Hello to all. 

I would just like to start off by inviting one and all to come and visit us in Forest this year for our 51st year of the Western Ontario Steam Threshers show.  We are proud to be the longest running show in Ontario and are still running strong.

I encourage everyone who is interested in bringing your  antiques/tractors/engines/vendor booths to our show to join a great club.  We have a whole new group of young directors and they are doing a wonderful job of getting things organized.  The membership has been very supportive and they are working right along with the directors in making some awesome decisions on how to better our show and our club.

Liz Hayward is in charge of the Ladies program and is introducing a talent show to the program this year.  One and all are invited to show off their talents on Friday night and so far the response has been very positive.  Liz is holding a fashion show featuring the wares of local businesses in the Forest area.  There will also be other activities going on in the Ladies building throughout the weekend.  Please stop in and enjoy the program!!

We are holding the Massey Harris - Ferguson line of tractors for the feature this year.  We are also going to be handing out a trophy for the best presented feature tractor, so everyone that has these make of tractors, get them shined up and ready to be displayed.   There will also be the regular activities going on in the infield throughout the weekend.  We are also planning on getting the kids involved in activities designed just for them.

On Friday of the show, we will be having a tractor caravan again.  The response from last year was just great and it was enough to encourage us to make it an anual event.  Plans seem to be leading towards a trek to the beach again as well.  From last year as well, we are going to continue with the people movers going uptown and dropping people off and picking them up so they can not only enjoy the show, but the town as well.  The Forest BIA has been a major help with this feature of the show and will be providing us with a local historian/commentator to accompany the people along the way.

One new thing that we are going to have this year is horses.  They played a big part in the heritage of our country and we are happy to have them participate in a show that celebrates heritage.  The owners will be providing rides in wagons being pulled by the horses on the grounds for the weekend.

In closing, I would just like to personally thank all the members, directors and anyone else who are making the effort, no matter how small, to help with the show.  I would also like to thank the sponsors that have graciously donated to our club to help keep the show going for our future tractor and steam engineer enthusiasts.

Sincerely,

Jason Searson
President