| The Ottawa Valley Seed Growers Association has decided to sponsor the nomination of the late
Barclay Dick to the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Cost of the sponsorship recommended by honorary association director and hall of fame member Garnet Ralph is $700. Ralph spent the past several months working with the Dick family of Renfrew County to prepare comprehensive paperwork in support of the nomination. At a recent meeting, several directors agreed Dick’s extensive accomplishments in the agricultural field warranted inclusion in the hall of fame. Those accomplishments include service with the OVSGA going back to president during the 1950s when he was instrumental in consolidating the annual seed show at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. There it grew into the Ottawa Valley Farm Show featuring more than 300 exhibitors. In 2007, the association will celebrate its 80th anniversary, with the next farm show to be held March 13-15. Current hall of fame nominations close Oct. 31. Successful candidates will be known early in the New Year and inducted next June at Country Heritage Park, Milton. Barclay Dick was born in 1912 and died in 1991. What began as a 100-acre farm in 1936 is now a 3,000-acre cutting edge operation managed by the Dick family. As Ralph recalled, over his career the nominee became known across Ontario as a teacher, mentor and pioneer in the production of pedigreed seed. Noting that members of the Eastern Ontario agricultural sector don’t always get the recognition they deserve, Ralph said Dick is as accomplished as anyone ever selected for the hall of fame. Eastern Ontario individuals and organizations have to be more conscientious in backing inductees from the region, he added. The OVSGA has supported several other nominees in the past. In other business, directors discussed holding a seed judging workshop and adding a sheaves of grain class to the annual seed show as proposed by director Jim Arbuckle. They also established committees to prepare the 2007 farm show. At the OVSGA annual meeting held over the summer, directors reappointed Mary Joynt, secretary-treasurer, and Tom Van Dusen, general manager, to oversee the 80th anniversary show. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tom Van Dusen, 613-445-3407 |
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| October 23, 2006 |
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| OVSGA BACKS BARCLAY DICK FOR HALL OF FAME |
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