A few weeks after hiring a new executive director, members of the Canadian Pork Council have also chosen their new board chair and first vice-chair.
The council on Tuesday announced it had elected Rene Roy, a hog producer from St-Jules in Quebec’s Beauce region, as its new board chair, and Scott Peters, a producer from Randolph, Man., just west of Steinbach, as first vice-chair.
Brent Moen of Alberta and Jack Dewit of B.C. remain in their roles on the council’s executive as second vice-chair and treasurer respectively.
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As chair, Roy replaces another Steinbach-area producer, Rick Bergmann, who retires from the board as the longest-serving chair in the national council’s history.
“I would like to thank my friend Rick for representing our 7,000 Canadian pork producers for the past eight years as chair,” Roy said in a release following the council board’s meeting in Banff, Alta.
“Being chair of this organization is important and rewarding work, and Rick has tirelessly taken time away from his farm, business, and family to advance national files on behalf of all producers.”
“Rene Roy and Scott Peters will help lead the industry into the future, and I have faith in the board’s direction and in the organization’s ability to serve the best industry in Canada, the Canadian pork industry,” Bergmann said in the same release.
The council said its new executive team is already at work, continuing to develop plans for potential response and recovery in the event of any African swine fever outbreak reaching into Canada. The executive is also working to draft and put in place a new strategic plan for the organization this year.
As of last Dec. 5, the council also has a new executive director at the helm. Stephen Heckbert, formerly head of the public relations program at Ottawa-based Algonquin College, replaces John Ross, who left the council in November 2021.
Gary Stordy, the council’s director of government and corporate affairs, has held the exec post on an interim basis until now.
Heckbert, who is based at the council’s Ottawa office, has previously worked in communications and, in 2016, as director of comms for Steven Del Duca during the former Ontario Liberal MLA’s stint as minister of transportation.
Heckbert’s “extensive background in communications, leadership, and engagement are much needed as we tackle challenging policy files and move forward with our next stage of strategic planning,” Bergmann said in late November. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
