RJ and KD McLean charity day

Posted 20 months ago

RJ & KD McLean (tractorsandplant.com) are a family-run machinery and equipment dealer here in North Dorset.   We've had a few machines from them over the years, and they're really an excellent company to deal with.

For the past couple of years, the team at McLean have been raising money for local charities, working towards an ambitious target of £100,000, with collections at local shows, participation at tractor runs, etc.

As a culmination of the efforts, the McLean family decided to transform their sales yard and workshops for a family open day.  Weeks of work and effort came together with an amazing day of fun, music, displays, working tractors, cider and food!

James took his tractor with a vintage cultivator to show in the working field, and we camped overnight on-site.

Overall it was an astonishing day.   The weather was glorious, the site looked amazing and there was a real festival vibe all day and into the evening.    

A couple of notable highlights:

  • There was a fully (and beautifully) restored Ferguson T20 as the main prize in the raffle.   The main that won it immediatley donated it back to the event for inclusion in the charity auction...  it went on to raise £10,000  -  a massively generous gesture
  • The guys from Grassmen were seen lurking around the site for most of the day.  They are some of the nicest, genuine people you could meet.  Always happy to spend time talking to fans, young and old, and genuinely interested in the farming community.

On the day, the event raised over £73,000 !!

This meant the £100K target was smashed, with the total funds for charity hitting nearly £122,000

I've done a few events in my time, and I have a pretty good idea of just how much work is involved in getting this kind of thing off the ground.    Congratulations to everyone who was involved: the McLean family and their friends, the people who volunteered time, equipment, services and assistance on the day; they all deserve a massive "thank you".

We were thrilled to have been involved (in a very small way) in such a worthwhile event.