A NEW secretary is being sought for Okehampton and District Agricultural Association following the retirement of Liz Slee after five years.
The busy but rewarding job was taken on by Mrs Slee when she retired as an administrator from Portland Prison in 1996 and moved back to the Okehampton area where she was born.
'I had been away from Okehampton for 26 years and had lost touch with it and its people so joining the show committee was a way of getting to know people and them getting to know me,' she said.
'I have enjoyed the job but I am reaching pensionable age and I think it is time to step down.'
With responsibility for organising the largest event in the town's calendar — Okehampton Agricultural Show — the secretary's job entails doing the accounts, paying bills, organising schedules, rosettes and entry forms plus all the promotional material, entertainment, on-site catering and toilets.
'There are secretaries for individual sections of the show but the committee secretary's job is quite a busy one,' said Mrs Slee.
'Having said that, you meet a lot of lovely people and become very much part of the community— I will miss it because it has been a big part of my life.'
The attendance at Okehampton Show has risen over the past five years and its success has been through keeping the event a true agricultural show without too much commercialism.
Mrs Slee's only regret is that she had to step down in a year where the show, usually held in August, had to be cancelled because of the foot and mouth crisis.
'I would have liked to have gone out on a successful year but that is unfortunate — it would have been foolhardy to carry on when there were still foot and mouth cases being reported.'
Chairman of the show committee Bill Voaden said the secretary's job was ideal for someone with administrative experience, who had recently retired and had some spare time on their hands.
Mrs Slee is willing to work with the new recruit, who will receive an honorarium, to help them learn the ropes.
'Liz has been a very good secretary and we are very sorry that she is going,' he said.
Applicants should write enclosing a CV to Mr Bill Voaden, 5 Oaklands Park, Okehampton, EX20 1LN by October 14, 2001.