11 4-H districts competed in “Why 4-H is Great” Contest and one walked away with it
Battle Lake, Alberta – The 2013 “Why 4-H is Great” contest
was once again a resounding success. The five contest finalists thrilled
audience members at the Alberta 4-H Centre as they demonstrated their
outstanding talents while competing for the top musical honours on August 12. The
“Why 4-H is Great” community concert Facebook also concluded at this event,
with the winning 4-H district being officially announced near the end of the
day’s proceedings. 2013 marks the fourth consecutive year that 4-H Alberta has
partnered with ATB Financial and Gord Bamford to present the “Why 4-H is Great”
musician’s contest and community concert.
By far the best year yet. The district engagement was the
highest thus far and certainly the desire to have Gord Bamford do a mentoring
session and perform in their region trumped all. "All of the audio/visual contest
submissions made by 4-H Alberta districts were a pleasure to watch, and each
one highlighted something special and unique about the 4-H program and the
partnership we collectively share,” stated Dan Allen, Vice President of
Independent Business and Agriculture, ATB Financial on August 12. “We were very impressed with the calibre of
the performances today. Having the confidence to perform on stage in front of
an audience is an incredible ability at any age, but is especially remarkable
among such young talent. I believe that it is thanks in large part to the life
skills learned through participating in the 4-H program that we witnessed so
many talented, poised and gifted young acts here today”.
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| Dan Allen - ATB Financial; Jada Harrion, Cindy Harrion, Sherry Howey - Valleyview District; Jackie Ray - Newcap Radio; Bruce Banks - 4-H Foundation of Alberta |
In absence of Gord Bamford, special guest Scott Schiffner,
Professional Bull Rider, offered the audience of 130 people some advice for
competing and being successful during a ”Question and Answer” mentorship
session. Members of the audience and 4-H summer camp attendees had several
questions for Schiffner regarding his experience and career. One of Schiffner’s
most notable responses that truly resonated with the crowd was to “be sure to
ask lots and lots of questions as there is never a stupid question and make
sure you learn to be a great loser. You
never get better if you do not lose. If
you lose, you learn to ask questions and you get better at what you do”.
Bamford, recent Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMA) nominee for the 2013 CCMA
Fan’s Choice Award, was in Arizona filming his next video release on his new
album and was unable to attend the event.
Five outstanding musical acts where invited to perform on
August 12. The judging panel was comprised of Terry Andryo, Senior Agriculture
Marketing Manager, Business and Agriculture, ATB Financial; special guest Scott
Schiffner, Professional Bull Rider; and radio broadcast personality, Jackie Rae
Greening, Manager of Edmonton Operations, Newcap Radio. After careful deliberation, Taryn Stauffer of Tofield
Beef Club was selected by the judges as the contest winner. She has been awarded
with the exciting honour of being the opening act for Gord Bamford in
Valleyview, Alberta at the “Why 4-H is Great” concert.
 |
| Dan Allen - ATB Financial, Taryn Stauffer - Tofield 4-H Beef Alumni, Scott Schiffner - Professional Bull Rider and Jackie Ray Greening - Newcap Radio |
This year all 4-H Alberta Districts were encouraged to apply
to be the “Why 4-H is Great” community concert host by submitting audio visual
entries that highlight “Why 4-H is Great” or “Why 4-H loves Alberta”. Out of eleven
entries, the top 3 were posted to Facebook and were judged by the general
public, who were invited to cast their vote until August 11.
The Facebook race was a tight one up until the last weekend,
in which the winning candidate – Valleyview 4-H District – managed to jump
ahead of their opponents to take the lead in the competition with a total of 1,234
votes. Their fabulous grand prize will be to host the Gord Bamford community
concert on November 14, 2013, which will act as a fundraiser for their local
4-H District. All members of the
Valleyview 4-H District will also receive a private Gord Bamford mentoring
session as well on the day of the concert.
Second place went to Drayton Valley 4-H District, with 1,158
votes. They received a 2013 Canadian Country Music Association Prize Package to
use as a raffle fundraiser. Placing
third was Mountain View 4-H District, with 613 votes, and they received a $200
4-H Foundation Souvenir gift certificate.
The “Why 4-H is Great” community concert, sponsored by ATB
Financial, will take place on November 14, 2013. Tickets can be purchased
starting September 2013 and more information will be available on the “Why 4-H
is Great” and 4-H Alberta website.
“We are really excited to get started with planning and
promoting this concert and to bring Gord Bamford to our community! All of our
hard work and efforts to showcase and promote 4-H Alberta has paid off! We’re
hoping to make this the best “Why 4-H is Great” concert yet,” stated Sherry
Howey, President, Valleyview 4-H District.
The Valleyview 4-H District will utilize the concert as a
local fundraiser for 4-H. In the past three consecutive years, the partnership
between ATB Financial, Gord Bamford and
4-H Alberta has lead to more than $37,000 in total being raised for
local 4-H.
About Gord Bamford
Gord Bamford is a true country boy, devoted family man,
skilled entertainer, and very successful, multi-award winning Canadian Country
Music Artist. Honored with an
incredible 6 nominations (16 including all his associated nominations) for the
2012 CCMA Award Show, Gord was named this year’s Songwriter of the Year as well
as Interactive Artist of the Year. 2013,
Gord is one of the top 5 artists in running for the CCMA Fans Choice
Award. Voting for the CCMA Fans’
Choice Award winner is now open at www.ccma.org. All voters will automatically be
entered into a draw to win the Ultimate Fan Contest with the lucky winner
being whisked away to Edmonton to attend Country Music Week® and present the Fans’
Choice Award on the CCMA Awards Broadcast.
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