Plowing match attendance higher than in previous year, county council told
By ANDREW PHILIPS, Barrie Examiner
The final tallies are in and last year’s international plowing match in Simcoe County seems to have created the desired economic impact.
Cal Madill, chairman of the 2014 International Plowing Match held last September in Ivy, recently told county councillors the event met virtually all of the organizers’ goals in terms of attendance and visitor satisfaction.
“I sincerely believe we created a favourable and lasting impression of Simcoe County and all it has to offer,” Madill said, noting the event boasted attendance of close to 73,000, a figure he said represents an 8.5% increase over the previous year’s incarnation.
Armed with a report prepared by a Toronto research firm, Madill said the plowing match’s total economic impact for the county and province is estimated at $10 million.
“There was the equivalent of 61 full-year jobs supported by the event,” he said, adding the event also generated more than $3 million in tax revenue for the province and county.
Madill said more than half of all attendees came to Simcoe County from more than 100 kilometres away.
“The saturation of television and radio advertising in southern Ontario was noted by many of those people surveyed,” he added.
Madill, who noted the event resulted in a profit of $100,000, credited the previous county council with providing $100,000 in seed money to ensure the event’s success from the get-go.
He asked council if they would consider giving 40% of that funding, which was in the form of a loan and will be returned to county coffers, to the volunteer groups that helped ensure the match’s overall success.
“The remaining 60% would be allocated for the greater good to the hospices and community food banks in Simcoe County on behalf of the plowing match volunteers and the County of Simcoe,” Madill said.
But Oro-Medonte Deputy Mayor Ralph Hough pointed out the money belongs to area taxpayers and that the county already supports many of the organizations Madill suggested.
Springwater Township Mayor Bill French, meanwhile, wondered whether the $100,000 could be allocated towards the “agricultural community.”
In the end, councillors voted to have staff determine the best course of action for the returning money.
How convenient that the net profit equaled the $100,000 fronted by the County. Thousands of volunteer hours were put in by numerous charitable groups for nothing. Smells worse than manure.