2024 Brussels Fall Fair: Bieman to lead Ag. Society as Ambassador
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
This year’s Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador, Emily Bieman, is no stranger to the Brussels Agricultural Society or to holding an ambassador title within the organization for that matter.
In 2017, Bieman was the Junior Ambassador of the Brussels Fall Fair in a year that was special for a number of reasons. Not only was it Canada’s sesquicentennial celebration, but it was also the 100th International Plowing Match (IPM) in Walton. That year, the Brussels Fall Fair, which would have conflicted with the juggernaut of an event, was held at the IPM, within the tented city in Walton - a first for the storied provincial event.
Bieman says the novelty of that special arrangement that year was amazing and it was great to spend that much time at the IPM, meeting people and seeing all that there was to see, but she is also looking forward to a return to a form of normalcy this year with the Brussels Fall Fair coming back home.
This year, the fair will be held in the recently renovated and expanded Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, which has been home to the fair for a number of years. It will be the first year in many that the fair will be held at the centre. It was there last year, but the centre was still under construction, so the society could not use all of the building for the fair. Before that, the fair was held at the Brussels Four Winds Barn.
The fair will now be held at the centre and this will be an important year for the society, says President Reg Vinnicombe, in which members will find out how the Brussels Fall Fair works with the new and improved space and the new possibilities and opportunities that may present themselves as a result of the renovation and expansion of the centre.
Back to Bieman - she thoroughly enjoyed her time as the Junior Ambassador in 2017 and was sad when she had to give her crown to another in 2018. Then, the society planted the seed with Bieman about potentially returning to be the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador one year in the future.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic soon struck and Bieman carried through with her plans to head to post-secondary school at the University of Guelph. So, after a number of years to get things in order and focus on her education, she felt the time was right to step up and consider filling the position. She wanted to make sure that she could commit the appropriate amount of time to the ambassador position and now she thinks she can do that.
She was crowned at a special event last month along with the new Junior and Little Ambassadors at the Brussels Legion and has already been busy within the position. But, of course, she’s most looking forward to the Brussels Fall Fair and the opportunity to represent the Brussels Agricultural Society and her community throughout Huron County.
On a personal level, Bieman is in her third year at the University of Guelph studying animal biology in an effort to become a large-animal veterinarian - both a position and a university she has had in her plans for years. She said she knew she wanted to become a large-animal veterinarian since she was in Grade 4 and had pegged the University of Guelph as where she wanted to go since Grade 8.
She has also been extensively involved in her community from a very young age. In addition to being only the second-ever Junior Ambassador for the Brussels Fall Fair, she was also one of the first Elementary School Fair Ambassadors and has spent many, many hours within the Huron 4-H program. A member since she was just nine years old, Bieman has completed over 60 clubs in Huron 4-H in that time.