Lethbridge & District Exhibition was originally founded as the Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society in 1897, eventually becoming a staple in southern Alberta.
However, in 2024, the City of Lethbridge took over operations of the group following financial struggles after the construction of the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre. City council would eventually vote to keep the building and organization running, but a new plan was put into motion.
Now, Lethbridge & District Exhibition is a thing of the past, with all employees moving to the newly-founded Excite Lethbridge.
Former interim CEO of Lethbridge & District Exhibition, Kim Gallucci, has been appointed permanent CEO of the new group, which is classified as a city-run non-profit.
Meanwhile, a board has taken over operations of a newly-reformed Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society.
“Going back to the roots on the agricultural side, which was so crucial to Lethbridge and southern Alberta,” said Lloyd Brierly, city manager in Lethbridge.
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He says the ag society and Excite will work together while also enabling further expansion.
“It’s about having the right people, in the right place, doing the right work. So, the ag society piece focused on agriculture and all the things that entails. Excite (is) focused on events, trade shows, tying into the growth within the city, getting people into hotels, restaurants,” said Brierly.
The Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre is also being rebranded to ensure it’s more accessible.
“We did find the Agri-Food Hub tended to confuse out-of-towners, maybe not so much in-towners. But when we’re trying to draw people from out of town, Lethbridge Trade and Convention Centre is very straightforward, kind of tells you in two seconds what we are,” said Gallucci.
Mayor of Lethbridge, Blaine Hyggen, says he’s hoping time will be kind to the new organizations and they can claw out of the financial challenges currently facing them.
“I’m really happy with the work that Mr. Gallucci has done, the work that the board has done to get us to this point.”
Those financial struggles aren’t lost on Brierly, either. He says they are doing what they can to ensure fiscal responsibility is at the forefront of decision making.
This include the new name and logos, which were completed in-house, as opposed to hiring the process out.
“Go back to how we got here. There are some financial pressures and that’s exactly it, being fiscally minded.”
The Government of Alberta is expecting this new transformation, including the return to roots, to benefit the entire province.
“When we have the chance to showcase to the world that we have the best farmers and ranchers in the world, farming the most sustainable practices, growing the highest grade commodities in the world, of course it’s going to be a massive impact for our entire province and our entire ag industry,” said RJ Sigurdson, minister of agriculture and irrigation in Alberta.
The City of Lethbridge says the full transition to these new entities will happen over the next several months.
The city has also confirmed no employees were terminated as a result of the changes.
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