By Chris Tataryn
Journal/Brandon


Pat and Owen Beever have been an integral part of the Ag Days trade show for many years, with Owen being involved since nearly the inception of the show and the pair managing the show for more than a decade. But now, after years of service, the pair is stepping down from their role as Show Managers after this year's event.
“We're past our ‘best before date',” joked Pat.
“There are other things we want to do now that we are retiring. Ag Days is a big time commitment; it keeps us busy from August until after the show is over every year. We want to spend some time travelling and visiting family now, and we know that our replacement is going to be excellent.”
While the replacement won't be announced until the show kicks off this week, both Pat and Owen are very confident that whoever it is will do an amazing job.
“The Board of Directors is an excellent group of very committed people,” said Pat.
“We call them fearless. They are not afraid to change and progress and we are sure they are making a great decision with our replacement.”
Owen Beever has been involved with Ag Days since the beginning, back in 1978 when it was still called the Manitoba Wheat Fair. Although at the time of inception he was only helping with random tasks, when the fair moved into Brandon in 1980 he found himself in the organizing group due to his work with Manitoba Agriculture.
“It kind of fell into my lap,” said Owen.
“I never had any idea back then that it would still be around, and I definitely would not have thought it would be anything like it is now. While some of the faces and names have changed over the years, the attitude and approach has stayed the same. It's an optimistic group of people, always wanting to move ahead.”
One of the Beever's proudest accomplishments over the past decade is being able to aid Ag Days in its growth.
“It's grown so much over the last decade,” said Pat.
“It's grown to the point that we have exhibitors on a lengthy waiting list, and demand just continues to grow.”
While the show continues to succeed, it certainly is not easy to organize, and according to Pat it's always hectic at this time of year.
“It's always a challenge. It takes a lot of planning and organizing to get everything moved into the Keystone and set up where it belongs,” said Pat.
“The day before move-in is always such a crazy day, there is so much going on. But that just makes our favourite time, opening day at 7 a.m., that much more awesome. Being able to walk in and see the carpet all laid down, all the booths are set up, the equipment is all in...It makes you feel really good to see what has been accomplished.”
While the Beevers are happy with how they've helped the show develop, they have no intention of continuing to work with it next year.
“We won't be involved at all anymore. Our plan is to be somewhere warm once the show starts next year,” laughed Pat.
“While we are proud of what we've done, it's time for someone else to take over. And the show is in such good hands that it will just keep getting better.”
“You don't get a lot of Boards that you work with and come away from meetings thinking ‘that was fun',” said Owen.
“And the exhibitors themselves are fantastic. We really can't say enough good things about all the people we work with to make this happen, and I'm confident that the show will keep growing and getting better every year.”
“We appreciate the opportunity we've had to be a part of Ag Days, it's something that has been really enjoyable,” agree the Beevers.
“We're glad to leave it in such good hands for the upcoming years.”