Canada Beef celebrates successes at Annual Forum 2015
Canada Beef celebrates successes at Annual Forum
Calgary, AB (September 23, 2015) – The Canada Beef Annual Forum was held September 17-18 in Calgary and was well attended by over 150 industry partners and stakeholders.
Thursday’s Forum kicked off with a brand discussion by Lyndon Carlson, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer from Farm Credit Canada (FCC). Other insight came from representatives from all corners of the beef industry, including leading Mexican distributor Susazon, Cargill, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Beef Cattle Research Council and other engaged industry partners.
“Our board and staff have done a tremendous amount of work to bring together all funder and industry priorities and achieve the goals set out for this organization,” said Jack Hextall, Chairman, Canada Beef. “While this is a time to look back and be proud of what we accomplished, we have worked hard to prepare for the next phase of our development.”
Rob Meijer, President, Canada Beef, is also proud of the success of the 2015 Annual Forum.
“The success of this year’s Annual Forum mirrors the achievements our organization had this past year,” he said. “It was a great opportunity to engage with our brand partners and talk to them about their brand strategy and how they align with the Canadian Beef Story, and an opportunity for our producers to see the value in their investment.”
Friday, September 18 was the Forum Business Meeting which included year-in-review presentations from the Board of Directors and executive staff, Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) and board elections.
The 2015-2016 Board of Directors at Canada Beef has been announced as:
BC – Linda Allison
AB – John Schooten, Doug Sawyer
SK – Jack Hextall
MB – Heinz Reimer
ON – Arden Schneckenburger
QC – Kirk Jackson
NB – Jennifer MacDonald
NS – Larry Weatherby
PE – John MacDonald
Canadian Meat Council – Wesley Batista, Arthur Batista, Mike Kennedy, Anthony Petronaci
Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters– Dwight Greer
Retail/Foodservice – Lonnie Lake
Canada Beef would like to recognize Trevor Atchison of Manitoba for his service to the Canada Beef Board of Directors. His dedication and industry experience have been tremendously appreciated. Canada Beef would also like to welcome Heinz Reimer to the board, who will be representing Manitoba Beef Producers.
At the board meeting immediately following the business meeting on Friday afternoon, key executive positions were elected. For the 2015-2016 year, Saskatchewan beef producer Jack Hextall will again serve as Chair of the Board and British Columbia’s Linda Allison will join the executive committee as Vice Chair. Lonnie Lake representing Retail and Foodservice will again serve as Chair of the Finance Committee, and Arden Schneckenburger of Ontario will chair the Governance Committee. Mike Kennedy was welcomed back to the Executive Committee to again chair the Planning and Priorities Committee and the new National Check-Off (NCO) Committee will be chaired by Alberta’s Doug Sawyer.
The Annual Report is available here.
Canada Beef is the cattle producer-funded and run organization responsible for domestic and international beef and veal market development. It has offices in Canada, Mexico, Japan, China and Taiwan. Canada Beef works to foster loyalty to the Canadian beef brand and build strong relationships with trade customers and partners. These efforts increase demand for Canadian beef and the value producers receive for their cattle.
For more information, please contact:
Ron Glaser
VP, Corporate Affairs and Operations, Canada Beef
(403) 275-5890
