The Daines family was named the winner of the 2014 Business Contribution Award at the Community and Business Awards Gala held at the Royal Canadian Legion on Oct. 17 in front of a packed house.
“Winning the business contribution award is amazing,” said Jack Daines. “The other nominees, Howell Excavating and the Discovery Wildlife Park are also worthy of this award.”
In 1955, his father and three other partners started the Innisfail Auction Market. The first sale had 35 head of cattle and today they market between 80,000 to 100,000 cattle and close to 4,000 horses a year. The family bought out the partners and began working at the auction market with Jack being promoted to general manager in 1972, a position he holds to this day at age 78 alongside family members Danny, Duane, Mark, Grant and Kyle.
While still an active rodeo competitor and auctioneer, he built the Daines Rodeo Ranch in 1961, which continues to be used today as the home of the annual rodeo which recently celebrated its 54th anniversary. Jack Daines announced his ‘retirement' after this year's show.
The Daines Rodeo Ranch is also home to Ivan Daines Friends and Heroes Country Music Pick-nic which started in 1976 and has been home stage to music legends Teri Clark, Ian Tyson, Duane Steele, George Fox, and George Canyon.
“People use to say the Daines family was like a Hutterite colony without the accents,” jested Ivan Daines during his acceptance speech of the seven strapping sons his father Snowden and mother Ethel raised.
In addition to the county music pick-nic and the annual rodeo, the ranch is used for other charity events on a regular basis.
With the young generation of the Daines family tackling the challenge of continuing the family tradition of community involvement, the future of the Daines family businesses appears to be assured.
