Coultes, Van Nes, Noble named 2025 Brussels Fall Fair Ambassadors
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
The Brussels Agricultural Society now has three new faces to represent it and to spread the good word about the Brussels Fall Fair, scheduled for Sept. 16-17.
Alycia Coultes will serve as the new Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador as the only person to put her name forward. Alison Van Nes will be the new Junior Ambassador, similarly as the only person to put her name forward, while Kendry Noble was chosen as the new Little Ambassador from a field that included the likes of Brynlee Armstrong and Flynn Ribey.
Coultes, Van Nes and Noble will replace Emily Bieman, Bridget McCallum and Sophia Blake, all of whom were present last Wednesday, Aug. 13, for the society’s special Fall Fair Ambassador evening, held at the Brussels Legion.
Bieman was days away from heading to Toronto to be part of the annual Ambassador of the Fairs competition at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). There, Lexi Johnston of the nearby Listowel Agricultural Society was named the winner of the provincial competition.
The evening in Brussels served as a chance for the community to not only meet the society’s new representatives, but for the outgoing young women to reflect on the year that was and to say goodbye to their beloved tiaras and sashes.
To begin, Coultes was not in attendance that night. She was called away for a family funeral and could not attend, but emcee and member of the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador Committee Maggie Speer said that the society is always there to support its own when it comes to familial challenges and that she and the rest of the committee encouraged Coultes to take all of the time she needs and that the official crowning could take place at a later date.
Coultes is now 21 years old. She grew up on a beef farm near Brussels on Cardiff Road and is studying Agricultural Technology at the university level.
Bieman took the chance to address those in attendance one last time as the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador, thanking the committee and the society and reflecting on all of the great events she was able to attend and the experiences she’s had ahead of competing at the CNE.
Before Alison Van Nes was welcomed to the stage, Bridget McCallum reflected on her time as the Junior Ambassador and all of the fun she had with Bieman and Blake at her side. Van Nes said she was proud to represent the association and was already looking forward to the fair. It was a big week for the Van Nes family, as Alison was busy being crowned Brussels Fall Fair Junior Ambassador just one day before two of her sisters, Sarah and Johanna, contested for the title of Huron County Plowing Match Princess the next day at Dodds Century Farms near Seaforth.
Blake then spoke about her time as the Little Ambassador, reading her notes that recounted the year that’s been. Speer noted how far Blake has come throughout the program, addressing the crowd and reading her address one year after she was too shy to read her application essay at the ceremony in 2024.
Noble was then announced as the winner of the 2025 Little Ambassador competition. Speer noted that her mother, Nicole Lowe, has taken a step back from the committee with her daughter competing, just as she had when her sons were vying for Ambassador positions several years ago.
The judges informed Speer that Noble had been chosen and then Noble read her entry on the life of a pig, which playfully offered some unfavorable comparisons between pigs and her brothers.
To end the evening, Speer announced that past Ambassadors Amanda Morrison and the aforementioned Emily Bieman had since joined the Ambassador Committee to administer the program alongside Speer, Noble, Hannah Hodgins and Morgan Zoccolante.