I am very humbled to have been asked to say a few words on behalf of the Roma Show Society.  

I first met Kevin when we worked at MTC Traders together in the mid 1980’s

Kevin like a lot of us became involved with the Show by first being an exhibitor.  Pigeons were Kevin’s thing.  At show time the buzz at work was always exciting and afterward, we both would boast of our wins!

Kevin started helping out at the Poultry section of the Show & became a Steward leading on to becoming Head Steward. Over the years, Kevin became more involved with the committee & became Ground Steward, a position he held for 10 years. Kevin was still helping out at the Poultry Pavilion the entire time as well as exhibiting. 

In readiness for the 2002 AGM, the boys on the committee got together & hatched a plan that the Poultry chief Steward would step up to the Vice President’s role & Kevin would move back into the Poultry Chief Steward role, which left Kevin’s position of Ground Steward to be filled & as I was stepping down from the President’s Role, Kevin thought that I should take on the Role he was leaving vacant.  Kevin had such a lovely persuasive manner that no amount of arguing that this position was not one that a female should have, didn’t quite work,  after a little more of  Kevin’s gentle persuasion,   I agreed & the progression went ahead. I am pretty sure Kevin loved the role of Chief Steward of the Poultry section however he became more & more involved becoming the Show Society’s delegate for South West Sub Chamber & the Bassett Park User Group and then the move up to Vice President after a time.

Roles now got reversed & I was the one trying to convince Kevin he should be President. It took a bit more persuasion from me though I must say, eventually he took on the President’s Role. Kevin quite didn’t think he was President material, but he served the term splendidly. 

Kevin stayed on the committee as Vice President for many years. After a few years of struggles within the Society, Kevin agreed to take on the Presidency one more time just to keep the show going as by now,  after a good 35 odd years Kevin was living & breathing the Roma Show & like myself did not want to see the Roma Show disappear.

With his involvement in the church, Kevin also took on the role of finding a minister to participate in the Blessing of the Plough at the Show’s Opening every year. 

Kevin expanded from just entering the Poultry Section to entering the Pottery Section a few years ago (influenced by Iris maybe)  & the smile on his face when he won for his entry was memorable, to say the least.

For his dedication, commitment & quiet achievements, Kevin was awarded Honorary Life Membership in 2016.

It was this dedication & commitment that led to Kevin being awarded the Australia Day Award for ‘service to the community’ in 2021. Ever the quiet achiever, this award was a big surprise to Kevin.

Then not long after, it came time to choose who would open the 2021 Roma Show,  the choice was simple – Kevin Pope. Kevin in his quiet manner delivered a profound speech on how rewarding volunteering and helping your community can be.

Kevin only stood down from the President’s role 2 years ago – even when he was not well, he was still an active member of the Show. He instigated quite a few new ideas within the Show Society & was making sure the ball was in motion all during last year for his latest ideas. I will continue with one of Kevin’s initiatives, as I promised him I would, just a few weeks ago. He was very apologetic that he couldn’t make our New Year’s Eve event but we made sure he saw photos and got a full report. Right to the very end, Kevin was a true committee member of the Roma Show Society.

Popey… Thank you for your decades of volunteering.  You will be missed greatly and never forgotten.