Vol. No. Vol. 2418No. 7 27
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Wednesday, 13, 2021 2016 Wednesday,January August 18,
FOCUS ON CAMERA FIND: Toolondo resident Rachael Fear with a camera she found hanging in a tree that was previously under water at the popular reservoir. She is trying to find the owner. Story, page 7. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER
Membership appeal O
BY DEAN LAWSON
ne of Horsham’s busiest community-events organisations has appealed for membership support to help build momentum for a surge out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Horsham Agricultural Society, needing a strong financial base to present large-scale community attractions, has put uptake of individual membership forward as a potential ‘insurance policy’ in moving forward. Society executive officer Andrea Cross said the organisation was acutely aware of the stress the pandemic was having on businesses and other traditional sponsors that usually provided financial support for events and
was loath to add to that anxiety. “It is quite distressing. We have five major events coming up in the next eight months and we need financial backing to make them work. But to be honest, I don’t have the intestinal fortitude to ask sponsors for too much help considering circumstances,” she said. “Government support grants have been welcome to make improvements to our grounds, but it’s the community backing we need. You can’t help but feel awkward when asking for people to chip in, but the truth is if we could get 1000 people to buy a $55 membership that would get us through.” Horsham Agricultural Society, in acknowledging the strong connection agriculture has on the broader district community, has dramatically expand-
ed a traditional farm focus to reflect contemporary rural and regional life. It has used its primary asset and headquarters Maydale Reserve, on the banks of the Wimmera River at Horsham Showground, to pursue the direction with a variety of communityinspired events, many with an agricultural theme, which fulfills the purpose of the organisation’s mission statement. The transformation has led to the society developing events-promotion as a key part of its operations. Mrs Cross said a primary motivation for the direction was a need for Horsham district people to have opportunities to embrace a variety of events and activities and to appreciate and exploit what the Wimmera had to offer. “We developed our strategic plan
in November 2019 and started to meet our targets. For many months since we’ve been living in a pandemic. I think that’s worth celebrating and community buy-in is essential to maintain our presence in the future,” she said. “Right now, when it’s been so hard to have events, we’ve still been able to reorientate ourselves to provide an events centre rather than just a place that has the Horsham Show. “Maydale Reserve lends itself to a suite of activities across a wide range of interests. We cater to the things our community wants. In all the events we host or support, we provide something for everyone. “We can only do so much with a 300-person limit at the moment and
when we are able, we want to be in a position to bring everyone together. “I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve a bit here. Nobody likes asking for or getting asked for money, but we feel we’re in a position of sitting on a wonderful asset and when we get the all-clear to provide the setting and environment for events, we can kick our community back into life,” she said. “And yes, I suppose what I’m talking about is financing a communityevent insurance policy for Horsham. But we have projects in the top drawer and have people calling from across Australia who want to run events here. We are identified for our potential in having both indoor and outdoor event centres right in the heart of Horsham.” Continued page 3
IN THIS accommodation plan • Quantong residents stand strong••Football-netball Football-netball action THISISSUE ISSUE• •Crisis Project to green Horsham • Water pooling at Hindmarsh finals Phone: 03 5382 1351 Read it online: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au
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