Chatham-Kent Man Honored for His Committment

Malcolm MacPhail Honored for His Passion and Committment to Dresden Raceway in Chatham-Kent

I read a great article in Chatham This Week recently and I just wanted to give you my take on the events. Malcolm MacPhail, an 82 year old veteran of the Dresden Raceway was named first ever Inductee into the Dresden Raceway Hall of Fame. This man has a 42 year history with the track and his passion and love for community and Horse Racing led him to single handedly spur the rest of the owners to action.We have all heard the cliche "one man cannot make a difference" but Malcolms committment to the track and to the sport proved this wrong. It reminds me of a story, I am sure many of you have heard. " There was a boy wandering down the beach picking up starfish in the sand and throwing them back into the sea. A man came along and asked him what he was doing? The boy answered that he was throwing the starfish back into the sea so they would not die. The man said ' there are too many to even make a difference, Why bother? ' The boy replied as he threw one more starfish into the sea 'it makes a difference to that one!' Never under estimate the power of one person's committment.

If you remember my blog from Sept 16/2013, the future of the Dresden Raceway and the racing community looks a lot brighter this Labor Day than last year. This is in a large part due to MacPhails unwavering fight for its survival. At the writing of the blog last September, Winrac Development Inc., a Windsor based company that was managing the track at the time, were planning to close it and the future of the whole racing community was in jeopardy.

Apparantly, when the evacuation notice came through and the rest of the owners were moving their horses, one man refused to move, Malcolm MacPhail. Lucille Laprise, president of the Dresden Agricultural Society who have taken over the managing of the track, remembers the day well. Apparantly, the story goes that MacPhail stormed into her office and said something had to be done because he was not moving and they would have to get the sheriff in to get him out. He was determinged to put up a fight and his committment to the future of the track and the entire industry spurred other owners to make a stand as well. They did and this weekend is the end of a very successful season for the track. 11 races were scheduled, Everyone has worked hard This season has been very successul and a positive for the Dresden community as well as the Track. Plans are in the works to apply for more races for next year and everyone is greateful for one mans undying committment to this cause.

In today's society, it is so great to spotlight a man like Malcolm MacPail who is not afraid to fight for what he believes in and rally the troops for a good cause. There are many such people right here in Chatham-Kent, those unsung heros who go about their daily business of planning charity events and fundraising events for worthy causes. Those individuals who are just as busy as we all are but who somehow find the time to give. Chatham-Kent is a giving Community and one I am proud to live in. I was born and raise here and would not want to live anywhere else in the world. It is nice to travel but always nice to return to Chatham-Kent where my roots are! Chatham-Kent is the Affordable Lifestyle Comminity. It is the perfect location to live, work, raise a family, retire to, relocate to or purchase a vacation property. 'IT IS ALL HERE ALL YEAR' is my motto for Chatham-Kent. Call me Wayne Liddy 519-436-4810 Royal LePage Peifer Realty Inc. Brokerage for all you Real estate needs and visit my website for Events, Happening and Choice Properties for sale in this great community.