Dale Greene is our 2019 RichmondHub.ca Person of the Year
The Manotick Messenger and RichmondHub.ca are pleased to announce that Dale Greene is our 2019 RichmondHub.ca Person of the Year for his work in the community, particularly on the 175th annual Richmond Fair.
Greene is going to be stepping down as the manager of the fair and the Richmond Agricultural Society. It is a position he has held since he retired from the federal government in 1996.
Greene has grown the fair, and has also grown the activities throughout the year at the fairgrounds that support the fair. There are now five dog shows, six horse shows, the truck and tractor pull, and numerous other events that are held at the fairgrounds each year.
He also looks after the annual demolition derby at the fair.
“When I started, there was a company from the U.S. that looked after everything for the derby,” Greene said. “They took care of everything. But then, one year they got stuck at the border and the derby was nearly cancelled. Plus, they were American announcers and they did not know how to pronounce names of local people. We would get complaints about that.”
Greene said that the South Mountain Fair organizers helped him and his team learn the ropes in how to put on and organize the derby.
“Our biggest challenge now is that there aren’t as many cars available,” he said. “Before, you could get as car for $100 and go in the derby. Now, those cars aren’t as easy to find as they are being sold for parts. There aren;’t a lot of big cars with 6’s and 8’s out there like there used to be.”
Greene is also President of the Richmond Lions Club. When he retires from the Richmond Agricultural Society, he will have more time for the Lions Club. Sunday, he was braving the elements and manning the barricades for the Richmond Road Race.
“Years ago, the Lions Club was strong and we had more than 20 members, then things started falling off,” he said. “When I agreed to become President of the Lions Club, there were two things I wanted to change. We now have official minutes for our meetings, which we never had. Also, I told them if I was going to be President, we were going to have women in the club. The days of service clubs being old boys clubs are long gone.”
The turnaround for the Richmond Lions Club has been tremendous.
“We got 12 new members and we now have more than 20 again,” he said.
The Richmond Lions Club volunteers for many community events and raises funds in the community.