Canada Beef highlights the “Power of the Brand” and brand partners in the third Annual Forum

Toronto, ON (September 22, 2014) – The third Canada Beef Annual Forum and AGM was held September 18-19, in Toronto, and was well attended by over 175 industry partners and stakeholders.

The theme for this year’s Forum was The Power of the Brand – Building Loyal Partnerships and Thursday’s Forum kicked off with a brand discussion by Mark Cohon, Commissioner, Canadian Football League and George Cohon, Founder, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd., moderated by Matt Maychak of the CFL. Other insight came from representatives from all corners of the beef industry, including Cargill, Costco, Reinhart Foodservice, the Beef Cattle Research Council and more.

“Our Annual Forum this year really allowed Canada Beef to showcase the important work we’ve done over the past year with our brand identity and partnerships, as well as bring together a diverse group of speakers to highlight the importance of a strong brand and loyal partnerships across different industries,” said Rob Meijer, president, Canada Beef Inc.

Friday, September 19 was the Annual General Meeting which included year-in-review presentations from the Board of Directors and executive staff, and board elections.

An election was held for two seats representing the beef industry (ie. packers and processors) on the Canada Beef board of directors, from three nominees. Canada Beef is happy to announce that Mike Kennedy and Arthur Batista will return to the board of directors to represent industry.

Five other board seats were up for re-election this year and the following directors were acclaimed to their board seats, representing their respective organizations:
• John Schooten, Alberta
• Jack Hextall, Saskatchewan
• Arden Schneckenburger, Ontario
• Jim Fraser, Nova Scotia
• John MacDonald, Prince Edward Island
• Dwight Greer, Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters

At the board meeting immediately following the AGM on Friday afternoon, key executive positions were elected. For the 2014-2015 year, Saskatchewan beef producer Jack Hextall will serve as Chair of the Board and Manitoba producer Trevor Atchison will join the executive committee as Vice Chair. Lonnie Lake will serve as Chair of the Finance committee this year, and Arden Schneckenburger will chair the Governance committee. Mike Kennedy was welcomed back to the executive committee to again chair the Planning and Priorities committee and Arthur Batista will serve as chair of the Foreign Trade Advisory committee.

Canada Beef would like to recognize Chuck MacLean of Alberta for his two years of leadership as Chair, and Terry Prescott for representing Nova Scotia beef producers on the board for the past two years.

The Annual Report and meeting proceedings will be available online and by email on request.

Canada Beef is the cattle producer-funded and run organization responsible for domestic and international beef and veal market development. It has offices in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Canada Beef works to foster loyalty to the Canadian beef brand and build strong relationships with trade customers and partners. These efforts increase demand for Canadian beef and the value producers receive for their cattle.

For more information, please contact:
Ron Glaser
VP, Corporate Affairs and Operations, Canada Beef
(403) 275-5890