This is a short note to acknowledge the good deeds for Eastern Ontario agriculture of two often unsung organizations despite setbacks, limited volunteers, and the time and work involved.

First, the Kemptville College Alumni Association continues to soldier on in the face of adversity – some might say hopelessness – trying to maintain the memory of the venerable institution which would have been 100 years old this year. However, three years ago it was declared expendable by the University of Guelph.

Already described in previous issues, the association is establishing a centre on the Lombardy Fairgrounds to store college artifacts that would have ended up in the dumpster. In its latest announcement, it’s offering two $500 scholarships even though Kemptville College is no more.

Instead, the scholarships will go to unspecified college or university students currently enrolled in their second year of study in an agriculture or food-related program, with a relative that’s a graduate of Kemptville College. That proviso opens the doors to many applicants.

The application form can be accessed at www.kcalumni.ca; there’s a question section regarding the student’s activities and responsibilities, and a 250-page essay must be submitted. Application deadline is next Jan. 8.

Down for the count, the alumni association could have stayed on the mat. Instead, it pulled itself up and remains a force for good across the region. The same can be said for the Plowing Fore a Cure Project which has rebounded more than once to continue delivering cash for cancer research.

Plowing Fore A Cure efforts have also been extensively covered in these pages over the 14 years the group has been active, an offshoot of the 2001 International Plowing Match at Navan. On Oct. 16 at Anderson Links Golf Club, group members handed over its latest contribution, $16,000 in proceeds from its 2017 golf tournament. The money will go towards purchase of a bench top centrifuge for the Ottawa Hospital Foundation Cancer Clinic to purify DNA from patients participating in clinical trials. Next year’s tournament will be held at Anderson Links July 25.

It’s groups such as these two, quietly toiling to make this area a better place to live, that set the standard for the rest of us to follow.