The Citizen, 2017-01-26, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017. PAGE 19.
Plowing an important family tradition for McGavins
A lot of local support
Brandon McGavin, centre, had a lot of local support when it came time to compete at the
World Ploughing Championships in 2016. Aside from a group of dedicated travellers from
Huron County who attend the championships every year, members of Brandon's family made
the trip to North Yorkshire, England, to cheer him on. From left: sister Abby, mother Shelley,
Brandon, grandfather Neil and father Brian. (Photo submitted)
Continued from page 17
large number of visitors.
While their own desire to have the
match in their hometown is
understandable, Brian said that
Walton makes sense as the host of
the IPM because of the
infrastructure available and the fact
that it's reachable from all compass
points.
"When we looked at sites before
we put in our bid, we considered
some farther west, towards the
centre of the county, but if you do
that you can't catch anyone heading
east," he said. "This will bring
tourism from all directions."
Part of making this event fun for
the whole family, Brian said, was to
make it an experience, not a job.
"We're trying to keep things
balanced with the business, with our
jobs," he said. "We want to, when
it's all over, look back and say we
did it, but we took the time to enjoy
it as well and enjoyed working with
so many great people that we may
not have known before."
Brian said that is why each person,
whether they're on the executive,
directing traffic or cooking, is so
important.
When it comes to plowing,
however, the McGavins have two
families, their immediate family and
the family born of plowing matches
at all levels.
"You really make these
friendships into one big family,"
Brian said. "You start seeing the
Recognized
Gordon McGavin was named to the Ontario Agriculture
Hall of Fame in 1997, but local recognition of that honour
wasn't erected until 2012 when the Huron County Museum
in Goderich dedicated a wall to its members. Shown at the
unveiling are, from left, Gordon's son Neil and grandsons
Brian and Jeff McGavin. (File photo)
same faces and you get to know
them and Huron County's plowing
community is really close."
"It's just another family," Jeff said.
"We get together and we take care of
each other. Everyone at these
matches knows Huron County
because we know how to have fun
and we know how to support each
other."
One needs to look no further than
the world championships to
understand that. Every year a group
of individuals, including Neil and
Marie, go to the World Ploughing
Championships. Over the past
several years, they've had chances to
cheer on Paul Dodds, a Huron
County competitor and Brandon
McGavin, a Walton native who was
attending Olds College in Alberta, so
he competed for Alberta at the time.
Brandon has since moved back to
Huron County.
Neil explained that, at the world
competitions, there are fenced -off
areas for crowds for safety's sake,
but the Canadian section is always
full of people from Huron County.
"When I was at the [World
Championships], seeing that support
first hand, it was kind of humbling,"
Brian said. "To see the Canada flags
there, it's an experience."
Brian and Neil agree that kind of
support is what makes Huron
County and Walton a great place to
hold the IPM.
"We have a good core group of
people involved, but we've been
getting great support everywhere we
turn," Brian said. "Huron County
always steps up, whether it's big
events or small events, and pulls out
all the stops."
Jeff said the communities in
Huron County are what breed that
kind of attitude.
"No matter where you go, you will
find people helping each other out,"
he said. `Whether it's an event to
help a neighbour going through
something traumatic or a group
pulling together to restore or
maintain some kind of community
facility, Huron County neighbours
step up."
Brian said that becomes apparent
with his time at 4-H, where, for 30
years, he has been involved in
getting Huron County Youth
plowing.
He said people are always willing
to lend land or equipment to help get
young people interested in plowing,
pointing to Jeff's son Jacob whose
plowing equipment has seen
extensive use since he went away to
school.
Brian said youth education and
involvement is something they really
want to push at the IPM and are
happy that 4-H will be involved both
locally, with junior plow day
happening as part of the event, and
nationally.
Jeff agreed, saying now, more than
ever, it's important to have young
people of all walks of life educated
in agricultural experiences. To that
end, all 40 committees are all
working together to focus on
education.
The two hope that, as they have
stepped back from plowing this year,
4-H inspires more people to
participate in the event, whether they
be former 4-H members or people
new to plowing the organization
stands to play a big role in the events
planned for September.
"We're working hard to make
plowing accessible," Jeff said. "We
think it will be great for people to
see that there, and to experience the
4-H shows at the Brussels Fall Fair
sites. It's going to provide the
Walton match some great
educational opportunities."
The Walton match will see some
changes made compared to previous
years, such as the inclusion of the
Brussels Fall Fair and several other
new events planned.
As far as the company's
involvement in the IPM, Brian and
Jeff explained the company will be a
gold sponsor of the event, and bring
Bruce County's famous Dancing
Tractors to the event, though they
said the red colour of the tractors
was something they had to address.
"We're going to have a blue tractor
in there," Jeff said with a laugh. "We
can't have all those red tractors
taking all the attention."
The company will also help where
needed, Brian, said, with donations,
both of cash and in-kind services,
already being made in helping the
shipping containers and equipment
being brought to Walton.
"We'll supply people and
equipment to get the job done,"
Brian said. "It's nice that it's close,
but it could be overwhelming.
Fortunately, our staff are great
people and we know they can handle
it."
While the Walton dealer will be
the closest farm implement dealer,
Brian said that all the dealerships in
the area have already pledged to help
out with equipment needed
throughout the match as
well as equipment to help with the
set up.
With the history, drive and
connections that the McGavins have,
they are the perfect family to be
pushing to make the 100th
International Plowing Match in
Walton this year a success.
A family affair
It isn't just plowing that runs in the McGavin family, as
winning at the agricultural activity seems to run in the blood
line. Starting with Gordon McGavin in 1926, the McGavins
have been winning awards at every level of competitive
plowing. Jacob, left, and his father Jeff McGavin, right, both
won Junior International Plowing Championships in 2009
and 1987, respectively. (File photo)
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