North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Convention
v. (grÖ west) a direct marketing journey of innovation and inspiration through Alberta's historic Cowboy Trail
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Speaker Bios, J-Z
Brian Kaliel, Corbett Smith Bresee LLP
Brian has appeared as counsel in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, and before the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada. He was admitted to practice law in 1974. He has been a partner in Corbett Smith Bresee LLP (formerly Corbett & Company and Corbett Benkendorf Hodgson & Lachambre since 1977) and continues to practice at Corbett Smith Bresee LLP as a Senior Litigation Partner. Brian’s practice primarily involves complex civil litigation matters concentrating on administrative law, agricultural law, foreclosure and receivership law, corporate and commercial litigation, and real estate litigation. He has been heavily involved in agricultural law and New Generation Cooperatives. He provided legal consultation to Alberta Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development in connection with the New Generation Cooperative provisions under the current Cooperatives Act. Brian also writes bi-monthly electronic newsletter for Quicklaw – The Corbett Agricultural Law NetLetter and has written a number of papers on business organization options, cooperatives, and new generation cooperatives.
Danny Kleinsasser, Danny’s Whole Hog Barbecue & Smokehouse
Danny Kleinsasser and his family have been in the food processing business for the past 5 years. Danny and his family left the nearby Hutterite colony to start this business. Danny and his business is located just outside of Stony Mountain, Mb. about 10 minutes north of the city of Winnipeg.
Their business has grown to feature an array of products: Barbeque rentals and catered meals that feature whole hogs, baron of beef, chicken or turkey, as well as a variety of meatshop products. He is currently expanding his operations to feature a retail outlet and a full scale catering facility. Danny currently employes 15 people to run his operation. Danny with his wife Jeanette have 4 children.
Monica (Coneys) Knight, Shosholoza! Productions
Monica started out in England, taught in India and worked as a human resources executive in Johannesburg for a chain of retail stores. There she "grew up," as she says, learning about African philosophies of co-operation and interdependence in business and community development.
Monica has been transporting those ideas throughout Canada, and particularly the West and Prairies. She has been inspiring and invigorating people in business, leadership development, career and life planning.
Monica is an entrepreneur, speaker, facilitator, motivator and consultant much in demand.
Michelle Kohl, Calgary Farmers' Market
Manager of Marketing and Communications for the Calgary Farmers' Market with experience running farmers' markets and a marketing background that includes shopping centres, farmers' markets and large corporations.
T.F. (Ted) Koskie, Koski-Helms
Ted Koskie is a senior lawyer with Koskie~Helms. Besides his LL.B., he holds a B.Sc., majoring in Mathematics and Computational Science. Ted focusses his skills on trial and appellate advocacy, labour relations andbusiness transactions. He serves a broad range of individuals, organizations and corporations–both certified and non-union. He also has experience with a range of issues unique to government, public utilities and the health care sector. Ted has appeared before all levels of Court in Saskatchewan and many administrative tribunals. Ted is active in his community, currently serving on the Board of Directors of Saskatoon Services for Seniors as its Treasurer recently the Saskatoon Sexual Assault Centre as its Co-Chair and the Saskatoon Community Service Village as a member. He is an avid patron of live theatre and enjoys golf, curling, music and reading.
My name is Brent Lane, and I grew up in the farming community of Brandon, Manitoba, as an apiarist. This background in farming allowed me to see the pitfalls and the unrecognized benefits of Canadian agriculutral from a very real perspective. I am currently running a value-added, agriculturally driven business at the age of 23 after graduating with a four-year applied degree in Business and Entrepreneurship from Mount Royal College. Have been operating the business since the spring of 2004 and have experienced 50% annual gains since operations began.
Randii MacNear, Davis Farmers' Market
BIO: RANDII MACNEAR, Davis Farmers Market Association, Inc.
MARKET MANAGER, 1978-80 & 1984 - Present (25 years of service)
Originally a New Yorker, I moved to California in 1975. I graduated from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1975 with a B.A. in Art. I became manager in 1978 of a young (4 year old) Davis Farmers Market and returned to the position in 1984, after having two children. I have functioned as the Market Manager for a total of twenty-five years.
During the last thirty years of operation, the twice weekly year-round Davis Farmers Market has expanded to become one of the largest certified farmers market in California and one with a national reputation, being featured in Sunset magazine, Country America magazine, National Public Radio, featured on MTV and in dozens of published cookbooks.
In the Davis community I served as President of the Davis Chamber of Commerce in 1996 and participate on several Davis Downtown Business Association committees. Most recently, I have been awarded the "2002 Farmers Market Manager of the Year" by the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association.
In the farmers market industry, I have served in the following capacities:
-Statewide coordinator of the Certified Farmers Market component of the California Department of Health Services Children's 5-A-Day Campaign;
-Statewide coordinator and co-founder of the industry organization, the California Federation of Certified Farmers' Markets;
-Member of the statewide UC Davis Small Farm Center Advisory Group;
-Member of the UC Davis SAREP Grants Program Technical Advisory Committee
-Invited member of the USDA National Forum on Farmers Markets and WIC Roundtable Task Force;
-Conference committee member for many National Direct Marketing Conferences and California Farm Conferences and the International Public Market Conference;
-Featured speaker at over 12 farm conferences in California, nationwide, and internationally.
-Chair of the North American Farmers Market Coalition of NAFDMA
Consulting work in the industry has included:
-Farmers market projects in Japan and Hawaii including trips to both those areas, --New Mexico Permanent Public Market site;
-USDA funded Small Farm Center project on Professional Management of Farmers Markets (including writing a chapter for that project).
I was also the
-Project director and facilitator for the USDA grant funded California State Certified Farmers Market Website project.
-Currently a Board member of the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association, the California Farm Conference, the Small Farm Center Agricultural Tourism Workgroup and the Davis Farm to School Project.
Tony Marshall, Highwood Crossing Farm Ltd
Tony Marshall is the President of Highwood Crossing Farm Ltd., a certified organic, 107-year-old family farm located south of Calgary near High River.
In addition to their field crops and chef’s gardens, Tony and his wife Penny also run a certified organic on-farm processing facility where they process and add value to the crops that they grow. The “Highwood Crossing Fresh Organic Foods” label can be found on the shelves of leading natural and health food stores across Canada. As well, their products are featured on the menus of numerous up-scale restaurants and hotels nation-wide.
Tony and Penny are very market focused and in so being have created their own well-defined market niche and small value-chain. Highwood Crossing Farm has been honored with many awards and was recently presented with a Growing Alberta “Innovation In Agriculture Award” which recognized the Marshall’s efforts in developing on-farm value-added food products and for marketing these items on a national level.
Janice McGregor, Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development
Janice McGregor has over 30 years experience in the agriculture and food industry. Janice is based in Stony Plain with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Janice is a member of the Dine Alberta: Savour Regional Flavour program, providing linkages between chefs and producers. Janice is also a member of the Regional Cuisine Initiative that seeks to promote an understanding of regional cuisine and creating an Alberta regional food identity in the foodservice and tourism industries. Janice has special interests in culinary tourism, trend tracking, foodservice market analysis, and customer relationship marketing.
Mohyuddin Mirza, Crop Diversification Centre North
Dr. Mohyuddin Mirza, Ph.D., P.Ag. is a graduate of University of Alberta, Edmonton and has been working with the greenhouse industry for the past 28 years. In that capacity he works with the industry to facilitate all aspects of greenhouse development. He is the recipient of Meritorious Services Award from the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association twice and the association honored him by naming an educational and scholarship foundation after his name. He claims to be happily married for 33 years, has two wonderful grandchildren and has a doctorate in Homeopathic Therapeutics.
Jack Moore, Gro-Moore Farms
Jack is a 1977 graduate of New York State College at Alfred, with an A.A.S. degree in Agricultural Economics.
He is the Owner - CEO Gro-Moore Farms, Inc. A 500-acre vegetable farm. Including 1½-acre production greenhouses, a retail garden center & farm market, located in the towns of Henrietta and Rush, NY, a family corporation for more than thirty-two years.
Jack has been an active member of NAFDMA since 1991.
Pierre Pellerin, Bleu Lavande
B. Joseph Pine II, Strategic Horizons LLP
Joe Pine, of St. Paul, Minn., is author of Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition and co-author (with James Gilmore) of The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage. Please read his complete bio by clicking on the Strategic Horizons link above.
Glen Price, Sunterra Quality Food Markets Inc.
For the past three generations, the Price family, owners and managers of Sunterra, have built their business around growing and marketing food products of unmatched quality. With strong roots in primaryagriculture, Sunterra has been a consistent innovator in production, processing and retail.
Glen Price, President, Sunterra Quality Food Markets Inc., grew up on his family’s mixed grain and livestock farm in rural Alberta northeast of Calgary. He is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate from the University of Alberta. Upon graduation, he gained retail food experience working in Hong Kong for the Park n’ Shop supermarket group (part of the Li Kai Shing Group). In 1989, Glen returned to Canada to pioneer a unique European-style fresh market concept along with other members of his family. The first Sunterra Market location opened in Calgary in 1990. The company has since expanded to 5 Calgary locations and 2 Edmonton market locations.
Greg Sawchuk, Muriel Creek Cattle Company
Along with wife Tina and 4 young children (fun test team), Greg owns and operates the Muriel Creek Cattle Co. What started as a cow/calf operation in 1998 has evolved into direct marketing of authentic grass finished beef, pastured chicken/turkey, sunshine pork and fun times. In an effort to connect/educate consumers, they have hosted numerous farm tours by schools and special interest groups. The one-day Family Fun Farm Festival has attracted more than 1,000 people twice now. Held in cooperation with other producers, its attractions include a giant hay bale maze, 4 eggsling shots, horse andwagon rides and over 1,500 animals (all farm animals plus odd, exotics and miniatures). Being 3hrs from an urban centre (Edmonton) has provided incentive for them to be creative in promotions and the future is full of crazy ideas.
Gwen Simpson, Inspired Market Gardens
Gwen Simpson is the owner and grower of “Inspired Market Gardens,” a developing market garden specializing in all-natural Herbs, Flowers and Salads. IMG raises culinary fresh-cut herbs and herb plants, edible and heritage flowers, and a range of pre-mixed gourmet salads and specialty greens marketed direct to consumers and chefs. Gwen grew up on a dairy/horse farm in British Columbia, but it was in the U.K. where she lived for ten years, that she developed her passion for gardening. In 1995 together with her partner Pete & her sister & brother-in-law, she bought 160 acres in Carvel Alberta, duly dubbed “The Farm, eh!” Taking the plunge in 2004, Gwen left her suitcase and career as an international training consultant and facilitator, and launched her agri-business from a tent by the garden. Inspired Market Gardens now consists of a greenhouse, demonstration and production gardens, and a country store which sells edible, organic and herbal products as well as her own plants and produce. Gwen assists her ‘growing’ enterprise with garden and business writing.
Theo Slingerland, Robinpick Berry Farm
I was born in Holland and came as an agriculture student to Alberta in 1985, here I met Esther who convinced me to stay and marry her. We have 3 children: Melissa 14, Amanda 8 and Michael 4.
They think their dad is strange, but they still love me.
John and Patricia Sondgeroth, Heartland Meats Inc.
We are the fourth generation of producers on our century-old family farm located in northern Illinois. In addition to raising corn, soybeans and beef, we started a direct-marketing business in 2000 to take our beef production from our farm directly to the consumer with limited "middle-men". To do this, we set up our own federally licensed processing plant and started direct marketing our specialty beef at farmers markets as well as several restaurant and various wholesale accounts, including several new meal preparation businesses. This past season, we participated in 15 farmers' markets a week in the Chicagoland area.
Phil Tiemstra, Gull Valley Greenhouses
Phil Tiemstra started Gull Valley Greenhouses in 1992 with six bays of greenhouses specializing in tomatoes. Since then, the greenhouses have expanded to also grow living lettuce and greenbeans and take up two full acres.
The produce is sold both to wholesalers and through farmers’ markets, although the amount of wholesale has been decreasing each year as a result of increased sales at the Calgary Farmers’ Market. Customers love that the tomatoes are picked fully ripened for sales at farmers’ markets after only being handled twice – once at the picking stage and once at the selling stage.
Rick Turner, The BIG Sheep Family Entertainment Park
Having spent 15 years entertaining over 2 million visitors to his sheep theme park, with unique novelties such as sheep racing and duck trialling, Rick now works as a motivational speaker and business coachwhilst his incredible teams run his business in his absence.
Winner of the UK’s top tourism awards over the past 20 years and having been feature on TV throughout the world, The BIG Sheep is one of the UK’s top show farms, with farm retailing, restaurants, huge indoor play and even its own in-house brewery – great for staff recruitment and motivation!
Involved in running farmers' markets, seasonal on-farm entertainment and a highlight speaker at the British Farmers Market and Retailers conference for the past 5 years, Rick is a business maverick who is guaranteed to entertain and provide fantastic business ideas which he uses and can be implemented to create high performance teams and increase the bottom line in your business.
Jan Vala, Vala's Pumpkin Patch
Jan Vala works full-time for Vala's Pumpkin Patch, handling the marketing, payroll, staffing, group reservations, and entertainment. Every year we plan for a 5-week fall festival, a whirl-wind season when guests visit Vala's to experience the fall harvest season with hayrack rides, live family entertainment, and pumpkin-picking. It is the memories and traditions that keep them coming back.
Jan is currently serving her first term as a NAFDMA board member.
Tim Vala, Vala's Pumpkin Patch
Tim Vala started Vala's Pumpkin Patch 22 years ago. He attended the first NAFDMA meeting in Des Moines and later became a board member. He credits other NAFDMA members for many of the successful ideas he has implemented over the years. Every year we plan for a 5-week fall festival, a whirl-wind season when guests visit Vala's to experience the fall harvest season with hayrack rides, live family entertainment, and pumpkin-picking. It is the memories and traditions that keep them coming back.
Betty Vladicka, Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development
As a food safety systems specialist with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD), Betty Vladicka helps producers implement on-farm food safety programs and farm direct marketers address food safety issues. She has been working in the area of food safety for the last seven years and is co-author of the manual Marketing Food Safely – Farm Direct Advantage.
In the 26 years Betty has worked with AAFRD, she has held a number of positions involving the production and market development of the organic and crops sectors, and the development of the farm direct marketing sector within the province. Betty was raised on a mixed farm in central Alberta and graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in agriculture.
Greg Wilkes, Healthy Communities
Greg Wilkes has had extensive involvement in the “business” aspects of agri-food organizations in both the private and public sector. His designation as a professional planner (Alberta Community Planner) has ensured that he utilizes the most comprehensive technical base to carry out assignments that are market focused and often strategic in nature. As an Urban Designer, he addresses emerging opportunities through principles of creating healthy communities.
While he has been undertaking planning assignments for more than 20 years, over the past eight years, his planning practice has emphasized the agri-food field. His strong interest in adding value to locally produced commodities lead to his analysis of farmers’ markets throughout North America, Britain, Italy and Portugal. Greg, through his firm HealthyComm Inc., was the prime consultant in the planning, design and development of the Calgary Farmer’s Market.
Join us for all or any part of our convention.
Each component is priced separately.
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Monday |
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Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
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Feb. 12, 2007 |
Feb. 13, 2007 |
Feb. 14, 2007 |
Feb. 15, 2007 |
Feb. 16, 2007 |
Feb. 17, 2007 |
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Bus Tour |
All-Day Workshops |
Conference Sessions | |||
Copyright 2006 North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association.
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