New Agency and Marketing Committee Members Elected at Virtual AGM
Calgary, AB (September 24, 2020) – The Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency (the Agency) is pleased to announce the Agency Board, following the first virtual Annual General Meeting on September 24, 2020.
The 2020/21 Agency Members have been announced as:
| Primary Producers: | Canadian Meat Council: | |
| Terry Wiebe, British Columbia | Russ Mallard, Atlantic Beef Products | |
| Jeff Smith, Alberta | Andre Forget, Montpak | |
| Doug Sawyer, Alberta | Mike Kennedy, Cargill | |
| Chad Ross, Saskatchewan | John Curtis, St. Helen’s Meat Packers | |
| Mary Paziuk, Manitoba | ||
| Jack Chaffe, Ontario | Retail and Foodservice: | |
| Kirk Jackson, Quebec | Steve Christie, Sysco Canada | |
| Trevor Welch, New Brunswick | ||
| Larry Weatherby, Nova Scotia | I.E. Canada: | |
| David Francis, Prince Edward Island | Coral Manastersky, Maple Leaf Foods |
Re-elected Chair Chad Ross of Saskatchewan is thankful for the work of the past Chair and Agency Members, and is ready to continue the momentum, ensuring a strong return for Canadian producers.
“Over the last five years, we have really found our stride in check-off business rather than structure and governance issues,” said Ross. “Its rewarding to know we are doing right by our country’s beef producers and overseeing check-off dollars that are invested on their behalf.”
Melinda German, General Manager of the Agency, feels confident that the Agency is set up for success.
“We have shifted our focus over the last five years from managing both check-off and marketing, to zeroing in on only the administration of the check-off,” said German. “It has meant everyone from the board and staff has had to undergo a huge culture change, but it was helped us focus on delivering a measurable return for producer investments.”
Joining Ross again on the Agency’s Executive Committee will be Jeff Smith of Alberta as Vice-Chair, Larry Weatherby of Nova Scotia as Governance Chair and Kirk Jackson of Quebec as Finance Chair.
The Agency’s Marketing Committee also re-elected two Members-at-Large to their committee this year.
The Marketing Committee is responsible for planning and establishing Canada Beef’s strategic, business and operational goals and objectives and for the overall management and operation of the business and affairs.
The Marketing Committee is made of the following individuals:
| Elected: | Appointed: | |
| Helen Langford, HSL Consulting Ltd. | Mike Kennedy, Canadian Meat Council | |
| Becky Bevacqua, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada | John Curtis, Canadian Meat Council | |
| Hubert Lau, BIXSco | Russ Mallard, Canadian Meat Council | |
| Mike Guest, Western Prime Meat Processors | Andre Forget, Canadian Meat Council | |
| Jack Chaffe, Beef Farmers of Ontario | Coral Manastersky, I.E. Canada | |
| David Francis, PEI Cattle Producers | Steve Christie, Retail and Foodservice |
The Marketing Committee also elected their officers, including Mike Kennedy as Chair, Coral Manastersky as Vice-Chair and Russ Mallard as Finance Chair.
The Agency would like to recognize Alex Fontaine for his service on the board. Fontaine brought strong insight into the Canadian veal industry and beef marketing here in Canada and around the world, and will be stepping away to focus more on managing the family’s growing business in Quebec.
The Agency’s 2019/20 Annual Report is available here.
The Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency manages and administers the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off. By working with core partners, the Agency ensures that check-off dollars are invested into research, market development and promotion programs that deliver measurable value to the Canadian beef industry. The Agency is responsible for communicating the value of the check-off investment, as well as training and education of producers and funding partners, regulatory management, collection and administration of check-off dollars.
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For more information, please contact:
Tayla Fraser
Manager, Partner Engagement
(403) 275-5890