top YF of the year…
Welsh girls
top YF of the year…
MEINIR Evans is the 1997 YFC Member of the Year.
She won the title in the Royal Show final of the Butler Fuels-sponsored competition which recognises outstanding commitment to the YFC movement.
Hill farmers daughter Meinir (25) has been an enthusiastic member of Bro Ddyfi YFC, Montgomeryshire for the past 11 years. Like the eight other finalists Meinir has been an officer and competitor at club, county and area level. She is also a member of three of Wales national committees and is an active fund raiser.
Meinirs work as a public affairs officer for RSPB Wales brings her in contact with the media and she uses her skills in this field to the benefit of Montgomery young farmers – writing a monthly YFC column for local newspapers and acting as contributor or host on the YFC slot on Radio Maldwyn.
She co-produced a recruitment video for her county federation, and the welcome pack she designed for a Royal Welsh Show competition is to be a membership recruitment resource for Wales.
As well as achieving herself, Meinir has helped others to achieve: She has helped train younger members for eisteddfod, public speaking and rally competitions and helped lead a county overnight trip to London.
YFC has taken Meinir far afield. She has enjoyed club and county exchanges in the UK and Europe and two years ago she won the Elwyn Jones memorial scholarship and spent two weeks in France studying the production and marketing of beef. In September she is off to the USA on a three-week exchange visit.
Runner-up in the Member of the Year competition Joe Bowley of Market Bosworth YFC, Leicestershire & Rutland federation, has also travelled widely with YFC and hopes to visit South America shortly as a Nuffield Scholar.
Andrew Denny of Harleston YFC, Norfolk and Stephen Head of Golden Valley YFC, Herefordshire were placed equal third.
The other finalists who had won through club, county and area rounds to private and public interviews at the Royal Show, were Sheila Hancock, Wilts; Jeremy Stephens, Cornwall; Hugh Jones, Surrey; Julie Bennett, Lancashire and Cathy Howells, Glamorgan.
More for Montgomery
Twelve-year-old Matthew Humphries was another Montgomery member to take honours back to Wales. Matthew, from Llansantffraid YFC, won the town crier competition in which Tom Leonard from Lancashire was second and Andrew Lindley from Yorkshire was third.
Montgomery members Alun Breese, Mark Jones and Danny Davies collected the Green Rylock farm skills challenge cup by winning the national fence erecting final. This is the second year running that Montgomery has won the award.
The team from Hereford (Mark Jones, Dean Sankey and Brian Sankey) was second, and Northumberland (Scott Byron, Michael Conley and David Milburn) was third.
Staffordshires Alex and Richard Lowe won the farm maintenance and mechanical tasks contest, with Robert Davies and Tudor Jones of Montgomery second, and Alistair Whitten and Gary Middleton of Northumberland third. The first three teams received cash prizes and all teams will have a place at the Yamaha Off Road ATV Experience School in August.
Other results
Senior craft (découpage) 1 Alison Page, Oxon; 2 Marie Williams, Hereford A; 3 Louise Burden, Cornwall A. Intermediate craft (decorated oil drum) 1 Joy Davies, Brecknock; 2 William Haynes, Leics; 3 Sioned Wynne-Jones, Clwyd. Junior craft (painted T-shirt) 1 Adele Smart, Derbys; 2 Dianne Joyce Parry, Pembrokes; Claire Ford, Shropshire A.
Tug-of-war – ladies, 1 Derbyshire; 2 Pembrokeshire. Mens 1 E Sussex; 2 Derbyshire.
Club promotion 1 Belper YFC, Derbys; 2 Elwick YFC, Co Durham; 3 Brawdy YFC, Pembrokes.
Car handling 1 Brecknock; 2 Derbyshire; 3 Staffordshire.
Meinir Evans of Montgomeryshire displays her YFC member of the year trophy. She is the first winner from Wales YFC to receive this award.