Why Volunteer
Volunteer Benefits
The best part about volunteering for Northlands Events, like K-Days and Farmfair International, is feeling good will and accomplishment from helping to make a difference in your community. There are a lot of other great benefits too!
Benefits include:
- Opportunities to make new friends
- Comfortable uniform
- Light meals and refreshments provided
- Easy online sign-up for shifts
- Discounted tickets for admissions to events like K-Days
- Discounted opportunities with Northlands Corporate Partners
- ETS Tickets
- Free parking when volunteering
- Service pins and Northlands awards
- Fun-filled Volunteer Kick-Offs
- Volunteer Center access during Northlands events
- Volunteer only website
Volunteer #NorthlandsStory
As Northlands embarks upon its 140 year anniversary, we want to share stories and memories from the people who bring our events to life – Northlands Volunteers.
Mahlon Weir
“In 1972, while working with Alberta Agriculture (4-H Branch), Northlands invited me to volunteer in support of youth livestock events hosted at Northlands. This fit very well with my regular work throughout Alberta with the 4-H program, but more importantly, provided me with fulfilling chances to support the many programs and events Northlands offered to the public.
In my experience, opportunities at Northlands have always been many and varied. Besides helping at the major annual programs (such as K-Days and Farmfair), I was also invited to serve on several working committees, such as Youth Activities (1973 – 91), General Development Advisory (1991 – 92), Farmfair International Ambassador Awards (2006/07; chair in 2007) and more! The one that gave me the most joy was the Farm Family Award Committee. For twenty years (1994 – 2014), this committee proved to be one of the most fulfilling of my experiences at Northlands. The volunteers and staff assisting at this event proved to be more like a family group than a working committee. Serving as the committee’s chair in 2011 and 2012 was the icing on the cake for me!
Another fond memory was an invitation from Fran Lucas, former Northlands Volunteer Services Manager, to work together to conduct Corporate Volunteer Orientation training; this was a great experience for over 6 years! She also asked me to form the first Volunteer Advisory Committee in July 2013 and serve as its inaugural chairman until 2015. I left the committee in 2017 with many fond memories!
Another special moment for me was being chosen to receive the CAFE Distinguished Service Award in 2015.
During my lifetime, I have been associated with many organizations that engage volunteers. So, when I say that Northlands does a stellar job of supporting and recognizing the efforts of its volunteers, I mean it! Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to say a hearty congratulations to all the dedicated staff and volunteers that keep Northlands vibrant.”
– Mahlon Weir
volunteering since 1972
Lorri Andrews
“My favourite Northlands memory was during the final CFR at the coliseum in 2017. I was volunteering at Rodeo Magic; my role was with the horse rides for children with special needs. One little girl in a wheelchair couldn’t ride a horse so I brought one over to her so she could pet him. The look of wonder on her face was priceless as she said the word “soft.” Her guardian with her got tears in her eyes – here, I thought I had done something wrong! She reassured me that they were happy tears; she then explained to me that little girl never spoke and that was the first word she ever heard her say. It is wonderful what a horse can do for a child and so special that I got to be a part of that moment! This will be a memory etched on my heart forever. Winston Churchill famously said, “there is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” He was so right!”
– Lorri Andrews
volunteering since 1993
Nelson Modin
“There’s been great experiences and great people that I’ve met,” says Nelson Modin, Northlands Volunteer for 40 years. His first taste of Northlands was in 1955 as a 4-H member standing proud with his thematic display at the exhibition in the Edmonton Gardens. From there, Nelson became a leader in the sheep show at Farmfair International and the chair of the Agriculture Development Committee. With his knowledge and passion for sheep, Nelson was then asked to form a Sheep Club for Strathcona County – this was the start of the Strathcona Lamb Chops. Nelson was even part of the organizing team who created the scholarship for sheep producers which is still an ongoing bursary supported by Northlands.
Nelson recalls one story at Farmfair where the weather and conditions took a turn for the worst and exhibitors were encouraged to leave late Saturday and early Sunday to make their safe journey home. This was when Farmfair included a dairy cattle show and there was a dairy family from Salmon Arm who was travelling back to B.C. On their way home, they encountered terrible conditions in Rogers Pass. Stranded on the road for hours, the owners had one thought on their mind, “our jersey cows need a break from the stock trailer!” So there, on a snowy day in the middle of the mountains, they laid straw in the ditch for bedding and let the jersey cows out. “One cow even needed to be milked on the side on the road!”
– Nelson Modin
volunteering since 1978