A family compact that represents a new era of agricultural production was singled out for special recognition last Thursday evening as the Estevan and area community paid tribute to the Ashworth family as the Farm Family of the Year.
The Ashworth Farm and Ranch may be located nearer to Weyburn, but the agricultural influence of the 15,000-acre operation spreads throughout southeast Saskatchewan and beyond.
Kelly and Janice Ashworth and their children Kyle, Owen, Brittany and Alexis have 11,000 acres of cropland for durum, spring wheat, winter wheat, canola, flax, peas and lentils and another 4,000 acres of pasture and hay land to serve their 300 head of purebred Simmental cows. The family corporation has also featured an annual spring bull sale for the past 11 years.
Michel Cyrenne, executive director of the Estevan Chamber of Commerce, the main co-ordinator of the annual Farmer Appreciation event, pointed out that the Ashworths were named Purebred Breeder for the Saskatchewan Simmental Association in 2012, and they were owners of the grand champion female and grand champion bull at the Manitoba Livestock Show with the same female also capturing the supreme champion title, and the bull calf on the pair went on to be their feature bull at the sale and turned out to be the high-selling red Simmental bull in Canada in 2013.
The Ashworths are founding members of Southland Pulse and founding members and shareholders of Long Creek Rail.
The family has also been engaged in the 4-H program as members of the Lomond 4-H Beef Club.
The children have been involved in the farm enterprise while completing their educational pursuits and degrees.
The Ashworths accepted the plaque of recognition from Estevan MLA Doreen Eagles.
The evening's program included even more though, with Olympic curling champion Joan McCusker delivering an entertaining and uplifting speech, explaining how a rural Saskatchewan upbringing can help you reach some lofty goals as it prepares you for almost anything you may encounter along life's highway.
The audience of 300 who were packed into the Days Inn Plaza for the banquet and program also heard three award-winning speeches from members of the Outram-Madigan 4-H Beef Club.
Alf Tide served as emcee for the evening that was put together by the C of C and the Estevan Exhibition Association.
In her address to the gathering, McCusker, who won the Olympic gold medal in 1998 in Nagano, Japan as second on the Sandra Schmirler curling team, regaled her audience with tales from the Olympic village as a participant and then more recently as a television and media commentator and consultant, including some of her work at the most recent Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Although Schmirler died not too long after the Olympic win, McCusker said she and the other members of that well-known Saskatchewan rink, Jan Betker and Marcie Guderit still get together often as do their children and Schmirler's two girls. In fact, they often end up curling together.
The gold medallist, who brought her Olympic medal to the banquet, said curling has come a long way in the ensuing 16 years, noting that instead of six or eight teams being capable of capturing the gold, there are now at least 16 real contenders at every world championship and Olympic competition.
Training for Olympic-level engagement means you develop a certain mental toughness that you take with you for the rest of your life, she said.
McCusker who still substitute teaches in Regina, is also often contracted to CBC TV and Sportsnet TV for curling commentary and analysis, and she does a lot of motivational speaking.
"Growing up in rural Saskatchewan helps you develop that no-panic thing," she told the Mercury, during a pre-dinner conversation.
"This year's Olympic champion, Jennifer Jones for example, knew how to handle the nervous tension, they found a team balance and went back to the heart of curling to win."
McCusker and her teammates captured three Canadian titles and three World Championships leading up to the Olympic highlight.
She said as they groomed their game they realized they had to become more than just curlers, they had to become elite-level athletes. "We had to view ourselves differently," she said. "We also found out that other elite athletes are just ordinary people, too."
She explained how they shared some coffee and good conversation about curling strategy and Canadian expectations of athletes who are favoured to win in their sport, with Wayne Gretzky while in Japan, as one example of the common bond that Canadians share no matter where they are found.
Growing up on a farm near Saltcoats surprisingly gave her some good groundwork to carry into high level curling games, McCusker said.
"The U.S. puts their elite athletes on pedestals and all their sins are forgiven. In Canada, we put them on a pedestal so we can have a good shot at them to bring them down," she said.
Since her competitive curling days are probably over, she said she has found the new era of broadcasting even more challenging with all the media platforms needing to be fed constantly. She said the Olympics are not only about athletics but also politics, no matter how we feel they should be portrayed.
The three young 4-H speakers who preceded McCusker provided some entertaining subjects and food for thought as well.
Cloverbud level member Kyra Drieger spoke about being prepared after being locked out of a house without a key, and Carlee Ross, a junior member, talked about sorting out problems with teachers while intermediate club speech winner Cassidy Ross paid tribute to civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
In wrapping up the night's program, Tide noted that next year's Farmer Appreciation event will be its 50th anniversary, so there will probably be some additional features to celebrate the event's longevity and past successes.
