Provincial Exhibition posts $3,500 loss for 2020

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/01/2021 (2066 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite having to cancel all of its marquee events in 2020, the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba only posted a net loss of $3,500 last year, according to financial information disclosed at the organization’s annual general meeting on Tuesday evening.

The exhibition had $626,715 in revenue and $630,227 in expenses. More than $200,000 of that revenue came from fundraisers, sales of surplus equipment and support from various programs as the organization did its best to stay alive during COVID-19.

Those revenues are down from the $3,109,171 the organization made in 2019 when it was able to run its full suite of programming. The organization posted a net loss of $466,732 that year.

Currently, the exhibition has annual expenses of about $25,000, including payments for the loan taken out to renovating the Dome Building. There is still $1,331,184 on the books for that loan.

Starting off the proceedings, board of directors chair Greg Crisanti joked that holding the meeting on Zoom prevented participants from having to go out during the very chilly weather.

“It’s days like this we remember we are Manitobans,” he quipped.

Addressing COVID-19 and the effect it had on the organization, Crisanti outlined the effects the pandemic has had on the Provincial Exhibition.

He affirmed that the exhibition isn’t going anywhere, but work is already being done to raise more money given that this year’s Royal Manitoba Winter Fair has already been cancelled, Ag Days had to be an online-only event this year and more cancellations could be coming, depending on how long COVID-19 vaccination takes to complete in Manitoba.

Currently, the exhibition has two fundraisers running under its “Love a Fair” campaign — a wine sale and an initiative where donors can pay to have names engraved into the paving stones outside the entrance to the Dome Building. The Kinsmen Club of Winnipeg has pledged to match donations the exhibition raises up to $100,000 in total this year.

Former exhibition general manager Ron Kristjansson, who retired at the end of June after six years in the position, included a letter in the annual report reflecting on the challenges the organization faced in 2020 and how his retirement didn’t go quite as planned.

He wrote that at the end of 2019, he decided it was time to take a step back and retire after the next Manitoba Summer Fair, not knowing what 2020 had in store.

After Kristjansson’s retirement, only two staff remain on the exhibition’s payroll after it was forced to lay off everyone else to reduce costs. He praised financial controller Rhonda Woytkiw for her work in keeping the ship steady through uncharted waters.

Outgoing and retiring directors Annette Bruneau, Chelsey Horn and Matt Bolley were thanked for their years of service to the organization.

New or re-elected directors appointed for three-year terms at the meeting included Jim Andry, Jeff Bieganski, Connie Bok, Karen Burton, Kathy Cleaver, Mitchell Eastly, Dan Karashowsky, Dallas Mennie, Angela Pearen, Bob Scott, Clarke Swain and Rick Thomson.

Those involved in planning the 2020 Royal Manitoba Winter Fair before its cancellation also were thanked for all their hard work that was ultimately for naught.

The 2021 Jim Figol Volunteer Award, given annually since 1991 to a volunteer embodying the same commitment and dedication to the organization and the community as its namesake, was awarded to Dallas Johnston, who has been a director since 2014.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark