A Pain Court company announced it will be the main stage sponsor for the 2018 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo.
PRIDE Seeds is contributing $30,000 to the event, as well as a $7,000 donation towards on-site stake placement for the RV park. The cheque presentation was held at the Central Tavern in Pain Court Wednesday evening.
PRIDE Seeds Vice-President of Sales and Marketing Doug Alderman says most of the money will go towards sponsoring the main stage, which is being known as the 'PRIDE Seeds Stage' at the plowing match.
"The stage is really where everything is going to come together and a lot of the events are going to happen and circle around," explains Alderman. "That was part of our sponsorship, as well as some of the signage and so on for parking areas."
Alderman says the plowing match, which will be held in Pain Court from September 18-22, is such a great opportunity to showcase the Chatham-Kent community to the thousands of guests who will be attending.
"We're very excited to sponsor the International Plowing Match, but more importantly, it's about sponsoring our community and really giving back," he says.
PRIDE Seeds, which is one of the three largest seed corn companies in Canada, has a history dating back to the 1930s and has been evolving ever since. The company relies on a number of local growers to grow the seed, which is processed in Chatham-Kent and shipped across the country.
"We've tried to keep the tradition of family and corporate sponsorship and community sponsorship back here where our roots began," says Alderman.
According to Alderman, PRIDE Seeds is hoping to do tours of its seed corn production during the event as an educational experience for the public to learn more about where the seeds come from.
Jean Marie Laprise, IPM executive committee member and land coordinator for the event, says the sponsorship is such great news.
"We're very proud to have PRIDE come on board," he says. "They're a local company -- really a pillar of society as far as we're concerned in this community for the past 75 years."
Laprise says any net proceeds that come out of the event will go right back to the community.
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