The Rural Voice, 2001-05, Page 70People
Heather Parkin (left) receives the Tommy Cooper Award from Claudia
Staines of CFOS and Jim Algie of the Owen Sound Sun -Times, co-sponsors.
Third time lucky for Parkin
Heather Parkin of R.R.6, Owen
Sound, had been nominated twice
before for the Tommy Cooper Award
but her third nomination proved to be
lucky on April 6,
This time Parkin won out over
four other nominees for the award
given for outstanding contribution to
agriculture in Grey and Bruce
counties. She was founding chair of
Grown in Grey, the education
program for elementary school
students, as well as being involved in
the Grey County Holstein Club
(which nominated her), the Ontario
Soil and Crop Improvement
Association and the Canadian
Federation of Independent Business.
Parkin said she was "overwhelm-
ed" by the award and said she usually
likes to work behind the scenes, not
in the limelight.
The award was presented by
Claudia Staines of CFOS radio in
Owen Sound and Jim Algie of the
Owen Sound Sun -Times.
Other nominees included:
Stan Eby of Kincardine, past
president of the Ontario Cattlemen's
Association and a director of the
Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
Eby is on the implementation comm-
ittee for the cattle identification prog-
ram, has been a director of Formosa
Mutual and the Kincardine Hospital
Board and was co-chair of the land
committee for the 1993 International
Plowing Match in Bruce.
Jim Farrell of Ripley is a past
president of the Bruce County
Federation of Agriculture, is a
director of Gencor and involved in
the local Food Grains Project. He is a
director of the Lucknow-Ripley Co-
op and the Pine River Cheese Co-op.
Morgan Inglis of R.R.1,
Walkerton is a member of the Bruce
County Holstein Club. He has been a
member of the Walkerton Agricul-
tural Society for 35 years and since
1989 has led the group's building
committee. He was a member of the
core committee of the Roots of Bruce
agricultural education program and is
involved in the local Rotary Club and
St. Paul's United Church.
Bob Rodger of R.R.1, Bognor, is
past president of the Grey County
Federation of Agriculture and has
been actively involved with the Holl-
and Township Federation. He is a
volunteer with the Grown in Grey
educational initiative and also be-
lieves there should be more about
agriculture at the secondary school
level. He was involved in the Big
Head River restoration as well as his
local community centre board.0
Verkley, Boynton
named honorary
agrologists
Jim Boynton of Chesley and
Paul Verkley of Atwood are
among those who received
Honorary Life Memberships from
the Ontario Institute of Agrologists
at their 42nd annual meeting and
conference in Picton in April.
Boynton provided leadership to
the pork industry and helped in the
creation of a marketing system that
was admired world-wide. He
served as secretary -manager for the
Ontario Pork Producers Marketing
Board for 19 years from 1956-1975.
For the following eight years he
was vice-chairman of the National
Farm Products Marketing Council.
Verkley has been involved in
the development, promotion and
implementation of agricultural
production practices that have
minimal adverse effects on the
environment. He has served as
OFA Environment Committee
Chair since 1995 and as Chair of
the Ontario Farm Environment
Coalition's Nutrient Management
Working Group since 1997. This
working group has been instru-
mental in providing farmer input to
the provincial government regard-
ing the proposed legislation for
agricultural operations standards.
Verkley was recognized for his
knowledge in areas such as the
management of nutrients and
pathogens associated with agricul-
tural production and his ability as a
farm leader to negotiate workable
solutions on contentious issues.
Others named Honorary Life
Members were Rosemay Davis of
Trenton, and Robert Williams of
Picton.
Betty Summerhayes of Mount
Pleasant was named winner of the
Cheryl Somerville Memorial OIA
Distinguished Young Agrologist
Award and Nicholas Stokman of
Strathroy was recipient of the
Distinguished Agrologist Award.0