The Cochrane & District Ag Society held its annual general meeting Nov. 29. Having been there, I wanted to let everyone know that the Ag Society had a great year.
As many of you know, this past year has been full of uncertainty for the society as the county moves to sell its land. In spite of these stresses, the society continues to operate very successfully.
Attendance and facility usage increased impressively. Attendance was up by almost 25 per cent in 2016 relative to 2015. Approximately 65,000 people organized activities and events at the site in 2016.
That total doesn’t even include all the users of the society’s grounds and facilities.
It doesn’t count all the horseback riders who use the wonderful cross country course, the humane society volunteers who exercise dogs in the barns over the winter, or search and rescue’s dog and volunteer training. It also doesn’t include the many individuals who access the grounds for jogging, dog walking, cross-country foot races or bike races.
It is very impressive to realize what a busy place the agricultural society is. Its facilities were booked for 418 days during the year – that’s 15 per cent more booking days than there are in the year.
The society is a highly valued asset in the region. These attendance and usage numbers really emphasize how widespread and diverse its users are. It also highlights how critical it is that Rocky View County protects the long-term sustainability of the Cochrane & District Ag Society as part of selling its lands.
The society provides an amazingly wide range of valuable year-round recreational activities for residents of Rocky View County, Cochrane and beyond.
It is critical to our community that these activities continue and I really hope that Rocky View County councillors fully recognize this as they profit from selling the Cochrane & District Ag Society land.
David Taylor, Rocky View County resident
