HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-01-04, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2018. PAGE 11.
Difficult decisions, friendships mark IPM year
A standing ovation
Chair Jacquie Bishop was recognized with a standing ovation at September's International
Plowing Match for her hard work, patience and perseverance throughout a difficult five days
(and five years before that). She says that while it was a challenging time, it was all worth it
when those in the county see the results. (File photo)
Continued from page 10
a new initiative that will leave a
lasting legacy in the community and
each one has a story behind the
design.
• Quilt Competition: Passionate
quilters planned and executed a quilt
block challenge, assembled the
blocks into beautiful treasures,
hosted a well -attended quilt show
and had a beautiful show at the IPM.
• Beautification Competition:
This committee ignited individuals,
towns and businesses to put time,
effort and creativity into beautifying,
celebrating and pointing the
direction to Walton.
• "Because We are Farmers"
song: The song written by Sherry
McCall and performed by Jack
Story, Amanda McClure and Isaiah
Sills, was well received and all the
local entertainers who shared their
talents on the seven different stages
were a success.
• Engaging youth: Co-op
students, Emma Baan and Julia Van
Nes; summer students, Janelle
Shapton, Emily Terpstra and Brad
Vincent got hands-on experiences
and inside knowledge of what it
takes to host an event of this
magnitude. High school students
proudly built the benches.
• Volunteer Tuesday, Sponsor-
ship Wednesday, Throwback
Thursday and Feature Friday:
These days all helped us highlight
the volunteers and businesses who
were our partners, appreciate the
past and excite people about what
we had in store for them at the
match.
• Tireless Volunteers: The
dedicated team behind tented city
led by Gerry Wheeler, Frank
Stretton and Jeff McGavin and RV
Park Chair Matt Townsend and
Plowing Co-ordinator Paul dodds
started work on-site mid-July with a
clear, organized plan in place and
they never let their foot off the gas
until the containers were repacked
and shipped off to IPM 2018. Many
key volunteers supported them along
the way and worked towards
achieving the vision and have
reported back that they are going
through withdrawal as they enjoyed
the team atmosphere.
• Landscape committee: This
group bonded together in the Field
of Plenty at Cranbrook Farms while
tending to the sunflowers and
pumpkins which then elevated the
level of landscaping and made the
site beautiful. Sixty-six painted
doors that were painted by
community partners decorated the
hydro poles were an added
appreciated feature.
• Brussels Fall Fair: Moving the
fair to the match was a great success.
• Great signage, traffic, parking,
steppers and greeters, wagons and
information booths: These people
all set the mood for attendees, going
above and beyond to greet and
welcome and direct. Reports back all
compliment our over 2,000
volunteers.
• Special Attractions: Pro-
gramming on lifestyles stage, main
stage, CKNX Event Centre, Walton
Square, Dodge Ram Rodeo, antiques
working and static displays, lounge,
Brussels Fair, RV Park stage, all
had something for everyone that
brought in a diverse group of people.
There had been many discussions to
figure out this key component. This
group did an amazing job.
• Exhibitor space: was sold -out
with exhibitors reporting they
achieved success with sales and
exposure to all attendees.
• Gates: Celebrating Huron
County's IPMs was appreciated by
visitors.
• Tractor and Horse Plowing:
Over 200 competitors who had
great Huron County soil to compete
on.
• Accessibility: Charlene O'Reilly
and her committee set new levels for
inclusion and was well received.
• Youth Opportunities: We held
the first-ever Ontario Princess of the
Strong women
Kailey Donaldson of Halton County, left, was crowned the
2017 Ontario Queen of the Furrow in September in
Brussels. She was crowned by outgoing Queen Anita
Rastapkevicius on a night that truly celebrated strong,
innovative women in the world of agriculture. (File photo)
Furrow Competition and the first-
ever 4-H Invitational Show. Then
there were the Huron County
4-H Match Club, Sodbusters
competition, Queen of the Furrow
competition, soil documentary
competition, school banners
displayed and incredible education
curriculum for all children.
• Special Guests: Prime Minister
of Canada Justin Trudeau and
family, Premier of Ontario Kathleen
Wynne as well as all other provincial
leaders and MPPs were all
welcomed to Walton.
• Friendships: While making
lunches, while preparing for the
worship service, while practising to
entertain on stage, while meeting
every morning to determine who
drives which tractor, who greets in
what field and to every other
committee or stakeholder, new
lifelong friendships were made.
Challenges experienced that
evolved into successes:
• Tents not erected in time:
Sanitation Chair Ben Driscoll led a
group of committee members to
assist so the match could open on
time.
• The rains came: Because of
safety reasons, the parade that Lori
and Gary Pipe and committee
members had planned had to be
cancelled. The politician wagons
proceeded to main stage with MPPs
enjoying dancing in the rain. At that
point, what else could you do?
• The rains came again: After
countless vehicles got pulled out of
the field on Tuesday, 25 volunteers
stood with their heads down kicking
the mud on Tuesday evening. With
heavy hearts after years of planning,
we knew the decision had to be
made to close, the site which
affected thousands of stakeholders.
Everyone banded together and the
word got out. Resources were
offered and people volunteered to do
whatever needed to be done to get
the grounds ready for Thursday. Re-
jigging all the puzzle pieces was a
huge undertaking, but everyone rose
to the occasion and it happened.
Comradery and working towards a
common goal was impressive to
witness. Local businesses
experienced a surge in sales on
Wednesday. The Blyth Festival
hosted a well -attended matinee.
Entertainment planned for tented
city was rescheduled to the RV Park
for all residents to enjoy. We did
what we could to accommodate all
stakeholders, but I believe we gained
respect by doing the right thing for
our landowners and with the safety
concerns that were present.
• Then, the heat came: Our
resources allowed us to access extra
water to get on site and it became a
focus for all of our volunteers to
watch for and help prevent
dehydration. Many attendees have
since expressed their thanks for that
complimentary bottle of water that
they badly needed. Our EMS team
provided stellar service.
As I reflect on 2017, it is apparent
that to host a successful IPM, it takes
the parent organization of the
Ontario Plowman's Association, all
levels of government, community -
minded businesses and a broad
group of engaged passionate people
that can lead, have a vision and roll
with the punches when challenges
present themselves. Smiles seen on
all stakeholders and attendees' faces
while they are covered in mud,
showing their calf in the alumni
competition, pedalling in the tractor
pull at Brussels Fair, plowing at their
first match, dancing in the lounge to
the Mudmen or enjoying country
music star George Canyon have
given us the satisfaction that we
were looking for this whole time.
I was given this priceless gift to
lead the IPM team. Its value is
unmeasurable. Like everyone else on
the different committees, my
personal, business and family life
took a back seat but just like
everyone on the IPM team, we knew
we only had one chance to create
this legacy and we were determined
to make it happen and create a
success and we did. It was a once-
in-a-lifetime experience of which I
am "Huron County Proud" to have
been a part.
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