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CECSY UPDATE: Final word for 2019 from our CEO, Dianne Begg

As a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing back to the community, CAHRS – Canning Agricultural, Horticultural & Recreational Society – relies heavily upon the involvement of its members to help shape and conduct our activities and events. At this point of the year we say thanks, but we also ask for the community’s support in return.

With membership renewals due soon, before committing your money, thought it pertinent to recap what $25/10 bought our members in 2019, as well as a few highlights these memberships helped provide others with…

LEARNING

Access and subsidised fees for CAHRS special interest groups, including sewing, knitting, crochet and craft.

Invitations to the Canning River Gardeners meetings, talks and outings, including Kings Park, Perth City Farm, Total Green Recycling, seed swaps and the art of bonsai.

We also engaged with this being the International Year Of Indigenous Languages, leading to enriching discoveries occurring via numerous programs.

All of these groups are open to new members.

 

VIEWING

We held our first-ever free family movie night in July. Despite terrible weather, it was great fun, and is on the calendar for 2020.

 

TRAVELLING

Our annual social outing saw members taking a bus trip to New Norcia. Show volunteers even got a free ticket, including a fascinating tour.

 

EXPERIENCING

The magic of the Make Smoking History Canning Show included two fantastic, record-breaking days/nights, filled with fireworks, animals, local talent and much more.

 

ACHIEVING

Many of the amazing Canning Show Exhibition entries came from our members, contributing to the wonderful 2,000+ exhibits displayed at the Show. Many of them also stewarded and helped set up, inspiring over 10,000 people passing through this year’s Show gates.

 

STRETCHING (THE DOLLAR)

Prizes galore were distributed, including over $13,000 of prize money for the Canning Show Exhibition. Free early bird tickets to attend the Canning Show were also a hit.

 

SHARING

Sharing is caring. Over 70 volunteers helped throughout the year. These people helped the Society’s successful, happy, and incredibly well-placed position grow from strength to strength. If this included you, THANKS!!!

Thanks also to Victoria Park CWA and Station Street Men’s Shed for helping us run events throughout the year.

 

DONATING

Thanks to the generous people that donated their exhibition prize money back to the Society, or rounded up entry fees by a few dollars. However great or small the amounts, the sentiments were genuine, kind and greatly respected.

 

LOVING

Everyone experienced “I loved that” moments. A few from our tireless office staff included;

Robyn:  Loved handing out the prize money at the Make Smoking History Canning Show. Especially watching the little children’s faces light up when they discovered they’d won $5.

Aarom:  Loved getting a nickname. After being stuck in his chair from dawn to dusk managing our marketing and communications, Aarom earned the nickname Magnet. We hope it sticks!

Sarah:  Loved volunteering. Sarah also discovered that you can win prizes for laying eggs (not personally, but the chicken type). Sarah now loves winning prizes at the Canning Show.

Jenny:  Loved everything; Jenny just loved everything about the Canning Show, and has done for decades.

Afra:  Loved growing strawberries in the office garden. Never in the history of CAHRS has any plant received the love and nurturing those strawberries did. Sadly they didn’t win first prize, but look out 2020…

Memberships are now due

If you connect with any of the above, please send in your membership application or renewal now so that you can do it all again in 2020.

Want to play a greater role?

Members interested in nominating for a three-year term on the Committee of Management must be financial members and need to lodge their nomination by Tuesday 21 January.

 

To end the International Year Of Indigenous Languages…

Fae a’ o’ us, Tae folk we haud dear – gie it laldy.

On behalf of the Committee, Members and staff, I wish you the merriest of Christmases.

Dianne Begg

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CAHRS

 

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CECSY UPDATE SEPT-NOV 2019

Our CEO Dianne Begg gets to the bottom of exhibiting at the Make Smoking History Canning Show, including her Top 10 Tips to get you entering with a smile!

110 years ago, the CAHRS minute book started recording the important details of the Canning Show. Surprisingly, they are mostly the same items we concern ourselves about today. It’s quite comforting to know that people have pondered over how to make the community’s most important annual event stronger and better, and never took the easy option of saying “let’s not bother this year”.  It just proves the love and respect we all have for the Canning Show.

To celebrate, a strong Make Smoking History Canning Show is lined up for 2019. This includes two nights of amazing fireworks shows, twilight greyhound racing, a range of new, diverse and quality stage and sideshow entertainment, lots of free kid’s activities, and, by popular demand, the kids mega-sand pit, haybales, mud kitchen.

So are you going to bother exhibiting this year?

Occasionally Canning Show Exhibition champions tell me that they won’t bother entering the Show this year because they have holiday plans or haven’t had time, or maybe they have lost their Canning Show Mojo (or is that ShowJo???). If your creative ShowJo is challenged, remember that it’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it. Another reason not to enter the Show: exhibitor shaming! An example is being told that entering a handmade item in the local Show is a bit old fashioned, or even nerdy. If peer pressure is putting you off having a go at entering, don’t be afraid; thousands have already done it and they are proud and happy.

Here’s my top ten tips for the would-be exhibitors:

  1. Your creation needs to be the best on display on the day, not the best in the world.
  2. Read the Exhibition Schedule Of Entries carefully.
  3. Ask questions. Phone, email, Facebook message, call into the office and ask to speak to a steward.
  4. Stick by the rule. eg. if it says present 3 roses. Don’t present 2 or 4 – you will be disqualified.
  5. Make sure your exhibit is clean and well presented.
  6. No bugs. Do not enter flowers, fruit or vegetables that have disease or bugs. They won’t be accepted.
  7. Exhibit in a class you’ve never tried before – just for the fun of it.
  8. Encourage kids to enter. Youth Champions are invited to attend the Presentation & Awards Evening dinner to receive their certificates. It’s a great experience for them, and can inspire future generations.
  9. View all the exhibits when they are on display, and plan your next creation.
  10. Set a goal to exhibit annually. You’ll get better each year.

Huge thanks to everyone who has already signed up as a volunteer for the Canning Show.  It’s amazing to have you back. If you plan to volunteer for the first time – congratulations on making a cool, community minded decision. Volunteers are the pump action of the Show.  If you have any ideas, suggestions or tips about how to make volunteering roles better, talk to our volunteer co-ordinator or office team. And if you have friends, family members or community minded people you think could be an asset to the volunteering team around the Show, please put them in touch with us!

Canning Show Presentation Evening will deliver glitzy trophies and special awards, with gorgeous food, a great atmosphere, sassy entertainment and a few surprises on Saturday 9 November.  If you win a Champion award you will be given a special invitation to join us on Presentation Evening but if you don’t want to take the risk of missing out you can purchase your tickets now.

Best of luck to all exhibitors.

Dianne Begg

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CAHRS

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