The Rural Voice, 1993-05, Page 62People
Gerald Poechman (right) receives the Tommy Cooper award from last year's
winner Ralph Dietrich.
Poechman wins Cooper Award
Gerald Poechman of Walkerton
is the 1993 winner of the Tommy
Cooper Award. Poechman was one
of a long list of nominees for the
annual award for those who have
made an outstanding contribution to
agriculture in Grey and Bruce
counties.
Poechman has qualification for
the award that seem to go on
forever. He's a member of the
OFA, NFU, Christian Farmers,
Ecological Farmers Association of
Ontario, Catholic Rural Life
Conference of London, vice-
president of the Bruce County
Federation and Brant Township
director to the Federation, vice-
president of Ontarbio Organic
Farmers Co-op Inc., member of the
Bruce County Ag Awareness
Committee, and a director of the
Bruce County Soil and Crop
Improvement Association. He
served as president of the Queen's
Bush Rural Ministry from 1989-
1992 and is a member of Rural
Connections II program. He is one
of six finalists for Ontario for the
Du Pont Young Farmer Award in
1993, and a Jaycees Outstanding
Young Farmer nominee for 1992.0
Kelly wins Farm Safety Award
Paisley's Ken Kelly received a Merit Award at the 20th Annual Conference of
the Farm Safety Association held in Toronto on March 15. Kelly suffered a
devastating farm accident years ago but overcame the loss of his right arm to an
unforgiving power -takeoff shaft and has become a dedicated speaker on farm
safety. His talks to agricultural organizations and the media have helped to
promote safe farming practices in Ontario.
At the same meeting Farm Safety Association also presented media awards to
The Rural Voice and The Ontario Farmer.0
Clinton man on UCO board
Clinton -area farmer Evert Ridder was named to the UCO Board of Directors
at the co-op's annual meeting.
Ridder helped chair the Co-operative Restructuring in Ontario project and
became president of Hensall Co-op. He and his sons Ralph, Peter and Everett
own Ridder Farms, where they cash crop 1000 acres, have a 130 -sow farrow -to -
finish operation and maintain an apple orchard.0
Ken McKinnon
named to Ag.
Hall of Fame
The late Kenneth G. Mc-
Kinnon, of Port Elgin has been
named one of five new members
of the Ontario Agricultural Hall
of Fame.
The Honorable Lincoln
Alexander, Chancellor of the
University of Guelph and former
Lt. Governor of Ontario will be
guest speaker at the unveiling
ceremony June 20 at the Ontario
Agricultural Museum at Milton.
McKinnon served Ontario's
dairy industry for 30 years. He
served on every committee of the
Ontario Milk Marketing Board
and was Chairman from 1977 to
1986. His personal conviction that
order and stability benefitted all
sectors of the industry from prod-
ucers to consumers and that sup-
ply management and orderly mar-
keting led to increased efficiency,
improved milk quality and the
elimination of waste, marked him
as a visionary and a leader.
Others chosen for the Hall of
Fame include: Leonard Arwood
Harman, of York County, who
helped reorganize the farm supply
marketing co-operative organiz-
ation of United Farmers Co-
operative Limited to become
United Co-operatives of Ontario;
Lawrence McKay Kerr, of
Chatham whose Kerr Farms was a
model for good husbandry pract-
ices and who has received num-
erous honours and awards and
was a member of the first board
of governors, University of
Guelph; John Alden McLean,
Muirkirk, a director of UCO and
president from 1957-1960;
Wesley Gardiner Thompson,
founder of W. G. Thompson and
Sons Limited and Hyland Farms
Limited who was also a Member
of Provincial Parliament from
1943 to 1947 and was Minister of
Lands and Forests.0