The Rural Voice, 2000-04, Page 72GREY
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
Email: grey@ofa.on.ca Website: www.ofa.on.ca/grey 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
• The Rural Voice is provided to all Grey
County Farmers by the GCFA.
In the last few years, the agricultural
sector has sure been exposed to
changes at a much faster and more
drastic rate than many of us can
remember. The prices of gas and diesel
have skyrocketed to an all-time high.
Last year the pig prices dropped to an
all-time low and are still struggling to
recover. The traditional hog farm is
replaced by mega barns and loops. The
field services that OMAFRA has
provided are disappearing and the
offices will be shut down. If that is not
enough, we must also struggle with
Nutrient Management Plans, low
commodity prices and genetically
modified products. Well, you get the
idea and I am sure you can think of
more challenging changes we have to
deal with.
In light of all the above, it is very
refreshing and very rewarding to see
the enthusiasm our young students
show at our annual public speaking
competition which is held each year in
late winter. This year's competition had
something special about it. Not only is
it the first competition of the new
century and the new millennium, but
what makes it even more special is the
fact that it was the 55th anniversary of
this event.
The Grey County Federation of
Agriculture and our township
Federations have been the proud
sponsors since 1945. To stage an event
like this and for it to be successful and
rewarding to the students, lots of co-
operation and communication are
necessary between the co-ordinators
and the local schools, especially the
principal, teachers and staff at each
school. In Grey County this
relationship has been first class at all
schools. The various commodity groups
and local suppliers have been very
generous in providing refreshments at
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
DIRECTORS' MEETING
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2000
8:00 p.m.
LOCATION — To be arranged
(please call the office).
Members are welcome to attend.
68 THE RURAL VOICE
55 years of public speaking
each competition. A total of 32 schools
participated in this year's event.
The students are grouped into two
age groups. Juniors are grades 4 to 6
and intermediates, grades 7 and 8. The
students are encouraged and selected at
each school by the teachers and are.
coached to be the best that they can be.
Much of the coaching is done on a
voluntary basis. The first competition is
done at the local level and the top three
students in each class then advance to
the semi-finals where the competition
becomes tougher. The two top speakers
in each of the five semi-finals regions
then advance to the finals to compete
for first, second and third place finishes
in the respective age group.
The rules are fairly strict to
determine the three top winners in each
class. I would say in the total process
there are not six top prize winners, but
that every student who participated is a
winner in their own right and we
recognize this by issuing a certificate
and a small amount of money to each
speaker. The toughest job is being a
judge, because of the quality of the
speeches they have to adjudicate. A
special thanks to the judges.
It is amazing the research that goes
into each speech, the topics that are
selected by the speakers and the
different styles in which the
presentations are made — very
professional. In this year's event, the
topics were: Freedom, Child Labour,
Self -Acceptance, Multiple Sclerosis,
My Dad, Diabetes, Trip Out East and
many more interesting subjects.
Speakers! I am sure your parents and
teachers are proud of you and many
people envy your talents.
Special recognition must go to
Agnes Diemen and Edith Preston, the
two co-ordinators of this year's event
and to the people they selected to carry
out different tasks to make this
competition a successful one. It is
worth noticing that everybody
performed their jobs on a volunteer
basis and in the real community spirit. I
think it is also very interesting to note
that Grey County Federation of
Agriculture is the only Federation to
sponsor public speaking in Ontario. We
challenge other Federations to consider
doing this for their young people. It's
rewarding!
The 55th anniversary is an
impressive achievement and shows that
some things do not change when the
community spirit is strong. The greatest
gift we can give to our young people is
to instill knowledge into their receptive
and enthusiastic minds.0
— Submitted by Karl Chittka
GCFA President
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
MEET THE MEMBERS
AND TOMMY COOPER
AWARD MEETING
Friday, April.7, 2000
St. Peter's Family Centre
850 Gorafraxa Street North, Durham
Social - 6:30 p.m. Dinner - 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $12/person
For tickets call our office at 519-364-3050 or
1-800-275-9551 or your Township Director
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
55TH ANNUAL PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION
GCFA 55th Annual Public Speaking Competition was held on March 9 at the Osprey Central
School, Maxwell. '
Congratulations to the winners:
JUNIOR: 1st - Tara Kroes - Egremont Community, "My Dad"
2nd - Mandi Gillies - Osprey Central, "Diabetes"
3rd - Justin Kennedy - Holland Chatsworth, "Clothes and Fashion"
SENIOR: 1st - Jessica Jackel - Beaver Valley Community, "Child Labour"
2nd - Georgia Fox - Meatord Community, "Self Acceptance"
3rd - Melissa Moore • Strathcona Senior, "Multiple Sclerosis"
GCFA would like to thank all the participants in our Public Speaking Competitton. All the speeches
at both the semi-finals and finals were well done, both in content and presentation. Special thanks to the
teachers who assisted the students to prepare for the event.
We would also like to thank the co-ordinators, judges and timekeepers. It would not be possible to
have a successful competition. each year without everyone's participation and co-operation.0