Animal husbandry is the new sexy

The Olds Institute's Community Lifestyles Committee nominated three local women for the Red Deer and District Community Foundation's 10th annual Women of Excellence awards. The Albertan is featuring each of the women and their accomplishments in the lead-up to the awards gala on June 7 in Red Deer.

Tracy Gardner is working hard to make agriculture the hip thing for the next generation.

Gardner has been the events manager for the Olds Regional Exhibition for the past eight years, and is being recognized in particular for her work on Summer Synergy, a program for youth in agriculture that has awarded $75,000 in scholarships each year since 2010.

"Summer Synergy has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the future of our rural youth for both agriculture and community growth," wrote Kevin Blair, president of the Canadian Angus Association, in his letter of support for Gardner's nomination. "I am in awe of her achievement."

The program now includes the largest junior stock show in Canada, drawing more than 300 young people from across Canada, and partnering with the Calgary Stampede to provide a venue to showcase their agricultural work.

"She is a bold, confident, resourceful woman who takes tremendous pride in hometown and business values, working to facilitate (the) same in others," wrote Blair.

In addition to her work on Summer Synergy, Gardner also volunteers with Wild Pink Yonder, a horseback riding program that fundraises for breast cancer research. Oh, and she is co-chair for the Olds Spring Fling community fundraising committee. And, of course, she also sits on the Olds & District Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

"'Volunteer' is part of Tracy's DNA," wrote Olds-area farmer Curtis Flewelling in his letter of support, "and the list of organizations that are fortunate to receive some of her time is too long to list."

In short, she's pretty awesome, said Gardner's partner Rudy Friesen.

"I wish people could see how hard she works and how much she cares for the agricultural youth in the region," he said. "They talk about Summer Synergy, which is an eight-day program, but really she gives of herself 12 months of the year for these kids."

Friesen says that Gardner has an incredible ability to connect with young people.

"That's not always the easiest thing in today's world, and she does it with great compassion and empathy," he said, "which is pretty impressive to watch because she really helps them to aspire to excellence."

Gardner says it's hard for her to imagine she is deserving of this recognition.

"It is an overwhelming feeling," she said after an appreciation dinner announcing the nominees on April 13. "So many of the women in our community and especially some of the outstanding ladies tonight have been mentors of mine for years."

Despite having her fingers in so many pots, it's hard for Gardner to isolate a favourite, saying the projects she works on are diverse and there is a need for them all.

"Offering our facilities to special needs individuals that want the opportunity to be around animals, or ride for the very first time, is equally as important as a 15-year-old that has acquired scholarship dollars to have their dream of education, (then) to be back on the family farm," said Gardner.

Making sure kids can get back to that family farm is a big part of what she does. Gardner says that the urban-rural divide is getting larger, with more people moving to the cities and less connection to food producers. She wants young people know that they have the resources and support to do great work in rural settings.

"It's important – not just from a livestock or a cereal grain or agriculture primary production perspective – that we have professionals that are interested to come back to our rural communities," said Gardner.

"We need to tell our story, and we need to engage people in knowing that being stewards of the land, and animal husbandry, is a cool and sexy thing," says Gardner, "and that it's something that is a very, very important part of feeding the world."