Several new leaders have been elected at AgScape, the new
name for Agriculture in the Classroom.
The new chairman is Keith Currie who
owns Curriedale Farms in Simcoe County and is an eighth-generation Ontario
farmer and currently serves as vice president of the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture.
The vice-chairman is Audrie Bouwmeester
who is dairy education program manager for Dairy Farmers of Ontario.
The treasurer is Carolyn Hill. She is the
financial administrator for the Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg & Chick
Commission.
The past chair is Lorie Jocius who has
served on the board since 2009. She has been chair for four years.
"We are very pleased to have such
strong representation on the AgScape board from across the agri-food
sector," says AgScape’s executive director, Colleen Smith.
"As the voice of Agriculture in the
Classroom Ontario, we are looking forward to working with this talented group
as we move into the next 25 years of service to Ontario's students and the
agriculture industry. These are exciting times for AgScape."
The AgScape board also includes two advisors - Catherine Mahler with
the Ministry of Education and Helen Scutt with the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Three additional community seats on the board are held by Heather Blackwell of
Western Fair District, Deb Campbell of Agronomy Advantage and Natalie Walt of
Ceres Global Ag Corporation.
Five additional corporate seats are filled by Kathryn Doan of AgCareers.com,
Peter Hohenadel with The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Mark Kerry with
Monsanto Canada Inc., Jennifer Peart with Farm Credit Canada and Meaghan
Ryersee with Syngenta Canada Inc.
All board members serve a three-year
term. New to the board for 2016/2017 are Mark Kerry, Meaghan Ryersee, Deb
Campbell and Natalie Walt.
