I would like to acknowledge what a pleasure it was to lead an extraordinary group of hard-working community members at the 2025 Mangrove Mountain Country Fair. First year as president showed me just how important a good team is. Without Louisa, Neil and Peter, I don’t think I’d be standing here speaking about our success in 2025. Thank you all for what you brought to the table. No matter how small you think your contribution is, it makes a big difference to those who make large contributions. Everyone gives what they can; and they do it in the spirit of community service.
Like committees in the past, we’re committed to continuous improvement and are always reviewing and testing our practices to ensure we are meeting the needs and expectations of our community organisations and the visitors. It’s important that we provide a fun day for families, while ensuring our volunteer organisations receive what they require to provide the services our community needs.
Improvements for 2025: A new stage; and I would like to thank the volunteers who kept turning up till we got it right. We also received 200 chairs from the Mangrove Mountain and Districts Community Group and we were glad to be able to provide extra seating for our visitors on the day. The line-up of entertainment was exceptional. We had a new remote-control truck for the Chicken Races and they were a big hit with the visitors.
Ryan volunteers in so many of the organisations that make up the Country Fair collective and a thank you seems inadequate for his personal contribution. Thank you, Ryan.
The signage provided by the newly formed Mountain Districts Men’s Shed was a welcomed addition to our fair ground and I was grateful for all the other help provided by them.
Acquiring the extra Zeller EFTPOS outlets saved the need for a heavy ATM on the grounds and I thank Neil for bringing us this option as well as advocating and agitating for the DEFIB project at Mangrove Mountain.
The display of Arts, Crafts and Produce was a wonderful showcase of our Region and it takes a lot of volunteers to organise this aspect of our Show and I would like to thank Jodie and her team.
Sponsorship makes up a large portion of the revenue for our Country Fair and ensures that the Volunteers receive funds for the items required to keep their organisation running and providing services vital to our community. Thank you, Shane, for this work… engaging with the businesses in our region and getting the sponsorship funds vital to our bottom line.
We will be scrutinising the Fair result prior to our next one and ensuring we consider the valuable feedback received, and making sure we improve incrementally in line with how the fair has developed over 60 years. Please put some thought to how we can improve. I look forward to hearing your ideas.
One of our important issues…that of parking, has already been addressed by Tony Bennett generously offering his land, close to the Fair Ground. Adding to the existing parking at Eddie Grants and Reg Bennett’s. I can’t thank them enough for making the land available to us.
The President’s award this year is going to Jodie Swan. Her quiet contribution has grown year on year and I don’t like to think about how we would manage without her. Thank you Jodie and I look forward to working with you for many years to come.
Steve Raines, President, Mangrove Mountain Country Fair
