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION 1998
SEMI-FINALS:
North-West:
Tuesday, February 24, 1998 7:30 p.m.
Dufferin Public School, 1045 3rd Ave. West, Owen Sound
North -Centre:
Tuesday, February 24, 1998 7:00 p.m.
Strathcona Senior School, 1185 4th Ave. East, Owen Sound
North-East:
Tuesday, February 24, 1998 7:30 p.m.
Beaver Valley Public School, Bruce Street, Thornbury
South-West:
Tuesday, February 24, 1998 7:30 p.m.
Egremont Community School, RR 2, Holstein
South -East:
Tuesday, February 24, 1998 7:30 p.m.
Highpoint Elementary School, Main Street, Dundalk
FINALS:
Tuesday, March 3, 1998 7:30 p.m.
James A Magee School, 13th Street, Hanover (between
13th Ave. and 15th Ave., North of Main Street)