BFF25: Morrison steps into ambassador committee position years after wearing the crown

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Earlier this summer, the Brussels Agricultural Society welcomed two new members to its Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador Committee - Amanda Morrison and Emily Bieman - who are sure to inject some energy and youth into the committee.

 

Both are former Brussels Fall Fair Ambassadors - Morrison back in 2019 and Bieman just last year - and both are getting involved with the executive for the first time in their lives, lending a hand to existing committee members like Maggie Speer, Nicole Lowe, Hannah Hodgins and Morgan Zoccolante. It’s still early days, so the pair haven’t really done a whole lot for the society to this point, but the time will come. Right now they’re just making themselves available to the ambassadors and other members of the committee, offering to help when the need arises.

 

Morrison said that when she turned the crown over in 2019, she knew that, someday, she wanted to return to Brussels and be part of the Brussels Agricultural Society in an official capacity, she just needed to engage in her post-secondary studies first and return when the time was right.

 

She says that the experience of being the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador quite literally changed her life. Before she wore the crown, she was very shy and uncomfortable with public speaking. After she won the crown and spent the subsequent year as the official representative of the Brussels Agricultural Society, she gained a lot of confidence and improved many of her public-facing skills and since then she’s never looked back.

 

In recent years, she has made a point to be involved with the Brussels Fall Fair and the special ambassador night, when her schedule has allowed. She has always done her best, even as she was studying outside of the county, to be in the village for both of those events and to be a part of the Brussels Fall Fair as much as she could. As a result, she was doing what she could to support the organization, even when she couldn’t dedicate too much of her time to the fair.

 

At this year’s ambassador night, however, Maggie Speer - the long-time Fair Mom for the society - asked Morrison to serve as a judge for the competition. Morrison agreed and went about the business of judging. However, sometime that day, Speer asked Morrison if she’d consider being part of the committee and, since it was something she’d already been considering, she jumped at the chance.

 

She figures that she’ll have more time to commit during the lead-up to next year’s Brussels Fall Fair as, next April, she’s expecting to graduate after studying mental health and addiction counselling with designs on opening her own practice here in Huron County where mental health resources are woefully in short supply.

 

Morrison says that she was bullied severely when she was in school and that accessing therapy was a major turning point in her journey. She was so helped by that experience that she then wanted to bring it to more people in an area that’s known for having limited mental health resources.

 

At first, she said, she considered being a school counsellor, however, as her studies continued on, she felt she could do the most good in community counselling in the realm of  mental health and addiction and that’s where she focused her attention. She is finishing up her education online with Yorkville University.

 

She’s looking forward to being part of the team and keeping the tradition of the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador alive and well for many, many years to come.