Weyburn businessman Mel Watson was elected
as the new president of the Canadian Western Agribition at its
annual meeting on April 3.Weyburn businessman Mel Watson was elected
as the new president of the Canadian Western Agribition at its
annual meeting on April 3.
Watson was elected by the board of directors, which had a new slate of representatives elected to two-year terms. His term is for one year and will be reviewed in 1999 with the possibility of being extended for another year.
The board includes newcomer Marilyn Charlton of Weyburn and Gus Sanheim of Tyvan. Weyburn-area resident Jim Hallberg is also a member of the board, having served the last five years with the Agribition.
Watson has been involved with the Agribition for the past 27 years as a volunteer, sponsor and buyer, has served on the Agribition board for eight years and with its executive for the last six years.
"I believe the Agribition adds a lot to agriculture in Saskatchewan. This show puts Regina and area, plus Saskatchewan and all of Canada, on the international map. Anything I can do to help, I guess I'm putting something back in to the industry that has been good to me," said Watson.
As the incoming president, Watson said he wants to consider making improvements to the show and perhaps to make some changes to the show dates as well as last year's format.
"What I'm looking forward to is to make the show better. We had a lot of changes to the show last year, and when you make that many changes you're bound to have glitches," said Watson.
The Agribition added one extra day last year and it was also backed up a week to late November running from Sunday to Sunday, said Watson. The extra day was added to accommodate some of the extra shows put on at Agribition, such as the bison and elk shows that have their own day.
The dates for the 1998 show are from Nov. 22 to 29 at Regina Exhibition Park.
The new dates allow for better attendance from both exhibitors and the public, said Watson, adding that the unusually warm weather last year contributed greatly to the increased attendance numbers. The attendance last year totalled 154,000, the second highest total ever.
The Agribition is a major event not only for the producers in southern Saskatchewan but an international event with 20 to 30 countries represented. Watson said it's the second largest stock show in North America, behind only the Denver Stock Show.
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