A Pain Court resident has been bumped up the ladder from volunteer to coordinator of the 2018 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM).
The major community event is a mere seven months away. To help oversee all the committees involved in the event, organizers have hired Allison Terfloth as coordinator.
"It's happening in my backyard. I live in Pain Court -- I can literally walk from my house to the actual site and I wanted to be involved in the community," says Terfloth. "[I wanted] to learn more about what the agricultural side of Chatham-Kent is."
2018 IPM Coordinator Allison Terfloth. February 22, 2018. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
Terfloth says her new position involves dabbing in several areas, which includes helping different committees in ensuring they have the necessary tools to do their tasks.
"It’s a huge undertaking. We’re basically creating a city for a five-day event -- and Terfloth will play a key role in its success,” says co-chair Darrin Canniff in a media release.
In the coming weeks, Terfloth says they're working on a video to present at an upcoming convention, they're also getting ready for a couple of farm shows, and a local sponsorship event in Chatham.
"[Since the IPM] is [seven] months away, there are some committees that are just getting ramped up," she says. "You can't put stakes in a frozen field so the infrastructure is just starting, but on paper, we've been working away for over a year."
The IPM will be held in Pain Court September 18-22. According to a media release, about 80,000 people are expected to attend.
Residents or organizations who would like to help are encouraged to attend a sponsorship event in Chatham on February 28. The information meeting will be held at Sons of Kent Brewing Company from 5pm-7pm.