International Plowing Match bench fundraiser showcases local high school students’ woodworking skills

There’s an easy way to support the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) – just take a seat.

That is, buy a bench and then take it home with you.

Jeff Gill, operations manager for the local Home Building Centre, has been coordinating these efforts with the technical education departments of LCVI, Fenelon Falls Secondary School, I.E. Weldon Secondary School, and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School.

These students are handcrafting 50 custom made park benches, all of which can be purchased at $500 each with proceeds of the sales going to help offset the operational costs of the upcoming plowing match in October. All benches are being presold to members of the public, and most will be on display at the Lindsay Exhibition site during the IPM. It is expected that a number of the benches will be donated to local charities and senior living homes upon the conclusion of the IPM.

“Bob Armstrong, IPM chair, approached Home Hardware a few months back,” Gill said, “knowing that we already have a relationship with the local high schools and wondering if we could help out with the bench project. We enjoy being an active member of the community, and with the help of Koreen Roy at ITW Construction we decided to supply the material and fasteners for these 50 benches free of charge to the schools.”

Armstrong credited the plans and drawings being used for this project to last years IPM organizers in Dufferin County who built an identical bench. Gill said he was impressed with the bench plans, calling the blueprints “very intricate and ornate.” The work was split relatively evenly between the four schools with LCVI and Weldon offering to build 15 apiece, and St. Thomas and Fenelon building 10 each.

“Working with the IPM has been great,” Gill said. “We are a bronze partner and the exposure we have and will receive will be great. We want to grow our business organically and ethically. Working with kids on a project like this is the best part of the IPM for us.”

Gill said that Home Building Centre Lindsay had a long history of working with LCVI on many of their building projects, including the ice huts they built and sold this year.

“Youth were hit hard by COVID,” Gill said. “There has been a real disconnection for them. We love to see the energy they are putting into these projects. They are learning tangible life skills with an emphasis on attention to detail. It is a real privilege to work with these kids and help grow the next wave of tradespeople.”

Home Building Centre Lindsay has hired a number of the students they have met through their interactions with the various schools, and it is “really neat to see them build real things.” Gill has been particularly impressed with the commitment of the technical education teachers at the four schools involved who have given considerable time after hours to ensure the bench project reaches fruition.

Gill also said the bench project would not have been possible without the participation of recently retired Home Building Centre store manager Dan Hargrave who is acting as chair of bench production, Frank Geerlinks, dealer/co-owner of Home Building Centre Lindsay, who Gill said has a deep and active interest in the community his store serves, and Gord Masters from Masterview Farms who is providing storage for the final products while they await their new homes.

“The kids have learned real life skills,” Gill said. “These benches are spaceship intricate. They are beautiful and incredibly well built. They would look good on any deck or patio.”

“Frank put blind trust in me to run this project,” Gill said. “It has been an awesome opportunity for kids to embrace working with their hands.”

Individuals or businesses interested in purchasing one of these benches should contact Bob Armstrong at for more information.