Ag Society presents to Committee of the Whole for town sponsorship
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Strathmore and District Agricultural Society presented before the Town of Strathmore Committee of the Whole regarding the Strathmore Stampede sponsorship agreement.
Presented before the Committee of the Whole was a three-year request for $28,000, in return for continuing to provide to the town and its residents, unique branding, marketing, and hosting opportunities.
“Your investment in the Agricultural Society is being leveraged to build our community. We have been growing – since that time that I (spoke) to you in 2019, our revenues have reached $3.85 million; they were $1.9 million at that time in 2019,” said Ryan Schmidt, president and CEO of the Agricultural Society.
“With that, we have $3.5 million in expenses now, which were about $1.9 million when I started as well, and so that money is being spent and put back into our community. Any profits that we have go back into investing in the facilities that we maintain for the community.”
Schmidt added the Agricultural Society knows from their statistics, 55 per cent of attendees to the Strathmore Stampede come from outside of Strathmore, which turns into money being injected into the local community as a direct result of the event.
A total of 60 of the Agricultural Society’s campground units are set to be utilized by local families through the winter as affordable housing spaces.
Much of the sponsorship deal suggests benefits to the Town of Strathmore in direct relation to the operation of the Strathmore Stampede, such as naming rights for a chuckwagon heat, use of an infield suite, and an array of notoriety inclusions to promote the town throughout the event.
The Agricultural Society also requested use of the blue arena in the Strathmore Family Center from July 25 to Aug. 8, accounting for setup, takedown, and clean up for stalling and stabling of musical ride horses.
This would be in order to accommodate the RCMP Musical Ride – being an attraction which has not been seen in Strathmore in six years.
“When this event came to town last, it attracted a whole new crowd of tourists – it really created a unique vibe to round out the Stampede,” said Meagan Miller, head of operations for the Strathmore Stampede. “This sought-after entertainment act carefully selects which events to join years in advance. The fact they are interested in coming back to our town shows how much they enjoyed the hospitality given by our community.”
The town has yet to make a conclusive decision regarding the Agricultural Society’s request, as it was presented before the Committee of the Whole. Council will consider the request in the ongoing budget discussions.