| NOVEMBER 21, 2012 -- On Saturday, November 17th the Association of Connecticut Fairs elected a new slate of officers. The election was held in Hartford at the Lincoln Culinary Institute at the ACF Fall Meeting, Trade Show and Showcase. At this election, current President Bruce Richard stepped down. The new President elected is Connecticut State Grange Executive Committee member Gordon Gibson. Gibson is a 50-plus year member of Vernon Grange.
Other officers elected were First Vice-President Jim Lamoureaux representing the Wallingford Grange Fair and a member of Wallingford Grange and Ted Powell as Second Vice President representing the Hamburg Fair and a member of Lyme Grange. Moving up from Assistant Secretary to Recording Secretary is Lisa Lamoureaux of Wallingford Grange and the Wallingford Grange Fair. Connecticut State Grange Treasurer, Philip Bergquist, a member of Redding Grange, was re-elected in as ACF Treasurer.
On the Directors level, Connecticut State Grange Public Relations Co-Director Robert Charbonneau of the Meriden Grange Fair and a member of Meriden Grange was elected as a Director of Local Fairs. He joins the two current Directors, Connecticut State Grange Legislative Committee and Cheshire Grange member, Charles Dimmick representing the Cheshire Grange Community Fair; and Wallingford Grange member Dan Lauttenbach of the Wallingford Grange Fair.
The Association of Connecticut Fairs organization provides benefits and support to Major, District, Local, and 4-H Fairs held annually in the state. All fourteen local fairs in Connecticut are run by Community Granges. The ACF is affiliated with the International Association of Fairs and Expositions. The IAFE supports Fair Associations in the USA, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
At the ACF Fall meeting, in addition to their business meeting, a Tea-Cup Auction was held. Money collected from tea cup auctions at both the spring and fall meetings is used to fund scholarships to college students who have actively participated in Connecticut fairs. Two scholarships were presented to at this year's annual meeting. Winners of the ACF sponsored Adult and Junior Baking Contests, Quilt Contest, and Apple Pie Contest were also presented. These contests are sponsored by the ACF at all the Fairs in Connecticut. Each Fair sends the winner from their local contests to the state level contest at the Fall meeting. Before the beginning of the contest presentations at the ACF banquet, held the same evening, Gordon Gibson was introduced by outgoing President, Bruce Richard as the Association’s new President.
For information on the Grange in Connecticut, please visit the Connecticut State Grange’s website at http://www.CTStateGrange.org.
About the Connecticut State Grange: The Connecticut State Grange has been an integral part of rural and non-rural communities across the state for over 125 years, with currently nearly 60 local Grange chapters in Connecticut. Local Granges are committed to bettering their communities through service projects, legislative initiatives, and family-oriented activities. |
