ATHABASCA — Four decades after the first celebration of local women in farming, a record number of ladies spanning multiple generations gathered in the Athabasca Regional Multiplex for the 40th iteration of the annual Farm Women’s Conference.
The milestone event, put on by Athabasca County and the Farm Women’s Committee, saw 200 tickets sold to the full-day conference. Young ladies, women of distinction, and every age in between filled the seats around pink-laden tables the morning of Feb. 8 to enjoy the speakers and special guests, and to honour the everyday efforts of two among them.
“It was awesome,” said Athabasca and District Ag Society president and Athabasca County Coun. Camille Wallach. “It was cool to see the diversity in the crowd this year, it wasn’t just farm women, there are a lot of women that have never been here before.”
2023 Women of the Year
Violet Bandola of the Perryvale area was named Pioneer Farm Women of the Year for 2023, after decades of hard work on the family farm. As her nomination letter detailing her achievements and hard work was read, Bandola was surprised by a stream of family members with flowers in hand, her husband, Nick, of 64 years at the head of the procession.
“I’d like to say thanks,” Bandola told the crowd. “They wanted to do this a long time ago, and I said no. Oh my goodness, that was really surprising, thanks to all the kids for doing it. It might take me a few days to get over,” said Bandola to laughs and a round of applause from the room.
Attendees heard her father was caretaker for Pine Creek School, where she completed the first eight years of her education. Here Bandola was tasked with feeding the wood stove and keeping the schoolhouse warm. After graduating and spending time working in post offices in the area, she met and married Nick, with whom she had five children. The couple have a total of 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Violet was instrumental in the hard work of caring for livestock, and a recollection of her ability to carry two full five-gallon pails of feed at once garnered laughs from the crowd, as did mention of her ongoing propensity to feed anyone who stops by the farm with cheese, meats, cold cuts, and sweets.
In addition to her regular duties on the farm, which include bringing food out to the field and acting as a taxi driver for part runs, Violet still volunteers with the Pine Creek Community Centre, and is active on the Perryvale Community Club as well as the Perryvale Ladies Club.
“Perhaps one of Vy’s greatest attributes is her amazing caring, sharing ability, and her respect for people” said Ruth Ramey, who read Bandola’s nomination form and spoke about her history. “There are people in our community she’s very attached to, and she makes sure they’re well-looked after.
“Vy is always willing to share whatever she has with family, friends, or visitors. She is one of the most loving and nurturing women, and she will always make you feel like you’re part of her immediate family,” said Ramey.
The 2023 Modern Farm Women of the Year is Casey Morey, who was born into a dairy farming family in the Rochester area and ploughed her own path in the industry. Surprised to hear her own name, Morey held back tears as family members in attendance joined her onstage to celebrate her recognition.
“Thank you so much for this honour. It is a total shock, and to be honest I thought I was little young,” said Morey. “But it is definitely an honour to follow in my mother and grandmother's footsteps in receiving this award.”
Tracy Morey, emcee of the event and Morey’s mom, received Modern Farm Woman of the Year in 2012, and grandmother Pauline Morey was awarded the title of Pioneer Farm Woman of the Year in 2009.
“Casey was born and raised in Athabasca,” said Athabasca Ag Society president and Athabasca County Coun. Camille Wallach. “She was a very active member in the 4-H clubs, and she has received over $50,000 in post-secondary scholarships because of her work in the farming community.”
Morey graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science in agriculture and returned to the area in 2016 to continue helping with the family farm, as well as starting her own dairy operation, which has grown to 400 Jersey cows and 3000 arable acres.
Her agriculture-focused efforts at home and abroad speak to her commitment to the industry. Morey has travelled to places like Ghana as a member of 4-H Canada’s board of directors, and her farm ships embryos across the world.
Morey’s current duties at Unique Stock Farm, the family operation, range from animal health to financial planning, as well as genetic testing and embryo programs. She takes responsibility for calf and heifer rearing, the operations yearly crop plan, and making sure all are paid for their efforts.
Her hard work maintaining milking operations all while building a new barn alongside her brother were commemorated in her nomination. The Morey siblings and family tackled many aspects of the new building: installing the manure and water lines, putting up interior walls and doors, and Morey herself made a makeshift system to keep the cows milked during construction.
Speeches and presentations
Morey acted as emcee for the day alongside her mom and noted the event's 40th anniversary was a milestone for not only Athabasca-area women but women in farming across the continent.
She said while looking up other well-established conferences, Athabasca’s stood out as one of the longest ones standing. Rimbey, Alta., will be hosting their 34th annual conference in April; the Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference is entering it’s 39 year later this month; and Minnesota’s Women’s Agricultural Leadership Conference will host its 26th annual event this year.
Three speakers received standing ovations from the crowd: the first was Lisa Roper, Lac La Biche-based outdoor enthusiast, writer, and television show host. Roper has spent a lifetime in the wilderness and made a career out of the hunting and fishing lessons learned from her father. In her speech, she told the story of how she faced her fear of bears — literally — and pursued her passion for the outdoors despite many barriers in the male-dominated field.
Corrine Dupilka’s was the second speech to leave the crowd on their feet. Dupilka spoke about the history of the conference, which got its start in 1984, thanks to herself and other home economists working with Athabasca County at the time.
Sharon Mallon, celebrated former radio host for 840 CFCW AM, was the keynote speaker for the event. Mallon told the story of how, when she was close to retirement and had a plan for her future, her life was turned on its head by major losses. She spoke of the resilience gained by enduring a second, very public, divorce, a blood cancer diagnosis, and the loss of vision in her right eye.
Local performers Karen Levoir, Tracy Lord, and Michele Gauthier, who together make up Plamondon’s Girlz with Guitarz, took the stage for a set filled with country classics and crowd favourites. The music inspired a handful of attendees to line dance, led by Wallach.
Next year's conference will be held in Boyle, and Wallach said planning is set to begin in March, and the group is looking forward to continuing the event’s growth.
“We are probably looking at rebranding so that it is more of a rural conference and not just geared towards farm women, but all women in the rural community,” said Wallach.
