Connor Lalande

Shawville July 13-16, 2023

Members of Shawville’s 4-H Club competed at the 47th annual Provincial Rally in Ayers Cliff, Quebec from July 13 until July 16.

An event where 4-H clubs from throughout Quebec gather to participate in various livestock and non-livestock competitions, this year’s rally was a windfall for the club.

Beating out clubs with more experienced competitors, Shawville 4-H took home first place in the club aggregate division – an award given based on a combination of club member scores.

“I was pretty surprised. The club points get added up based on how our members do, and we had a lot of people whom it was their first time going to Rally. So, for all the points to be added up and to be above other clubs who have experienced members was really surprising. But it’s a good surprise and was lots of fun,” said President of Shawville 4-H Club Laura Mayhew.

Individually, members of Shawville’s 4-H club also excelled. In the judging competition, out of the top-five placing participants, four were from Shawville.

“It was really amazing that they were able to do that,” said 4-H Mom Jennifer Davies. “I’ve never seen that, and I’ve been to quite a few rallies over the years. It was really neat to see so many Shawville kids do so well.”

Mayhew, who is 17, had the winningest outing of her Rally career to date – taking home first place in both individual aggregate and judging.

“I got fourth last year, so I thought to myself ‘I need to get better than fourth’, I don’t want to go down the ladder,” said Mayhew.

According to Mayhew, Shawville’s 4-H Club has around 80 members, with the majority being aged 12 and under. 19 members participated in this year’s Provincial Rally.