A large turnout was present for the 50th anniversary of Lloyd McMillan Equipment on Sat., May 2. There is something special about building a business and then seeing it continue with another generation. Lloyd (left) and Troy and everyone who is a part of Lloyd McMillan Equipment have a lot to be proud of. Tinkess Photo

IROQUOIS – For a business to not only grow, but to prosper for a half-century is quite an accomplishment, but when it also played a role in physically building a community, well, that is truly special.

That is perhaps why there was such a large turnout on Sat., May 2 for the 50th anniversary of Lloyd McMillan equipment in Iroquois. And it was large: there were many people there when the doors to the garage opened around 11:00 a.m. and their number continued to grow throughout the morning and early afternoon. There were people from all walks of life, some known, such as Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry MP Eric Duncan, Mayor Jason Broad and Deputy Mayor Marc St. Pierre, and many others less well known.  What they had in common was the desire to say hello, and thank you to Lloyd McMillan who with the help of his late wife Betty built the business up from less than a handful of pieces of equipment to where it is today, with enough equipment to take on some of the larger jobs while providing good jobs to approximately 18 employees. Lloyd was asked if when he started his business years ago, did you have any idea that you were going to be doing it for so long and so well?

“No, it was just one of those things,” said Lloyd.

Troy started working with his father about 25 years ago and hopes to continue to build the business on the same principles that got it to where it is today, working hard, building long term relationships. In a small community it is essential to build a sense of trust, and Lloyd McMillan Equipment Ltd. did that extremely well.

According to Troy, it is nice to be continuing family business. “Yeah, it’s enjoyable,” he said. “It’s a grind, and we do it every day, but we keep it going. It’s nice to see a good turn-out, for sure. There’s lots of support from the community. That’s what got us here.”

The celebration was as much a way of saying thank you to the community as anything, and with a delicious barbeque, coffee, baked goods and a beautiful cake, everyone seemed to be having a good time. There was also a collection of memorabilia along the wall, showing some of the company’s history and prizes to be drawn before the festivities wrapped up.

You hear a lot of talk about community building, but seldom to you find it as much in a figurative sense as a literal sense the way you can with a company like Lloyd McMillan Equipment Ltd. Here’s wishing them, and the community they helped build, another fifty years of the same.