THE McIntosh and Son Mingenew Midwest Expo board of management has donated $50,000 to the Lord Mayor's Distress Relief Fund (LMDRF) to help rebuild after ex-Tropical Cyclone Seroja.
In the wake of the severe weather event in in April this year, the board wanted to support people across the region whose lives and homes had been damaged.
Rather than undertaking the difficult task of deciding which individuals and groups should receive the funds, board members felt that donating to the Lord Mayor's Fund would be the best way to ensure that the donation would have the greatest benefit across the Mid West as possible.
Board chairman Andrew Cosgrove said the people in the Mid West had supported the Mingenew event for a long time and made up most of the visitors and exhibitors, so they wanted to be able to give back to the region in some way.
"The Mingenew community is very hard working and very generous and I think that this donation is an example of what's possible," Mr Cosgrove said.
The two-day event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID restrictions and organisers didn't know what to expect when the event opened its gates on August 11 and 12.
Despite wet weather in the lead up to the field, when the event opened on the first day the sun came out to welcome the 2300 people who came through the gates, with more than 4000 attending over the two days.
"There are always things we can improve and change from year-to-year," Mr Cosgrove said.
"We already have some exciting changes to introduce for the event in 2022 and we feel like there are some things that an event like expo can offer that other larger event can't.
"Lots of our exhibitors enjoy the personal connections that they make at expo and that's what sets us apart."
Planning is already underway for next year's event that will be held on August 10-11.