ALAMEDA - Premier Scott Moe made visit to a town hall meeting in Arcola that night and he made a point of having a meet-and-greet time for the 4-H clubs in the morning.
He was joined by local MLA Daryl Harrison and judging by the turnout, the 4-H kids and members of municipal councils were eager to meet the government officials.
There are seven chapters of 4-H in District 41. Three of them attended. The majority were from Alameda; many others came from Carnduff and one made the trip from Redvers.
The hour-long get-together began with Madeline Christensen presenting the premier with a gift on behalf of the 4-H clubs. Moe didn’t open the gift when it was presented.
Moe introduced himself and Harrison and then spoke a few words which expressed his appreciation for the work of the 4-H clubs. He asked if anyone had any questions. Surprisingly, it was fairly quiet.
Moe and Harrison then began asking questions they had. Had anyone recently been involved in an exchange program or travelled someplace with 4-H? Some responded that they had recently travelled to Ontario and Moe used this as a springboard to talk about how 4-Hers have a unique opportunity to be ambassadors for this province.
Later in the morning, he addressed this again, talking about how Saskatchewan leads the world in sustainable production. He also added that this province’s agricultural business is the cleanest on the planet. And 4-H is a contributor to those distinctions and should talk of those things wherever they go.
Moe asked again if there were any questions. Levi Freitag raised his hand. When he was acknowledged, he asked, “Can I have your autograph?” Everyone chuckled over that. Moe said sure and Freitag went up and got his autograph.
Levi’s grandmother is a huge fan of Moe and he wanted to get the autograph for her. He had practised asking the question for a week just to make sure he would get it right. Unfortunately for his grandmother, but good for Levi, Moe signed the autograph, personally addressed to Levi.
When it became apparent that the children didn’t have any other questions, parents and local council members started asking their own. The meet-and-greet time began to take on a town hall meeting look. Moe used the opportunity to reinforce his personal commitment and that of the Saskatchewan Party for the province’s agriculture business.
He mentioned that career agricultural opportunities in Saskatchewan are great. Ninety-eight per cent of agricultural students find jobs in their area of study right here in Saskatchewan upon graduation. Half of those are women.
At one point, he asked his audience what the government could do for 4-H. When a reply came back that he could provide more funding for 4-H, he responded that because he sees 4-H as an integral part of Saskatchewan’s agricultural economy, his government is the number one funder of the organization.
Before wrapping up, he spoke to the 4-H members about how to deal with nervousness when it comes to public speaking. He indicated that he stills gets nervous when he has to stand up and talk before a crowd. He stressed the importance of keeping to the point and using illustrations to drive home that point.
The hour went by quickly. Before leaving, Moe and Harrison posed with the 4-H members and then it was on to his next stop. He left behind many children and adults who were excited about having met their premier in person.
