The Citizen, 2017-10-26, Page 34PAGE 34. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017.
booking back at QPM ,
IPM committee members name event a success
"We were fortunate to have a lot of
sponsors and volunteers to make it a
success," he said.
Brian said the attendance of Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau and his
family was also a big feather in the
IPM's cap, explaining his experience
as Trudeau's plowing coach for the
event.
"I had to tell him he was going to
start in reverse, but after that it was
fun," he said with a laugh. "He was
very personable, and had no issues
using a plow."
Trudeau's presence proved just
how strong the education component
of the event was, which pleased
organizers as being informative and
student -friendly was of paramount
importance for the organization.
"The connection between the
classroom and Trudeau was neat,"
Proof of concept
Having an educational experience for all ages was paramount for the International Plowing
Match and Rural Expo 2017 committee and little more proved the power of education than a
letter penned by Seaforth students bringing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the match.
Above, Trudeau was coached through plowing by Committee Administration Co-ordinator
Brian McGavin. (Fite photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
With the International Plowing
Match and Rural Expo (IPM)
moving from the rearview mirrors of
the public to the history books, The
Citizen took some time to reminisce
with members of the executive
and event committees about the
100th iteration of the agricultural
event.
As far as the specifics of the
match, Chair Jacquie Bishop said the
committee succeeded in putting on
the show they hoped for.
"We met our vision that we put in
place early on," she said. "We
wanted an entertaining and
educational IPM that all ages could
enjoy and I believe we achieved that
as there was diverse programming
that enticed people to come to the
match."
Administration Co-ordinator
Brian McGavin said the committee
could not have hoped for a better
turnout, better stories or better
memories than the match had
provided.
"We like to break records in Huron
County, but even we were surprised
with how every event was a success,"
he said. "People said we had the best
church service, the best media day,
the best opening ceremonies, the
best everything. It was gratifying
that what we did in Huron County
measured up to the standards we
have set."
He said the match was poised to
succeed from the start.
Looking back at IPM 2017
On January 12, 2017, I wrote a
piece for The Citizen to tell readers
and community members how we
were going to build momentum in
the months leading up to the
International Plowing Match
(IPM).
We decided we would highlight
the people, the families and the
community spirit behind the IPM.
What we did wasn't going to be
about which band was performing
when or which attraction was
happening when, it was going to cut
deeper and tell richer stories about
the motivation, hard work and care
being put in behind the scenes of
the IPM.
Since then, we've written 17
stories (the 18th is in this issue of
The Citizen) celebrating the people,
the families and the motivations
behind what will go down as one of
the most memorable events in
Huron County's history.
The stories of these men, women
and children (both alive and
remembered) were filled with
humour, dedication, commitment
and love, both for family members
and friends and for our community.
Some were sad (I have been told
that the story of the Ryan family is
quite a tearjerker), others were
funny (anything Townsend- or
McGavin-related usually is
accompanied by at least a few
chuckles, but all were fascinating.
On a very basic level, we do jobs
to be paid. In the old days, men
didn't hunt because they enjoyed it,
they hunted because they needed
the food. While many of us today
love our jobs, if there wasn't a
paycheque every second Friday, we
likely wouldn't do whatever it is we
do every day.
So, it was with that in mind that
we wanted to highlight the people
who worked so hard to make the
IPM a reality. There were no
paycheques, no bonuses and no
pensions. These people did what
they did because they wanted to
bring people to their home
community and show it off. They
wanted to make their community a
better place and that's why they did
what they did.
Chair Jacquie Bishop, for
example, became a touchstone for
many and a punching bag for
others. She did it with no pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow – just
the satisfaction that she was doing
right by her community.
To most, Bishop was the one at
the head of the IPM – someone
who was to thank when things went
well and to blame when they didn't.
What our stories tried to do,
however, was look beyond the
curtain.
Bishop was the chair, yes.
Moreover, she is an intelligent
professional, a daughter, mother
and wife. The McGavins sell
tractors and win plowing
championships, yes. However,
they're community champions
always willing to offer a joke or a
drink.
The Townsends bring young
women into the Queen of the
Furrow competition through the
Princess program and put tires on
cars, but they're caring, emotional
people who value family over all
else.
Those behind the Brussels Fall
Fair – the Cardiffs, Nicole Noble,
Brian Schlosser, Leona Armstrong,
among others – all worked so hard
to make this a reality not because
there would be recognition, but to
keep tradition alive.
And those young people in charge
of the Huron County 4-H Club and
its tent, they're good-natured, polite
and smart kids who wanted to have
fun at the IPM, but more than that,
wanted others to have fun at the
IPM and learn all that's great about
Huron County. They spent their free
nights and weekends to make it
happen.
Under every volunteer's shirt
beats a warm, loving heart, and
therein lie the stories we tried to
tell. Thanks to those who let us into
their homes, farms, businesses and
trusted us to tell their stories. We
hope we did them justice.
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Brian said. "We wanted a good
education component and, with
those little children sending him an
Continued on page 35
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