June 7, 2007. It was an evening I will never forget. On my return to Niverville after showing numerous houses in St. Pierre, an ambulance sped by me and then quickly turned down Provincial Road 305 in a westerly direction.
I continued on my way home and drove into Niverville that Thursday night, the day before the start of the Olde Tyme Country Fair, and the planning was in high gear. It was year twelve of this freshly imagined event and every year the excitement had continued to build. In the words of Jeff Stott, 2007 was to be the best year ever.
For those of us long-term Niverville residents, the annual community fair had lost some of its shine by 1994 and there was a sense that change was needed. We had always celebrated the fair in the second weekend of August, and a very large part was the horticultural event. You could be assured that Emily Fast and Fred Kaita, among others, were at the ready to showcase grown food, floral arrangements, and canned vegetables. This event had been well planned for years, but somehow it had lost a bit of connection to the community and the attendance was decreasing every year.
Around this time, Jeff Stott spoke with his father about introducing a change that would include a shift to the spring season. His father wasn’t one to buy into this, as he had invested many years of his life to ensuring the success of the August fair. His father said, “If you have 15 people that show up at a meeting to support this new event, you may have a possibility of succeeding.” Jeff’s response was that if only 15 people showed up, he would assume the community wasn’t ready for change.
Jeff decided to try, and I was one of the people he called to a meeting to discuss his proposal. About 50 people showed up, and at the end of the evening the determination was made to move forward.
The rest, as they say, is history. Jeff had a vision that the people of Niverville could capture the excitement of getting together as a community. From year one, everyone in town was wowed as they came walking towards Main Street with their lawn chairs to enjoy the soon-to-be annual street party. Jeff’s father later told me that this was one of his proudest moments.
Over the years, the fair grew from 1,000 people to attracting upwards of 15,000 on a weekend. And all this from a community of 1,400 when it began in 1995.
So many people who were there from the beginning have walked together with Jeff in seeing the Olde Tyme Country Fair become one of the finest community events in Manitoba every summer.
Thousands of hours are volunteered each year, by hundreds in the community, to make this event happen. But the fair isn’t what it is today because of any goal to get bigger; it has succeeded because of a desire to get better.
But yes, on that Thursday evening of June 7, in the middle of all the fair excitement, that ambulance found its way to Jeff and Mona Stott’s home. It had come for Joey, their only son, who passed away just days later.
That year, the same fair committee that had walked this journey with Jeff took charge and carried the responsibility upon their shoulders. And the community remembered and grieved for their loss.
To be part of the team that plans the fair every year is to see what real leadership is all about. It’s all about serving one’s
community.
I honour you, Jeff, for all that you’ve given to make Niverville known as the place where we belong.
