A family known for its extensive community involvement has been awarded the 2013 Farm Family of the Year Award.
Stan and Paula Lainton received the award Thursday night during the 48th annual Estevan Chamber of Commerce Farmers Appreciation Dinner at the Days Inn Plaza. The presentation of the award was the highlight of the evening which also featured speeches from Jim Reiter, the minister of Government Relations and David Marit, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
Coincidentally, Stan Lainton is heavily involved in the RM of Coalfields with 17 years as a council member including the last 14 as reeve.
In making the announcement of the award, Michel Cyrenne noted that Stan was raised on his family's farm north of Bienfait and after completing high school, began farming with his father while working in a handful of jobs including driving a school bus. That particular job led to him meeting Paula and they were married in 1977.
"They purchased two quarters of land from Stan's parents and started building a herd of Simmental cattle and started acquiring their own equipment," Cyrenne said.
The Laintons, who have three daughters and two sons, later took over the family farm when Stan's father passed away in 1990 and continue to run their thriving operation, which has grown to include 80 Simmental-Red Angus cross cows and just under 3,000 acres of land on which they grow wheat, canola, oats, barley, peas and flax.
Cyrenne also touched on the couple's extensive community involvement on a number of local boards and with their church. Aside from acting with local community theatre groups, Paula is also the treasurer for the Estevan Wildlife Federation and works as a substitute teacher.
Besides his work with the RM, Stan is also a director on the St. Joseph's Hospital Board, a director on the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation board, a member of the Southeast Health Committee, the area representative on the APAS board, a member of the steering committee for the agriculture health and safety network, a director of the Bienfait Curling Club board and a director on the Southeast RM Association board.
In accepting the award, Stan said the family is honoured to receive the award, describing the recognition as "beyond belief." He also paid tribute to his family, saying the farm would not be what it is without everyone's involvement.
"They have been a stone's throw away from a phone call when I need help, or something, all the time," he said. "When it comes to cattle and it is time to do work, we call it the family reunion at the head gate. Everybody gets out there."
Since learning they would be receiving the award, Stan said he has been reflecting on the many changes in agriculture, noting that technology has become a major factor in their operation.
"One day last spring I was sitting in the tractor letting things warm up before I started seeding and I looked around the tractor and I thought my dad hasn't been around since 1990 and boy, if he walked in that tractor today with that radio in there and the monitor and the GPS thing sitting there with the lights bleeping all over the place and the little box down there that has got four TV cameras hooked on to it, what would he think," Stan said.
"But you still gotta do it because you love to do it. The wages being paid out there for any other job are great and it's really easy to walk away and say 'I'm going to do that,' but if you love to farm that is where to be."
Touching on his community involvement, Stan paid tribute to his wife, noting that none of that would be possible without her.
"That could not have happened at all without her," he said.
The evening also included public speaking from four members of the Browning 4-H Club. Alexis Christenson, Keara Christenson, Angela Hookenson and Alaura Gress all spoke on a variety of topics, ranging from public speaking to health care.
