December 29, 2009 - GUELPH, ON – The Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) held its 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on December 3, 2009. It was the largest annual meeting in the history of the AAC, with a total of over 200 stakeholders and agricultural leaders attending the event, held at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre, Guelph.
The AAC’s 72 member organizations elected 16 individuals to comprise the AAC Board of Directors. The AAC Board consists of 16 voting members and two non-voting ex-officio liaison representatives from the federal and provincial governments. The AAC Board represents various agricultural sectors in Ontario. All funding decisions are made by the 16 voting members.
Elections for executive positions were also held on December 3, 2009. The new executive for the AAC Board is as follows: (complete board list attached)
· Chair: Jim Rickard, Horticulture
· Vice Chair: John Kikkert, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario
· Treasurer: Fred Wagner, Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
· Secretary: Kristin Ego MacPhail, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Kim Turnbull, Past-Chair of the AAC, announced, at the AGM, that the Executive Director, Angela Stiles, will be pursuing her life-long dream of policing, and will begin Police College in the New Year.
Angela joined the AAC as its second staff member in 1996 and has brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the AAC team. “Her professionalism and leadership have made significant contributions to the Council. We will miss her but understand and support her decision,” says Jim Rickard, AAC Chairperson.
The AAC Executive has appointed Terry Thompson, Operations & Finance Manager, as the interim Executive Director, to provide continued support to the Senior Management team and the AAC Board during this time of transition.
Since the AAC’s inception, the Council has been responsible for approving over 2,400 projects, allocating more than $190 million in funding. Projects supported by the AAC have increased profitability, improved product quality, developed new technologies and new products and markets for Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sector, as well as enhanced the economic viability of the province’s rural communities.
The AAC is a non-profit grassroots coalition of 72 agricultural, agri business and rural organizations dedicated to providing financial resources to assist Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food industry remain profitable and to grow and maintain its economic strength.
Agricultural Adaptation Council Board of Directors
EXECUTIVE:
Chair: Jim Rickard, Horticulture
Vice-Chair: John Kikkert, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario
Treasurer: Fred Wagner, Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
Secretary: Kristin Ego MacPhail, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
BOARD MEMBERS:
Garry Claassen, Other Commodity
Don McCabe, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Ed Dehooghe, Horticulture
Alain Delorme, Rural Life
Michael Ecker, Agri Food Retail
Oliver Haan, Red Meats
Judy Dirksen, Red Meats
Tom Posthuma, Poultry
Ron Dancey, Agri Food Processor
Gord Surgeoner, Agri-Business
Ian Harrop, Dairy Farmers of Ontario
Kim Turnbull, Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
EX- OFFICIO MEMBERS:
Ezio Di Emanuele (ex-officio liaison), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Hugh Berges (ex-officio liaison), Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Executive Biographies
· Elected as Chair is Jim Rickard, who joined the AAC Board of Directors in 2006 as a Horticulture sector representative. Jim is presently the Chair of the Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg and Chick Commission, past Chair of the Ontario Apple Growers Marketing Board and has been on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association for the past 3 years. Jim and his brother operate Ceresmore Farms Ltd, a 400 acre operation of seed cereals and beans, 600 acres of corn, near Bowmanville, Ontario. Jim is also on the Board of Directors of the Durham Growers Cold Storage, an apple storage facility in Newcastle.
· Elected as Vice-Chair is John Kikkert, who was elected to the AAC Board of Directors in 2007 as a representative of the Christian Farmers' Federation of Ontario (CFFO). John served on the Executive of the CFFO for the past ten years, six of which he served as President. He is curently the Chairman of the Foundation of Niagara Christian Schools, John and Sue own a chicken and turkey operation in the Niagara Peninsula.
· Re-elected as Treasurer for the AAC Board of Directors is Fred Wagner. Fred joined the AAC Board of Directors as a Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops sector representative in 2003. Fred is an active board member of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture since 1989, and Ontario Corn Producers Association (OCPA) Region 5 Director since 1996. Fred represented the United Co-operatives of Ontario, the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture and the OCPA on the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Board. He is the immediate past Chair of the Agricultural Commodity Corporation (ACC – Farmers Financial) and operates a 1,500 acre cash crop farm near Kitchener.
· Re-elected as Secretary for the AAC Board of Directors is Kristin Ego MacPhail. In 2005, Kristin was elected to the Agricultural Adaptation Council’s Board of Directors, representing the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, as the Youth Representative. Kristin is a Board Member of the Simcoe County Federation of Agriculture and on the Policy Advisory Council of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Ontario Young Farmers’ Forum and has represented Ontario to the Canadian Young Farmers Forum. Kristin and her husband own Ego’s Nurseries Ltd. near Orillia, where they operate a nursery, greenhouse and farm market.
