The 2009 FCC Rosemary Davis Award Winners
Wendy Holm - agrologist, author, journalist - Bowen Island, British Columbia
Wendy Holm is a professional agrologist, resource economist and journalist. During her 35-year career, Wendy has provided policy advice to public and private sector clients in the areas of agriculture, resources, regulation, competition policy, trade and international co-operation.
Through her monthly columns in agricultural newspapers such as Country Life in BC, Western Producer, Western Dairy Farmer, Rural Voice and The Grower, Wendy has written about a variety of agriculture topics. Her columns have won five Canadian Farm Writers Federation awards since 2003.
In 2000, Wendy was named Agrologist of the Year by the British Columbia Institute of Agrologists. She has twice received the Queen's Commemorative Medal, in 1992 and 2002. Last May, Wendy was honoured as a Distinguished Alumni by the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Since the late 1990s, Wendy has been forging links between farm communities in Canada and Cuba to support sustainable farming practices. She also teaches a UBC field studies course for Canadian students on sustainable agriculture in Cuba.
As editor and contributing author of the 1988 book Water and Free Trade, Wendy raised concerns over water's inclusion in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). More recently, she spearheaded the initiative "The Farmers' Resolution to Exempt Water from the NAFTA", which over 300 farm groups have passed.
Wendy is currently a director of Vancity Credit Union, a member of the Advisory Board of Save our Rivers Society and a Senior Associate, International Centre for Sustainable Cities. Wendy has served as Director, Okanagan Valley Tree Fruit Authority, President, BC Institute of Agrologists, and BC Director, Agricultural Institute of Canada.
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Patricia Smith - producer, businesswoman, volunteer - Nokomis, Saskatchewan
Patricia (Patty) Smith is passionate about the business of agriculture and has spent her career trying to make a difference in the agriculture industry.
Patty grew up on a grain and livestock operation. She currently operates a purebred and commercial cattle operation with her husband, Shawn, near Nokomis, Saskatchewan.
Patty has enjoyed a diverse career in the agriculture industry. While working as Manager of Agriculture and Communications with the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), Patty had a front-row seat at federal-provincial negotiations over issues such as farm safety nets and grain transportation. She wrote many policy papers and took part in SARM presentations to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture.
Patty's career path took her to Monsanto Canada Inc. and Cargill Ag Horizons. She was appointed to the Cargill Women's Council for North America, a group dedicated to the development of women's leadership skills.
After many years of traveling with her career, Patty chose to be closer to home. In 2007, she joined Blair's Fertilizer Ltd. as business development manager for the company's emerging animal nutrition and Angus genetics business.
An active volunteer, Patty sits on the Board of the Canadian Western Agribition. She also chairs the Agribition Grain and Forage Committee and is a member of the Commercial Cattle Committee. Patty's other volunteer memberships include 4-H alumni, Canadian Angus Association, American Angus Association and American Quarter Horse Association. In 1997, Patty authored a children's book about agriculture called 20 Prairie Adventures.
Patty and Shawn have had success exhibiting their cattle, winning championships in the heifer and steer competitions at the Canadian Western Agribition.
Patty is passionate about doing what she can with other individuals and organizations to educate youth and the non-farming public about the importance of agriculture to all our lives.
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Lorna Wilson - volunteer, educator, mentor - Georgetown, Ontario
Lorna Wilson continually strives to educate people within and outside the agriculture community.
Lorna and husband Lorne have lived on the family field crop farm near Georgetown, Ontario for 26 years. Lorna became involved as a volunteer through her children's involvement in the local 4-H program. It was second nature for her to expand her volunteer activities to other agricultural circles. This began her passion for agricultural education and awareness.
Lorna is well known and respected in her community. She is always busy, as evidenced by her involvement with several local and provincial organizations.
Currently serving her third term as president of the Halton Federation of Agriculture, Lorna is the key spokesperson for local farm issues.
In her position as the Volunteer Coordinator at Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc. (OAFE), Lorna provides support and coaching to numerous fairs and agriculture education programs throughout Ontario. Through her volunteer web page on the OAFE web site, Lorna provides monthly tips and ideas on how agriculture education coordinators can enhance their programs.
Lorna conducts workshops throughout the agricultural community on topics such as "Treating Your Volunteers Well" and "Spread the Word". She also conducts workshops for 4-H Ontario and the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario.
She recently became Associate Agricultural Director for District 5 of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies - an area covering 24 county fairs.
Lorna lives, works and breathes agriculture and never misses an opportunity to educate people on the subject - from lively discussions with audiences at Toronto's Royal Agriculture Winter Fair to chatting with commuters on the GO Train.
Lorna's goal is to build awareness and understanding between rural and urban residents in her area. Her vision is for all people to understand, support and respect producers. Through her agriculture education activities, she's making that vision a reality.
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Denyse Gagnon - producer, mentor, volunteer - Métabetchouan - Lac-à-la-Croix, Québec
Growing up on the family farm, Denyse Gagnon never doubted she would one day take over the business founded by her great-grandfather almost 150 years ago. But agriculture wasn't her first career choice. She wanted to help people, which led her to a diploma in social work and a job in the city.
But Denyse's passion for agriculture never waned. At every opportunity, she left the city and returned to the farm. She helped with the chores, but more importantly, it was a chance for Denyse to clear her head and breathe the clean country air.
Denyse married in 1976. Two sons followed and she left social work to focus on her young family. In 1989, Denyse's career brought her back to the farm to manage Ferme Du clan Gagnon Inc., the family dairy operation at Métabetchouan - Lac-à-la-Croix, Québec.
The farm was the recipient of the 2004 Ordre national du mérite agricole gold medal and the 2005 Round Table on Agriculture and Food award of excellence, with distinction. In 2008, the operation won the Prix SécuriTerre silver medal for fire prevention initiatives.
The farm takes on young people as apprentices and Denyse supervises their work. In 2008, she mentored an apprentice who won Farm Credit Canada's Business Planning Award.
Volunteering is very important to Denyse. She sees it as a concrete way to help improve her community, particularly for future generations. In 2008, she received the distinguished service award from the Canadian Red Cross for her volunteer work.
Through her work and community activities, Denyse is a proud ambassador for the agriculture industry.
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Darlene Sanford - producer, industry and community leader - Wellington, Prince Edward Island
Darlene Sanford is a tireless advocate for the beef industry in Prince Edward Island. A beef producer for most of her life, Darlene has devoted much of her time to ensuring a sustainable future for an industry facing both challenges and opportunities.
From 2001-08, Darlene served as chair of the Prince Edward Island Cattlemen's Association during its evolution to the Prince Edward Island Cattle Producers. Darlene was at the helm of the organization when the beef industry was hit by the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis. She worked and lobbied tirelessly with government and partner producer groups to alleviate cash flow restrictions that affected the industry.
Darlene was a founding member of the Atlantic Beef Producers Co-operative. The co-operative now represents the interests of over 200 producer shareholders in Atlantic Beef Products Inc., the only federally inspected beef processing facility in Atlantic Canada. Darlene worked to help create the "Atlantic Tender Beef Classic" brand of beef products produced at the facility. Darlene's own farm was one of the early providers of this brand of beef.
In 2005, Darlene was awarded the Woman in Agriculture award by the PEI Women's Institute. That same year, she was a provincial finalist for the Lauriers de la PME award, which recognizes francophone businesses outside Quebec. She also worked with her peers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to form the Maritime Beef Council.
Darlene and her husband Mitchell have two teenage children. Darlene remains active in the beef industry as a shareholder in her local beef plant and an active member of the PEI Cattle Producers. She also served on the board of the Baie Acadienne Development Corporation, a non-profit community economic development group.
Darlene sees a diverse and positive future for agriculture. "Just as no two sunrises are alike, the ability of the people who work in agriculture to adapt to the constant change in every aspect of this industry will ensure agriculture's place in the future."
