Peterborough Ag Society Executive Stepping Down – New Directors Needed

For Immediate Release: October 16, 2024

Peterborough, ON – The Board of the Peterborough Agricultural Society will be holding their Annual General Membership meeting on January 15, 2025.

This critical meeting will be setting the course for the future of the Peterborough Agricultural Society. In 2023 the Society was required to move from Morrow Park at which time the Board attempted to find a new location. After ongoing challenges, the existing Executive has decided to step down at the end of this current term.

If there are no individuals who are willing to come forward to serve on the Board, the organization will proceed with closing business operations in 2025.

“The current Board has struggled with negotiations with the City and are looking to the broader community to help lead the Peterborough Ag Society in a new direction. If there are enough individuals who are willing to step up, the organization will continue. However there is a real risk that the Society may need to cease operations if volunteers don’t rally,” says Mark Balkwill, Board President.

This year would mark the 180th anniversary of the Peterborough Agricultural Society. In 1938, Harold Morrow transferred in trust 30 acres on Lansdowne Street to the Peterborough Agricultural Society, and this has been the site of the Peterborough Exhibition. The Society is looking to deliver on the mandate for agricultural education and has taken steps to partner with local organizations to do so.

The Board is in need of volunteers with experience in governance, finance, events, strategic planning, communications and agriculture. To sit on the Board, which meets ten times a year, volunteers must live within Peterborough County or the City.

The meeting will be held at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 52, 1550 Lansdowne Street West, Peterborough  at 7:00 p.m. Individuals who are interested in volunteering on the board can contact GeneralManager@PeterboroughAg.ca.

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