Michael Millner's three-year term as Royal Agricultural Society of NSW president featured the COVID-19 pandemic, a Royal visit, RAS bicentenary celebrations and further growth in important initiatives such as the RAS Foundation.
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During a turbulent and challenging time, "leadership with a steady hand" might best describe the legacy Michael has left after he stepped down from the role of president last month.
His achievements during the past three years, together with the team at the RAS, should not be underestimated.
In his first year as president, 2021, the Sydney Royal Easter Show was the largest ticketed event to occur globally since lockdowns and social distancing regulations were implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It's hard to forget the pandemic brought public events to a standstill, but after cancelling the Easter Show in 2020, there was much determination to get the show back in 2021.
Michael said there were a few nerves just before the show when the Byron Bay book festival had a few COVID-19-positive people.
"Brock [Gilmour, RAS chief executive] and I were at a journalists' barbecue the day before the show opened and a fellow from Channel 7 came and said to us there had been an outbreak and what was our response," he remembered.
"Our standard response was that we were guided by the health minister."
Not hosting the show the year before had cost $17 million (although later grants from the government did recoup some of that loss), so there was a lot riding on making the show a success in 2021.
"In the end, we had very good crowds," Michael said, and as a result the idea of restricted crowds has continued.
"We don't let more than about 90,000 people in per day to ensure it's an enjoyable experience.
"People are used to booking things online, so if it's booked out today, they book for the next available day.
"It was something that COVID taught us and it stopped us having those days where there were 140,000 people in the place and nobody could move."
It's a reflection of the breadth of his role as RAS president that when asked about his highlights, he struggled to pinpoint a few, instead roaming across numerous achievements for the RAS rather than himself personally.
That's probably a measure of the man Michael is - exceptionally generous with his time and quick to give deserving others a "hand up" rather than toot his own horn.
"One of the things that I'm passionate about is the RAS Foundation," he said.
"I've been on the RAS Foundation board since 2010, and I became chairman in 2012, taking over from John Fairfax. I held that position until I became president.
"Jenny and I support a couple of scholarships and I'm really passionate about seeing the young people getting the opportunity."
Michael said the grants provided by the Foundation for building projects help to make those communities better places for the people who live there.
"I think the Foundation is one of the best things the RAS does, apart from running the show," he said.
He added that becoming president brought his wife Jenny and himself in contact with a range of wonderful people they would not have otherwise had the opportunity to meet.
"Most Joe Blows like me don't get to meet those sorts of people," he said.
"We've become friends with the [Governor of NSW] Margaret Beazley and Dennis Wilson and they are just really nice people and good company.
"At the first show as president, I met Gladys Berejiklian and I couldn't believe how popular she was as we moved around the showground together."
He said guiding Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence around the showground last year was a highlight.
"She [Princess Anne] 'gets' ag shows," he said. "She arrived at 10am and had dinner with us and left about 9pm.
"I walked around with her all day and then I remember at dinner we were talking about careers advisers in schools not promoting ag and how many opportunities there were, and she said Britain has the same issue."
He said Princess Anne is great for ag shows and great for agriculture.
Michael was also at the helm when a number of competitions had significant updates and changes, including changing the Showgirl competition to the Young Woman competition.
"Competitions have to evolve to remain relevant - which is a real challenge in some of the livestock sections, particularly the cattle and the sheep competitions, as they need to align with industry requirements," he said.
He also reflected on the RAS staff, board and council.
"We've got a great chief executive there in Brock Gilmour - he has worked at the RAS for many years, starting as a junior in the accounts department," he said.
"I'm pleased RAS treasurer Grahame Sharpe, Brock [Gilmore] and myself have got the show back onto a very sound financial footing which will stand us in good stead if we run into a bad show for one reason or another."
Even though Michael has turned 70 years young and is no longer RAS president, he hopes he can still contribute.
"I've grown to love the RAS," he said.
But why do it?
"I feel I'm doing good for both the industry and the organisation," Michael said.
"The bigger challenge is exposing rural NSW and what farming is and what it does to the wider city population.
"The city is getting more and more remote from farming.
"When I was a kid, nearly everyone that I went to boarding school with in Sydney had an uncle or someone they knew in the country that they would visit, but that's not the case now."
