The Canada West Equipment Dealers Association has named Duane Smith, a John Deere dealer from Swift Current, Sask., as its new president.
Smith represents Jay Dee Equipment, which operates dealerships in five towns in southwestern Saskatchewan. He was installed as president Friday at the group’s annual meeting in Edmonton, to replace Prince Albert, Sask. implement dealer Gord Thompson, who returns to the group’s executive as past president.
The association represents about 400 ag, industrial and
outdoor power equipment dealerships in Western Canada and is affiliated with
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New on the Canada West executive is Gerald Grandmont of Leo’s Sales and Service in Winnipeg, elected as the association’s second vice-president.
Representatives who are new to the board for 2008 include Alex Reschny of Douglas Lake Equipment, a New Holland dealership at Dawson Creek, B.C., and Cam Bode of South Country Equipment, a Deere dealership at Moose Jaw, Sask. Three other board members were re-elected for another two-year term each.
The association this year also honoured Tim Young of Young’s Equipment as its dealer of the year, winner of the Bill Lipsey Merit Award. Based in Regina, Young’s is a Case IH dealership selling farm, commercial and consumer equipment through five stores across southern Saskatchewan.
Young is a past director with the Canada West association and the current chairman of Iron Solutions, an online equipment marketing service run as a joint venture between NAEDA and its affiliate associations. The award also recognizes dealers’ community involvement and Young is well known for his work with Ranch Ehrlo, a residential treatment service for young people.
Iron Search
Also at the Canada West association meeting, Iron Solutions and Farm Business Communications, operators of this web site and the largest farm newspaper and magazine publisher in Canada, announced a development agreement for a “one-stop, combined print/Internet advertising option for farm equipment dealers in Western Canada.”
With this agreement, the two companies plan to beta-test a new system this year with five dealerships. The system would allow dealers to enter equipment for sale into Iron Solutions’ Iron Search system, setting up an online equipment listing as well as print advertising for Farm Business Communications’ retail advertising papers, The Big Dealer and Wheel and Deal.
The two companies expect to be able to offer the service to all dealers in Western Canada by the end of this year and are negotiating to set up a similar service in Eastern Canada as well.
