On Wednesday night, the Listowel Ag Society will hold a special celebration for Lexi Johnston, the 2024-25 Listowel Fair Ambassador who was named the Canadian National Exhibition Ambassador of the Fairs this year.
Johnston, 23, says the experience of representing Listowel at the CNE and winning the competition has been a whirlwind experience, one she is very proud of.
"I felt so proud to be there representing Listowel and our community. It's such a tight-knit, special community, so that was pretty cool for me," Lexi shared proudly.
When Lexi first was named Listowel Ambassador of the Fair, she attended many local events and even helped the Ag Society put on an Ag Day for students.
Following that role last year and into 2025, Lexi went to compete at the CNE Ambassador of the Fairs competition in August, and won, completing a speech in front of judges and a gathered crowd while also participating in a question period with judges.
She says that led to her being a part of the CNE for the duration of the event, which was an incredible experience. Lexi stayed in Toronto for 18 days during the duration of the event.
"Such a unique and cool experience. The CNE really does put on display the different industries and cultures in Toronto for everyone to see. I had been there before and always thought of the agricultural side of it, but there's just so much there beyond that," Lexi said.
With so many different industries and displays all coming together to be celebrated, Johnston says it was an eye-opening experience that she really enjoyed being a part of.
"There's the arts, sports, culinary, industrial, so it really just shone a light on so many different parts of what makes Ontario so cool, and that was just really heartwarming for me to see. I really enjoyed walking around and meeting different people and seeing everything there," she added.
There was also a tremendous sense of hometown pride, as Johnston says she really enjoyed sharing with people about where she was from.
"So many people asked 'What fair are you representing?' And it was really great to share with them about Listowel and how special our community is and the agricultural focus there, it made me really proud to be from here," she said.
Lexi will continue touring around different local fall fairs representing the CNE, and she says going forward she wants to continue to help make the program better and to shine a light on other young leaders. A celebration for Lexi will be held Wednesday night (September 24) at the Listowel Ag Hall from 7-9 p.m.
