Oxford County Pride reflects new executive and looks towards the future

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

Oxford County Pride held its first annual general meeting since Tera-Russell Curtis became the new president of the organization during the evening of Oct. 21 at Unifor Local 636 Hall. The committee reflected on the past year of Oxford County Pride with a new executive under the leadership of Russell-Curtis.

"I feel like we had a solid team this year that was able to pull together all of the events that we did. I can't take credit for all of that; it's definitely a team effort,” Russell-Curtis said after the meeting. “We had a great turnout at the AGM and for the first time since I've been on the committee, we have filled every position by the AGM so it's a promising look going into 2027 for us."

The committee elected three new executive members including Marnie Cuthbert as volunteer coordinator. The website and shop coordinator and disability and accessibility ambassador were also elected.

"We added the disability and accessibility ambassador to broaden our representation in Oxford County,” said Russell-Curtis. “We felt like that was a demographic that didn't have great recognition and we wanted to create an opportunity for us to hear from that demographic and be able to organize Pride events around everybody and include everybody."

The meeting also outlined future plans including participating in the Woodstock Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 21 and the annual Ugly Christmas Sweater and Bowling party on Dec. 5 at C&D Lanes.

Pride Family Fun Day will return to Museum Square on June 12, 2027, with a Rocky Horror Show themed after party at the Southgate Centre, in collaboration with Lit Productions.

For the fiscal year between Sept. 1, 2025, and Aug. 31, 2026, the organization received $15,600 in sponsorships, $7,000 in grants and $939.75 in donations. In 2027, Russell-Curtis hopes Oxford County Pride continues to receive sponsorships and donations to continue events and keep them affordable and accessible to all.

"We try to offer free or low cost so it's a great opportunity to get involved in the community and be able to bring people together in a budget that everybody can afford,” she said.

More information about Oxford County Pride and their upcoming events can be found online either via Facebook or Instagram or by visiting https://oxfordpride.ca.