The Citizen, 2017-10-26, Page 36PAGE 36. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017.
Looking back at IPM.'J
Weather, cancellation probes Huron's resilience
Where it all started
The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM)
wouldn't be around if it weren't for the primary activity of the
event: plowing. Paul Dodds, one of the co-ordinators for
plowing at the event said that dealing with the plowmen was
one of the easier tasks at the event in his opinion. He also
said that, despite the rain, plowing only lost one day of
activity whereas other aspects of the event were cancelled
both Tuesday and Wednesday. Dodds, a former national
champion, is shown above in the fields trying to recapture
that title during the match. (File photo)
Continued from page 35
their roots and wanting to be a part
of it was amazing."
PLOWING
Plowing co-ordinators Jeff
McGavin and Paul Dodds both said
the event was well attended.
Dodds handled the on -the -ground
plowing issues while Jeff had been
involved in lining up the lands to
host the plowing, arguably the most
important part of the event.
Dodds said that, once the tractors
were on the fields, the event was a
huge success.
"We had quite a good
competition," he said.
"Unfortunately, like everything else,
we lost a day due to the weather, but,
by the time we recovered, we carried
on just like nothing had happened"
Dodds said the land was set up
well to plow and the facilities that
hosted the plowmen left them happy
to handle that. He said that, like
many of the other plowmen, once he
was on his tractor, everything else
faded to the background.
Jeff agreed, saying that, aside
from an odd stone that was found,
the plowing ran smoothly. He said,
by the time the plows hit the field,
Dodds had `grabbed the reigns' of
the event and Jeff was back helping
out in tented city.
RV PARK
Matt Townsend was in charge of
the RV park and, with all but nine of
the 1,092 serviced sites at the park
used, he said it was a great success.
"On top of the serviced sites, we
had several hundred unserviced sites
used as well," he said. "It exceeded
all expectations."
The weather proved problematic,
Townsend said, but, with the back-
up plans the IPM committee and
volunteers had in place, they were
able to mitigate most of the
problems.
"We kept the tenants happy and
entertained and, with infrastructure
planning, we were prepared to
recover quickly from the rain," he
said. "We prepared for the worst and
hoped for the best and worked out
everything in between."
Townsend pointed to a brief power
outage as an example of how quickly
and efficiently back-up plans for the
site were pulled off, saying, at one
point, low -hanging power lines were
pulled down, resulting in an outage
for the park.
"Within two hours, Hydro One,
Paul Cook and Maple Hill Electric
were on site working and had the
service back on," he said.
Townsend said he didn't run into
many surprises and attributed that to
his time helping his father George in
1999 when he was in charge of the
RV park at the Dashwood match.
"As a matter of fact, one of the
practices my father implemented,
the staging lanes for RVs, is still
being used today and helps expedite
the check-in process," Townsend
said. "At one point we had 24 ATVs
and golf carts moving RVs into their
parking spots throughout the park.
Traffic back-up was kept to a
minimum according to Townsend
who said the volunteers were
awesome at keeping the process
moving. He said the park would not
have been as successful without
them.
ENTERTAINMENT
Entertainment for the show went
rain or shine under coordinator
Sherry McCall and, because of that,
there was always something to see or
do for people who were at the
grounds.
"I would say it was quite
successful," she said. "The
entertainers did well and we had
great comments about the Mudmen,
George Canyon, the Leahys, the
Ballaghs and all the local
entertainers."
While the weather did have an
impact on the entertainment, McCall
said the performers could be
dampened, but their desire to
perform couldn't be.
"It went from rain to heat and that
did have an impact on what people
saw, but everyone was still happy to
perform," she said. "Those that did
come and see the shows were
happy."
On Wednesday, when other events
were cancelled or moved off-site,
entertainment at the Tented City was
moved into the RV park, a change
that was appreciated by performers
and audiences alike.
"Being in the RV park made for a
very successful day," McCall said.
"We started at 9:30 a.m. and had
entertainment until midnight.
Everything except the Huron County
variety show went in the park."
She said the volunteers made that
work more than anyone else.
"We had a green room, a trailer as
a changing room and volunteers just
scrambled to get that set up," she
said. "They were second -to -none in
making that happen and we could
not have done it without them."
McCall also penned the IPM song
"Because We're Farmers" and said it
was great to hear it at the show so
often.
"I'm really proud of that song,"
she said. "Every time [Amanda
McClure, Isaiah. Sills, and Jack
Storey] performed it at the show it
warmed my heart. They put their
best foot forward and it paid off. It
was well received."
She said the trio received a
standing ovation every time they
sang the song at the match and it
showed the support of everyone.
CANCELLATION
While each person interviewed
lamented the cancellation of the IPM
on Wednesday, Sept. 20 and the hot
weather of the weekend that
followed, the extreme weather had
an unexpected side effect — showing
the world what Huron County is
made of.
"We could have had some better
weather, but, with any outdoor event,
you have to realize you can't control
the weather," Godkin said. "What
we did try was to be really flexible
and everyone in Huron County rose
to the occasion. I think that adverse
weather created more of a close-knit
volunteer community. People really
rose to the occasion.
"People said, 'This is the hand
we've been dealt? No problem, we
can handle this and make it work,"'
she said.
Other committee chairs felt the
same way, including Brian.
"I was really happy with the way
the whole IPM went, but, naturally,
after Tuesday night, it felt like
someone had kicked me in the
stomach," he said. "We worked for
more than four years and then that
happens. However, that was when
we began to see the resolve of
everyone involved. It really
galvanized the county and showed
how we help one another."
Brian said Huron County's true
nature shone through not only
through helping with the
cancellation but also throughout
the match as many of the comments
he heard were about how
everyone was so helpful.
"If that's the legacy we want to
build and leave, it's a nice one to
have," he said.
Veldman said she "saw the bright
light" after all the darkness that the
rain caused.
"The match was still supported,"
she said. "There were a ton of people
for the first day and the last three
days had a lot of people there to
make up for the cancellation.
Everyone worked together and
rearranged so much of the event and
it worked."
She said that, with such an event,
re -arranging it wasn't easy, but the
volunteers made it happen through
moving some events off-site and
working with those in attendance
whenever they could.
GOING FORWARD
As for whether the committee
would be involved in the next match,
the answers ranged from "yes" to
"no" to "definitely" to "ask me again
in 20 years" (representing the
approximate time between plowing
matches in the county).
Dodds said if he was asked in 20
years, he might say yes.
"The parts that I had to deal with,
the plowmen and the plowing fields,
are pretty easy to deal with," he said.
"The volunteers dealing with the
tented city and the general public
probably had more of a varied
experience."
Godkin said she wouldn't take the
mantle of secretary again, but she
would be involved.
"Would I be secretary again? No,
but I might be the Queen Mom or the
Queen Grandma," she said with a
laugh, referencing the woman who
helps the Queens through the
competition. "I'll be the Queen
Grandma 20 years from now, or
maybe I could be a senator like my
father was this year. Brian McGavin,
Jeff McGavin, my brother Paul and
I, and the rest of the executive could
be the senators for the next Huron
IPM"
McCall said she would be happy
to volunteer at a future match,
though she would look for
something different than
entertainment.
As for Brian, he said he would
likely be involved, but not at the
same level.
"Our family would definitely want
to help out," he said. "If we had a
few years to breathe before the next
one, that would be good, but we
would want to help out"
Brian explained that hosting an
event that was a success was a
"bucket list" item for his brother and
they couldn't have hoped for a better
match.
Jeff agreed, saying that he
is sure his family will be
recharged by then and ready to help
out where needed
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