While the ice was being installed inside the Morrisburg arena, local dignitaries and members of the Dundas County Milk Producers gathered to celebrate the addition of a dairy-themed vinyl wrap to the Township’s new electric Zamboni. Front row, from left: David Janzen, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities, Councillor Tom Smyth, Deputy Mayor Marc St. Pierre, Mayor Jason Broad, James Harbers, Chantal Puenter, Andrew DeJong, Eric Young with Lucie, Marc Thurler and Billy Thurler. Back row: Rachel Nicolaassen (Zamboni operator) and Henry Young. Tinkess Photo

MORRISBURG – If you haven’t been inside the Morrisburg arena in a while, you might want to plan a visit soon. There is a new addition to the rink, and it is sure to keep everyone on the ice moooving smoothly.

The Township of South Dundas recently took delivery of a new electric Zamboni, but the real attraction is the vinyl wrap the ice cleaner sports: It is a very attractive mixture of blue and white on one side, but on the other is a larger-than-life photo of a group of Holsteins gazing into the camera, courtesy of the Dundas County Dairy Producers.

Jokingly, many people at the unveiling event referred to the Zamboni ice cleaner as “The Cowboni.” In jest or not, you know that name is going to stick.

When South Dundas decided to go with an electric model Zamboni, at a cost of around $140,000, they also issued a request for proposals (RFP) to see who would purchase the rights to advertise on it. That isn’t unusual; in an era where every dollar counts, naming rights are an important means of recovering, at least partially, the cost of new equipment. In this case there were several submissions with the Dairy Producers submitting the winning bid at $3,000 per year for three (3) years.

According to Mayor Jason Broad, the Dairy Producers are a good fit. “Agriculture is our biggest industry in South Dundas, so it’s great,” said Mayor Broad. “They’ve stepped up and sponsored our Zamboni, and it could be fun to see the cows circling the rink and we’ll have some fun with it and drink milk is great, it is the slogan, so milk it up.

“We’re excited and super happy that the farmers stepped up and made the bid and won. We had several different people apply. We had four or five different requests for RFPs on that and the Dairy Producers won the bid.”

The four other bids received came from Tomlinson Universal Terminals which offered $2,000 per year for six years, Red Door Team – Remax Affiliates Marquis which offered $1,800 per year for five years, Atel Air which offered a total of $5,030 over a three-year term, and Canadian Tire which offered $1,500 per year for eight years.

David Janzen, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities recommended the highest annual financial offer be accepted, a recommendation that was ratified at Council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 11, 2023.

James Harbers was one of the representatives of the Dundas County Dairy Producers on hand for the unveiling and he says they are very happy to be a part of it. “This is a really unique way that we can show our thankfulness to the community, because as a dairy farmer, our business is only as strong as our community allows it to be,” said Harbers. “Just to give back to the community in this way, to show our appreciation for not just being our consumers, but also being the trades people that come into our farms, the truckers, the everyone it takes to make a community go around. And this is just a way to show the community thanks.

“We were kind of over the moon,” added Harbers, “Really, really excited. It was quite a journey, it’s been about a year since we bid on the tender to creation, but yeah, very happy.”

David Janzen, the director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities says the process took a while, but the result was worth it. “We ended up getting the Zamboni sooner,” said Janzen. “When we originally reached out, it was 12 months for them to build us one but then they emailed me in August and said, do you want it in September? And I couldn’t say no, so last year, we just ran without it, and I gave James the time to make the design. It was sad to see it empty last year. Worth it now? Yeah, well, to get the right design takes time, but it’s good to see.”