Westlock’s Canadian Tractor Museum has received long-term financial support from Rocky Mountain Equipment (RME) to the tune of $10,000 annually for the next five years.
Jim Wood, chief sales and operating officer for RME, who grew up in the Westlock area, said they’re happy to be able to be able to help the museum.
“The Canadian Tractor Museum seems to struggle. It’s just a bunch of volunteers,” said Wood from his office in Calgary.
“Annette (Schwab, administrator/secretary treasurer) is running it, and of course, she’s very good with grants. I look at it, and I go, you know, we sell a billion dollars worth of farm equipment in a year. We’re the largest in Canada, and probably one or two in the world.”
Westlock has one of 26 RME dealerships across Alberta.
“Especially in a community like Westlock, there’s such a tie between Rocky Mountain, or Martin Deerline, or companies like that and the equipment in the museums. And I’m always looking for something that can provide some good support in the communities. And of course, Westlock is close to me.”
He noted it’s fine to give the money, but they need to find something that’s sustainable fund raising.
“So what I said to Annette, I’ll give you $10,000 a year for the next five years and what I committed to do personally, I said I’m going to help you set up some sort of sustainable fundraising event we can do once a year and hopefully that’ll bring in, let’s say it’s another $20,000,” he said.
“In part of that, Rocky will donate $5,000 a year for the next three years just to get the fundraiser up and going.”
What that will be is a Black Tie Bingo event at the Memorial Hall June 22. Guests will experience an upscale evening of food and drinks, an auction, bingo, live music and dancing, plus the chance to win major prizes.
All proceeds raised will support the Canadian Tractor Museum’s mission to keep Alberta’s rich agricultural and equipment history alive for future generations.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are $60 each, or $600 for a table of 10 for $600 and available at the Canadian Tractor Museum’s Facebook page, or at the museum.
“Rocky’s marketing department is helping with the advertising and the tickets and the brochures,” said Wood, who’s offered to MC the event. “Our branch is very involved. Our girls at the branch have helped get some sponsorship and I’ve got some sponsorship. Businesses that we deal with in Westlock have been very supportive. Our competitors, like Martin Deerline and Extreme Kubota, have been very supportive of it. It’s really nice to see.”
He said he hopes this will be start of creating a fun event for the community.
“Hopefully we raise a bunch of money and it can just grow over time. Hopefully, it will be a major fundraising event for them every year that they’re not so desperate for money, or they can use for expansion plans.
“To me, it’s always been a museum; a storage spot for a lot of the tractors. But she’s renting out the facility to groups and it’s starting to be more of a utilized community facility than just a museum.
“Hopefully in Westlock and surrounding communities, we can somehow get more interest generated.”
The Canadian Tractor Museum opened in 2002, and honours Alberta’s farming history with more than 90 uniquely restored tractors, 30 stationary engines, and hundreds of toy tractors for kids. With a continuing growing collection, there’s always something new for visitors to experience.
