Prince Edward Island Association of Exhibitions Wraps Up Annual Conference

The 32nd annual meeting of the Prince Edward Island Association of Exhibitions (PEIAE) was held Feb. 8-9, 2008, at the Mill River Resort in Mill River, Prince Edward Island. Delegates from 13 member fairs, exhibitions, and festivals were in attendance.

The agenda for the meeting was packed with a wealth of educational opportunities. John Harvie, CEO of Co-op Atlantic, Moncton, New Brunswick, presented a workshop on leadership. Harvie spoke about his experiences while working for the Canadian Co-operative Association in St. Lucia, West Indies. Elizabeth Grimmett led a workshop called “Basic Introduction to Board Governance.” The workshop encouraged delegates to use the information provided and apply it to their own boards. Hannah Service, CEO of the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (CAFE), gave a consumer protection update. She gave the dos and don’ts of placing signage around the fairgrounds. Ms. Service also provided large posters for organizers to laminate and use on their fairgrounds. Mavis Hannah of CAFE gave a presentation on the advantages and disadvantages of charitable organization status.

Three member fairs presented in an “ideas that worked” session. Rayanne Frizzell of the Provincial Exhibition in Charlottetown gave an in-depth presentation on a re-engineering of the advertising presentations. Gerald Dixon of the Crapaud Exhibition Association, Crapaud, spoke about the new horse facility that marks the first step in the expansion of the exhibition. Melvin Ford of Eastern Kings Exhibition, Souris, explained how the exhibition was nearly cancelled but he and other volunteers created an event that had the best community response in years.

At the evening banquet, an auction for an event appearance by Cameron Francis, winner of the PEI Zone Youth Talent Finals and PEI Representative at the Canadian Youth Talent Finals, was held to offset conference expenses.  A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the awards. The CAFE Distinguished Service Award was presented to Mr. Dixon of the Crapaud Exhibition; Raymond Bernard of L’Exposition agricole et le festival de la région Évangéline; Wilbert Meggison recognized by Prince County Exhibition, Alberton; and Margaret Doiron of the Eastern Kings Exhibition. To be eligible for this award, recipients must have been involved with the member fair for a minimum of 10 years and provide distinguished service in terms of dedication and leadership in programs or activities and generally promoted the best interests of the fair.

The 2009 PEIAE annual conference will be held Feb. 6-7 at the Rollo Bay Inn in Eastern Kings County.