FAYE MAYBERRY, ALBERTA WI
Since joining the Ridgewood Women’s Institute in 1967, Faye Mayberry has been a very busy member of Alberta Women’s Institutes.
She served in all Branch positions (some more than once), was the Red Deer Constituency Convener twice, as well as District 3 Director for one term. She was the AWI Executive Offer for Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada from 1994-1997, before becoming the FWIC President Elect, and then FWIC President from 2000-2003. In 2011 she was elected AWI President Elect and held the position of AWI President from 2014-2017.
While holding these positions she was busy promoting Women’s Institute, mentoring future WI leaders, and increasing the general public’s knowledge of agriculture by bringing it into the classroom.
She helped educate and mentor WI members through such programs as “Thinking, Feeling, Doing” which focused on the roles and duties of the various positions in WI, hosting the opening of the WI exhibition at the Red Deer Museum, and facilitating such workshops as “Train the Trainer” and “Communicate with Confidence”. She helped arrange for the commemorative rock and Hoodless rose garden for the 100th anniversary of AWI.
During her appointment to the Alberta Farm Women’s Network she helped publish the Farm Women’s Talent Bank Directory and initiated the Farm Food Contest resulting in the Farm Food Festival in Banff. She was a member of the Canadian Farm Women’s Education Council and the Farm Women and the Law Committee and contributed to “Taking Charge – Agriculture Leadership”, a film produced by Alberta Agriculture. She chaired Kids Farm Safety Day Camp which led to her being on the committee for Red Deer’s Safety City. She developed the “Food and Farmers – What’s the Connection?” project which was delivered to about 10,000 children in 100 schools throughout Alberta.
During her years at FWIC she was appointed to the National Agriculture Environment Committee. She was also a member of the Coalition of Farm Women Leaders. While FWIC President she was involved with the rededication of the Peace Bridge and the moving of the national office to the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead. She chaired the Fundraising Committee and the Staging Committee for the 2006 FWIC Convention in Red Deer and chaired the committee hosting the 2014 ACWW Canada Area Conference in Camrose.
In her spare time, she was involved with the RCMP Community Policing Committee, Victims Services Committee, Advocate Training and Employment Network for Women in Alberta Committee, the Rural Community Projects Advisory Committee (Olds College), and Ridgewood Disaster Services. She sat on a sub committee for the Alberta Council on Women’s Issues and the Western Fair Committee. She set up meetings with Canadian Mental Health to study the needs of rural women and was involved in government consultations such as employment standards, farm management training, and other farm related topics.
Faye always held training sessions during Council meetings while president of Albert Women’s Institutes. These sessions were not only for the members on Council but were open to AWI members and the general public. The goal of these training sessions was to help women develop leadership skills and to encourage more women to take on leadership roles, not only in WI but in other organizations as well. She wanted more women to be involved in roles that could make real change.
As a mentor she shared her knowledge and skills with others and continues to do so, while letting them do things their way – no “we’ve always done it that way” with Faye!
As you can see from the information above Faye Mayberry exhibits the qualities of leadership, involvement in the community, and inspiration required in the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Canadian Woman of the Year. And as for the qualities of Adelaide Hoodless, they are there too, in everything Faye does for Women’s Institutes and her community and ours.