A fund created in the spirit of volunteers who helped Lambton County host the 1991 International Plowing Match has awarded three $2,000 scholarships to local post-secondary students.
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Tecla Gerrits of Enniskillen Township, Aimee MacKinlay of Plympton-Wyoming and Emma Ouellette of St. Clair Township are this year’s recipients of scholarships funded by local proceeds from the 1991 plowing match.
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“The trustees were impressed with the quality of the applications,” the scholarship fund said in a news release.
Gerrits, a graduate of Lambton Central Collegiate, is studying nursing at Brock University and active in school, sports and community activities, including mentoring children and working with seniors.
MacKinlay, a graduate of North Lambton Secondary School, is studying marketing at Fanshawe College and is active in music as a member of the band, The MacKinlays, as well as sports and community activities, including volunteering at Kaeden Brown Foundation events.
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Ouelette, a graduate of Wallaceburg District Secondary School, is studying business at Western University. She volunteers at the Bridgen Fair, serving on its board and as its fair ambassador, and was an active student leader in high school.
Scholarship recipients must be in their second year of post-secondary studies. The award is based on community involvement, academic record and financial need.
The 1991 International Plowing Match welcomed more than 90,000 visitors over several days to the massive farm show and plowing competition hosted by a group of local volunteers near Petrolia.
Organizers in Lambton decided not to follow the typical pattern where local committee members received modest per diems from local profits the event earned, with the rest going to charity.
Instead, with encouragement from plowing match chairperson, the late Leonard McNeil, the Lambton volunteers decided to put the local profit into the scholarship fund after using a little bit of cash to hold a roast beef supper to thank everyone who helped.
More than $100,000 was placed in the scholarship fund which has since awarded more than 100 scholarships, typically announced each year during the Thanksgiving weekend at Bridgen Fair.
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