HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-01-19, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012. PAGE 19.
God works through us
to build his church
Brussels Livestock welcomes new owners
Mark and Cindy Ferraro of Mount
Forest recently bought the Brussels
Livestock auction yard and have
been amazed at how friendly the
community has been to them.
“It’s been just overwhelming how
welcoming everyone is,” Cindy said.
“I grew up and farmed and was
educated in Georgetown but I have
to admit I didn’t know most of my
neighbours,” Mark said. “But here
it’s totally different, everyone’s so
friendly and ready to help out.”
The couple agreed that the
community has made the move here
very comfortable.
The Ferraros are relatively new to
the auction game, having been
paired up with the business when
they purchased the Talbotville
Auction in a search for a new
location for Mark’s farm equipment
business Hill Valley Equipment
Limited.
Development was expanding in
Georgetown to the point where the
Ferraros sold their family farm to
developers and one of the two Hill
Valley Equipment retail locations
was only two kilometres down the
road.
“We saw the option to buy the
Talbotville yard and figured it would
be a good fit to run the auction and
sell farm equipment there,” Mark
said.
From there it was a matter of
several degrees of separation from
the Ferraros to the former owner of
the Brussels Livestock yard LenGamble.“When I purchased Talbotville and
got settled in a neighbour of ours
said that there was another yard we
may be interested in,” Mark said.
“He was a mutual friend of Len’s
and told us that he wanted to pass it
on properly to someone who would
continue the business.”
Mark said that from there, the two
of them got together and the rest was
history.
“We didn’t go looking to expand
to the new yard but it made sense,”
he said.
Brussels is a huge operation
compared to Talbotville, according
to Mark, who said that the one sale
day there doesn’t compare to the
business of the three sale days in
Brussels, but both have their charm.
“Both of the yards have incredibly
great staff,” he said.
“They have a great family at both
locations,” Cindy said. “They have
been more than willing to invite us
in.”
Mark said that while Talbotville
isn’t as large as Brussels, it is a great
facility with some newer buildings.
He also said that while he has
already sold some equipment at the
Brussels yard simply through people
knowing he is a vendor, the
equipment business won’t be at the
yard any time soon.
“We may look at that in the future,
but really there won’t be many
changes happening in the immediate
future,” Mark said. “We want to take
Len’s work and keep it strong. The
goal here is to maintain the great site
that’s already here.”
The couple is used to busy work
weeks with their current business, so
working at two different locations
won’t be a huge shift for them, butmeeting everyone and learning aboutthem has been a bit of a challenge
according to Mark.
“It’s an adjustment remembering
new names and putting them to
faces,” he said. “No one has taken
offense if I got it wrong, which is
great. Everyone around here is very
friendly.”
If anyone can make that comment,
it’s Mark, since he spent a good
chunk of time driving the back roads
of the Brussels area and introducing
himself to farmers.
He said that, aside from the warm
welcome, he has also been invited to
participate in local agricultural-
focused groups and meetings.
“I was invited to the Huron
County Beef Producers annual
general meeting that was held at the
Brussels Legion and the local sheep
producers asked me to come and
meet with them,” he said.
The sheep producers apparently
have some concerns with the
existing facilities and want to see
some improvements done and Mark
was more than happy to listen to
them.
“I want to try and maintain and
improve the facilities so that
everyone can use them to their
fullest,” he said.
The Ferraros recently moved to
Mount Forest to be closer to the
Brussels yard. They live on a farm
where they will be growing hay to
help provide it for the yards.
“We had an issue with hay this
year at the yards so we’ll be growing
it to have on hand,” he said.
Anyone interested in finding out
about the Ferraros can drop by the
Brussels Livestock yard or call 519-
887-6461.
Continued from page 13
anything takes a lot of resources,
time, and effort. But remember, that
while change is incremental and
exponential, fruitfulness is the
consequence of dutiful doggedness
over a lifetime! Never really
knowing if our persistence in change
is made or doggedness realized! And
bear in mind this fact, you don’t
need to be big or have an abundance
of resources!
A father is in church with three of
his young children, including his
five-year-old daughter. As was
customary, he sat in the very front
row so that the children could
properly witness the service. During
this particular service, the minister
was performing the baptism of a tiny
infant. The little five-year-old girl
was taken by this, observing that he
was saying something and pouring
water over the infant’s head. With a
quizzical look on her face, the little
girl turned to her father and asked:
“Daddy, why is he brainwashing that
baby?”
In a very real sense, the concept of
our baptism, places each of us in a
committed, connected, called life!
This called life begs the question:
Do you or I see where God might be
calling us to act? This connected life
requires us to let go of those things
that have outlived their usefulness!
Our commitment to one another
calls us to see where we might meet
at more times and in more places! In
our culture today we need vital,
biblical and faithful churches that
are distinctively Christ-like,
kingdom and life-oriented.
In the meantime “Don’t Worry; Be
Happy,” knowing that God is
working through each of our efforts
to build his church! Amen!Graduation
Heather Elliott, RN BScN, MSN
graduated from the Masters in
Nursing Program from the Trinity
Western University of British
Columbia at a convocation
ceremony in B.C. on November 5,
2011. Heather has been working
towards her Masters degree for
two years, with the completion of
her thesis, "The Marketed Image of
Nursing to Prospective Students of
Canadian Baccalaureate Nursing
Programs". Heather has taken on
a new position with the Elisabeth
Bruyere Hospital in Ottawa as an
Advanced Practice Nurse in
Palliative Care. Heather has also
taken on a position as a Research
Assistant with the Initiative for a
Palliative Approach in Nursing: Evidence and Leadership (iPanel)
team through the Trinity Western University. Heather has been
currently practicing in Ottawa for two years. One day, Heather hopes
to bring her passion for palliative care and her love for rural
communities together. Attending the graduation ceremony, were her
parents, Rick and Anne Elliott, and her grandmother, Gwen Lavis.
Congratulations Heather on all your accomplishments. We wish you
continued success! Love your family.
60th Birthday
Open House
for Herb Shannon
Please join us
at the Auburn Hall
Saturday,
January 21
2-4 pm
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Under new management
Cindy and Mark Ferraro recently purchased the Brussels Livestock yard nearly a year after
purchasing the Talbotville Livestock Exchange. While the yard is under new management,
don’t be looking for any changes. The Ferraros want to run the same business that former
owner Len Gamble did, building on his hard work. (Denny Scott photo)
BUY? SELL?
TRY CLASSIFIED