The Rural Voice, 2004-04, Page 78People in Agriculture
Stu Steckle, Gay Lea chair
Stuart Steckle
New Gay Lea Chair
Stuart Steckle, was elected
chairman of the board of directors of
Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited
at the board's meeting in January.
Steckle and his wife Ruth Ann
operate a dairy at RR2, Zurich. He
has served on the co-operative's
board since 1990 and previous to that
was an elected delegate.
Steckle succeeds Ray Robertson of
Markdale. Ralph Dietrich of
Mildmay was elected first vice-
chairman. John Ellison of Listowel
is second vice-chairman.
Ellison and John Hill, R.R.4,
Owen Sound, were elected to the
board of directors at the Zone 1
annual meeting. Dietrich was re-
elected director -at -large at the Gay
Lea annual meeting.
The co-operative is owned by dairy
producers, many centred in
midwestern Ontario, and is a leading
marketer of dairy products.
Operating in four Ontario
communities including Teeswater
and Guelph, the co-operative
employs 409 people and distributes
high quality products to Canadian
consumers.0
Palmer joins Veal Assoc. staff
Chris Palmer of Wingham has
crossed over from the board of
directors to the staff side of the
Ontario Veal Association. He was
named to the newly -created position
of "industry liaison" in February.
Palmer had served for three years
as president of OVA, after serving as
a director since 1997. His new job
will involve a number of projects and
activities including further
development of the Canadian On -
Farm Food Safety Program for Veal
Producers, member relations and
other producer education issues.
"Chris's knowledge of the Ontario
veal industry and the contacts he has
made during his tenure on the OVA
board of directors will serve him well
in this new position," stated Jennifer
Haley, OVA executive director.
"Chris's main emphasis and areas of
priority will be to service the needs
of our producer -members."
Ian Foster, who succeeded Palmer
as OVA president added: "As the
OVA continues towards developing a
new organizational structure under
the Farm Products Marketing Act,
we recognized the importance of
providing value for members and
have kept this concept in mind when
we created this new position.0
Chris Palmer
Joins staff of Ontario Veal
Association
Midwestern
producers hold
top posts with
Veal Association
Ian Foster of Aylmer was
named president and Judy
Dirksen of Harriston, vice-
president when the Ontario Veal
Association elected its executive
for 2004.
Dirksen, acclaimed to the
position, is a grain -fed -veal
producer who has been an OVA
director since 2001. She is well
known in the agricultural com-
munity for the many leadership
roles she has assumed. She is
Wellington County dairy educator
for the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, a
councillor in the Town of Minto
and most recently, a participant in
Class 10 of the Advanced
Agricultural Leadership Program.
"I look forward to playing an
important role within the
organization in order to address
the needs and concerns of veal
producers," she said. "There are
many issues facing us in the near
future that OVA needs to stay on
top of and be an effective voice for
Ontario's veal producers."
Foster, a grain -fed -veal
producer who has been a director
since 1993, had previously served
as president from 1997 to 2000.
He said creating a new structure
for OVA under the Farm Products
Marketing Act would be a
challenge in his term.
Bill Kroesbergen, a grain -fed -
veal producer from Owen Sound
was newly elected to the board of
directors. Kroesbergen brings
experience with both the calf -
buying and dairy sectors. "Bill will
bring a new perspective to the
Board that can only strengthen us
when we look at various issues
affecting our industry," Foster
said.
Other midwestern Ontario
directors include: Nick Terpstra,
Atwood; Gord South, Palmerston;
Mike Cooper, Cambridge; Jannie
Bruyn, New Hamburg and Ken
Wall, Holyrood.0