The shock resignation of Gympie Show president Graham Engeman two months before this year’s Show is due to be held has been described as “a blow” by stalwarts and volunteers.

Mr Engeman reportedly resigned from the position he had held for the past two years at a meeting on Wednesday, citing concerns about the ever growing red tape that had to be navigated.

The Gympie Times attempted to contact Mr Engeman but had not had a reply by time of publishing.

Manager and committee secretary Deb Brown said Mr Engeman had been the focus of a lot of pressure and his departure was “a blow” but it would not derail the 2021 event.

“There’s a lot of pressure on the whole committee,” Ms Brown said.

Now that pressure fell on the rest of the committee still working on the event, which was already under the shadow caused by the forced cancellation of last year’s event due to COVID.

It’s been no secret that the Show has struggled financially in recent times as well.

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“The Show just has to happen,” Ms Brown said.

She said the Gympie Show Society had been “very blessed” by the sponsorships and businesses that had stepped up to help it return to Gympie’s entertainment line-up.

The Gympie Show is scheduled to be held this year on May 13-15.

Chief cooking steward Anne Long said she was both surprised and unsurprised at Mr Engeman’s decision.

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“He had been having a tough time,” Mrs Long said, acknowledging he was “going to take the brunt of it because he was the president”.

“Graham is a good bloke and he’s done it tough.”

As to what this meant for the fate of the 2021 show, Mrs Long echoed Ms Brown’s sentiment.

“It’ll happen,” she said.