HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-10-25, Page 32Joe Vermunt, who recently retired
as a director for the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture (OFA)
from Huron County, explained the
issues the OFA is having with the
accreditation process during the
Huron County Federation of
Agriculture (HCFA) Oct. 18
meeting.
“Every three years, the OFA has to
go through accreditation,” Vermunt
explained. “This year, and this is
troubling from the OFA standpoint,
things didn’t go as smoothly as they
have [in past years].”
Vermunt explained that the
judicial board responsible for
overseeing the process found that
the OFA hadn’t met the
requirements. He said that, while the
requirements hadn’t changed, the
members of the judicial board had.
He said that Oct. 19 was the “drop
dead” date for the issue, stating that
if the OFA hadn’t received
accreditations by that date, they
would need to look at resolving the
issue and start planning for a future
regardless of the accreditations.
Vermunt, in responding to a
question from the floor during the
meeting, said he wasn’t sure if other
groups outside of agriculture needed
to go through the same situation.
He also explained that, while
funding from the government was
appreciated most of the time, he felt
that organizations that exist without
that kind of funding are more free to
say what they feel when it comes to
situations like this.
“They don’t get funding, so they
have to go solicit memberships,” he
said talking about the Canadian
Federation of Independent
Businesses. “To me, an organization
that doesn’t have that stable funding
through legislation is probably better
off though because they can say
exactly what they think.”
Continued from page 29
Garniss.
Township directors positions were
filled by; Ian Scott, East Wawanosh;
Jeff Klomps, Goderich; Grant Jones,
Hay; Carmen Drost, Hullett; Ken
Scott, McKillop; Pat Jamieson,
Morris; Bev Hill, Stanley; Jim
Burns, Tuckersmith and Chris
Weernink, Usborne
The former Ashfield, Colborne,
Grey, Howick, Stephen and
Turnberry townships currently have
no directors, though the board can
appoint directors if they become
available.
Joe Vermunt, Nick Whyte, Steve
Thompson, Steve Webster, Paul
Klopp, Wayne Hamilton and Rob
Warwick were named as directors at
large.
PAGE 32. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012.Executive development discussed at meeting
Huron federation
facing OFA issues
Board
elected
At the Huron County Federation
of Agriculture’s (HCFA) annual
meeting in Holmesville on Oct. 18,
Wayne Black and Adam Garniss
discussed their ongoing experience
with the Advanced Agricultural
Leadership Program.
The duo was sponsored for the
program in part by the HCFA and, in
attending, were able to
network with stakeholders
from across the agriculture
industry.
Black explained that there
were participants from
agriculture, agribusiness
and administrative
backgrounds.
“The AALP program is an
executive development
program for men and women
who want to broaden their
horizons and expand their
networks to shape the future
of agriculture and food in
Ontario,” he said. “There are
30 class participants from
across all sectors of
agriculture in Ontario,
basically there’s one-third
primary producers, one-third
agribusiness and one-third
from others.”
“The group really covers
the entire sector of
agriculture industry in
Ontario,” he said.
The program, according to
Black, runs for about 18
months including eight
seminars and two site tours,
one in North America and
one in India.
The North American tour
included visiting sites in
Toronto, which Black said
highlighted two different
ends of the spectrum with the
group visiting bank
executives at TD Bank and
visiting a large food bank
called the Scott Mission
which deals with $6 to $7 million ayear through 2,000 volunteers
to provide housing for individuals.
In February, the duo will take a
trip to India to look at a similar
experience.
Both Garniss and Black suggested
that individuals interested in
participating should because it’s
worthwhile.
“It’s a great opportunity to get out
and off this island of North
America,” Black said. “It’s a greatlearning opportunity to learn and
come back to the community... and
be a voice for agriculture.
“We hear about how we’re not
speaking up enough, it’s a great
opportunity to be a voice,” he
said.
Garniss thanked the HCFA once
again for providing him and
Black the opportunity to
participate.
Awarded
Joe Vermunt was awarded the Huron Federation of
Agriculture's Most Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture
Award for, among other accolades, his work with Huron
County Soil and Crop Farmers of Ontario, being president
of the Ontario Tug of War Association and being an Ontario
Federation of Agriculture Director for Zone 7; Huron and
Perth. The award was presented at the Huron County
Federation of Agriculture’s meeting on Oct. 18. (Denny Scott
photo)
If you are a woman 50 or over – now is the
time to take action. You do not need a
doctor referral to take advantage of our
services.
We are located in the North Wing of the
Stratford General Hospital with our own
private and confidential area.
Co n t a c t u s a t o u r n e w n u m b e r
5 1 9 --2 7 2 --8 2 1 0 Ex t . 2 3 3 9
IT’S TIME THEY
MOVED OUT OF
THE BASEMENT.
1-888-646-1820
Space provided through a partnership between industry and Ontario municipalities to support waste diversion programs.
Face it, your old electronics have had their day. Find out how and where
you can safely and easily dispose of them at recycleyourelectronics.ca.
Remember to clear your hard drives and SIM cards before recycling.
By Denny ScottThe Citizen
By Denny Scott
The Citizen