As the current ambassador for the Wellesley Fall Fair, Avery Flynn is encouraging others in the township to put their names forward to be her successor.
“If it’s sort of in the back of your head that maybe that might be a good idea, I would say to go for it. You meet so many new people even just within the competition – there will be more contestants this year – and you could have that experience with the interviews and with the public speaking,” Flynn said of the experience.
“It’s different and hard to try new things, but that’s also a skill that you can learn with the ambassador program to get outside of your comfort zone,” she added.
Last year’s process was an unusual one given the pandemic restrictions. Ultimately, Flynn was chosen as the ambassador following a competition last September, while the other competitor, Mason McCormick was chosen as an associate ambassador.
It wasn’t the first time Flynn has taken an active role in her community as she has also participated in the Wellesley youth advisory council.
Although the role of the ambassador was modified – no fair was actually held in 2021 – Flynn still looks back fondly over the experience.
“I’ve really enjoyed meeting a lot of new people, meeting the [fair] board, meeting [Mason] and learning new things about my community,” Flynn said.
Her experience as ambassador taught her the importance of community.
“I’ve just learned about how much goes on and all the different types of events that our community puts on. It’s the whole small-town experience, how the rural community gets together even though we are not as connected as an urban community. How we persevere through that to stay interconnected,” said Flynn.
The ambassador also had the opportunity to visit a local maple syrup operation earlier this year to learn more about one of the hallmark industries in the region.
“It was really interesting because I sort of understood the main idea of how maple syrup is made but I never actually saw the whole system. I thought it was really interesting to sort of see it in my own community.”
Despite not being able to participate in the fair, there remain many takeaways from her experience, Flynn said.
“We really persevered through that and we planned other events that we maybe wouldn’t have done in the past to get that involvement in… I’ve had the pleasure of creating a lot of new beautiful relationships with other people in the community, especially with the board and also highlighting the importance of community unity, after the quarantine during the pandemic,” she said.
“I feel like there’s a big age gap in our community, with the younger citizens and the older citizens, and all these events that we have put together have really united the whole community and got everyone involved with each other.”
Being the ambassador has provided her with skills she can use going forward, Flynn said.
“The ambassador program promotes wonder and curiosity and trying new things, building new skills, meeting new people and sort of opening up,” she explained.
Flynn expects to continue to work with the fair, albeit in a slightly different capacity.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting next year’s contestants. And sort of seeing how it all unfolds in the background. Seeing it from a different perspective and then eventually being able to guide [the next] ambassador into their experience in the ambassador program.”
The 2022-2023 fair ambassador will be chosen in September. The competition is open to residents aged 17-23 who live in Wellesley or within 15 kilometres of the township.
