4-H Canada’s 2023 national award recipients

Feb 05, 2024

4-H Canada names four individuals for three national awards.

By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Photo courtesy of 4-H Canada

4-H Canada is proud to announce the recipients of three prestigious national awards: Distinguished Alumni; Honourary Member(s); and National Volunteer Leader of the Year.

4-H provides youth with the guidance, resources, and opportunities to become contributing members of their community, their country, and the world by preparing them for the various paths of life and encouraging them to find their sense of self, purpose, and responsibility.

Each year, the Canadian 4-H National Awards recognize the extraordinary contributions of supporters, volunteers, and alumni who embody the mission of 4-H and make an impact on youth and the communities they serve.

Distinguished Alumni Award
The 4-H Canada Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to honour the outstanding leadership and contributions of 4-H alumni to their communities, country, and world.

This year’s winner is Jon Montgomery of Calgary, Alberta.

That’s him in the photo above. You probably recognize him from at least one of three Canadian things.

He is the TV host of The Amazing Race Canada, and he is an Olympic gold medal winner in the most dangerous winter sport—the skeleton, where you go headfirst down a curving downhill course atop a sled. He is one of this writer’s favourite athletes. He won his gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia.

And if one thinks he can’t top all that, Montgomery is a proud second-generation 4-H’er!

His involvement in the 4-H movement began in his hometown of Russell, Manitoba, where he was a youth member of the Russell 4-H Beef Club for four years.

A proud alum, Montgomery has continued to live and breathe 4-H values throughout his career as an elite athlete, philanthropist, and national TV host.

He embodies leadership skills, pride in his rural roots, drive to achieve world-class goals, and a ‘can-do’ attitude that parallels 4-H Canada’s ‘Learn To Do By Doing’ motto.

Along with being an Olympic gold medallist, these 4-H values have taken him far, including taking on the mantle of host of The Amazing Race Canada in 2013 and remaining in that position today.

A household name in Canada and around the world, Montgomery frequently uses his platforms as a motivational speaker on topics close to his heart, including leadership, teamwork, and healthy living. A strong advocate for agriculture, Jon has been a fixture at important ag-related events around the country, including Manitoba AgDays and the GrowCanada Conference.

In 2023, 4-H Canada was proud to have Montgomery host the virtual 2023 4-H Canada Leadership Awards, where he led the celebration of 4-H youth, leaders, and supporters around the country. In a subsequent interview with The Pledge, 4-H Canada’s alumni magazine, he stated, “Life is about teamwork and collaboration, and 4-H teaches that. When you’re working with other kids towards a common goal, you’re caring about the people around you; that’s what we need more of in this world.”

Other award winners are:
Honourary Member – sponsored by FCC (Farm Credit Canada)
4-H Canada recognizes individuals who have rendered outstanding service to 4-H by naming them as lifetime Honourary Members. Nominations are submitted by governing members, and the recipients are selected by the board of directors.

One of the winners is Kim Beilby of Brandon, Manitoba. Please click HERE to be directed to the 4-H Canada site for more on her achievements.

A second deserving winner is Mary-Ann Carson of Maidstone, Saskatchewan. Please click HERE to visit the 4-H Canada website for more information about her.

National Volunteer Leader of the Year – sponsored by Co-operators
Volunteer leaders are truly the lifeblood of the 4-H program. The National Volunteer Leader of the Year Award recognizes volunteer leaders who have had a tremendous impact on 4-H youth through their dedicated support and guidance.

This year’s winner is Erin Rossmann of Quesnel, British Columbia. Please click HERE to learn more about who she is and why she is so deserving of this award.

The Volunteer Leader of the Year awards are given to a leader in each province, with Rossman also being selected as the national recipient. The provincial recipients (going from east to west) are as follows:

Yvonne Bishop – Zodiac 4-H Club, Newfoundland and Labrador;
Mark & Ilze Firminger – Hopewell 4-H Club, Nova Scotia;
Tania Bernard – Evangeline 4-H Club, Prince Edward Island;
Ashley Storey – Gentle Giants and Friends 4-H Club, New Brunswick;
Kayla McCann – Shawville 4-H Club, Québec;
Tanya Boyd – Carp Community 4-H Club, Ontario;
Shelley Bjarnarson – Neepawa & Area 4-H Beef Club, Manitoba;
Mike Kirzinger – Next Step 4-H Club / Viscount 4-H Beef Club, Saskatchewan;
Carole Tkach – Coronation 4-H District, Alberta;
Erin Rossmann – Kersley 4-H Club, British Columbia

Video: The Investment Opportunities of Industrial Hemp

The fledgling U.S. hemp industry is decades behind countries like Canada, France and China, but according to impact investor and this week’s podcast guest, Pierre Berard, it could flourish into a $2.2 billion industry by 2030 and create thousands of jobs.

To reach its potential, what the hemp industry needs most right now, Berard said, is capital investment.

Last month, Berard published a report titled “Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity — A Pioneering Venture for Investors and Corporations Driven by Environmental, Social and Financial Concerns” in which he lays out the case for investment.

It’s as if Berard, with this report, is waving a giant flag, trying to attract the eyes of investors, saying, “Look over here. Look at all this opportunity.”

Berard likens the burgeoning American hemp industry to a developing country.

“There is no capital. People don’t want to finance. This is too risky. And I was like, OK, this sounds like something for me,” he said.

As an impact investor who manages funds specializing in agro-processing companies, Berard now has his sights set on the U.S. hemp industry, which he believes has great economic value as well as social and environmental benefits.

He spent many years developing investment in the agriculture infrastructure of developing countries in Latin America and Africa, and said the hemp industry feels similar.

“It is very nascent and it is a very fragmented sector. You have pioneers and trailblazers inventing or reinventing the field after 80 years of prohibition,” he said. “So I feel very familiar with this context.”

On this week’s hemp podcast, Berard talks about the report and the opportunities available to investors in the feed, fiber and food sectors of the hemp industry.

Building an industry around an agricultural commodity takes time, he said. According to the report, “The soybean industry took about 50 years to become firmly established, from the first USDA imports in 1898 to the U.S. being the top worldwide producer in the 1950s.”

Berard has a plan to accelerate the growth of the hemp industry and sees a four-pillar approach to attract investment.

First, he said, the foundation of the industry is the relationship between farmers and processors at the local level.

Second, he said the industry needs what he calls a “federating body” that will represent it, foster markets and innovations, and reduce risk for its members and investors.

The third pillar is “collaboration with corporations that aim to secure or diversify their supply chains with sustainable products and enhance their ESG credentials. This will be key to funding the industry and creating markets,” he said.

The fourth pillar is investment. Lots of it. Over $1.6 billion over seven years. This money will come from government, corporations, individual investors, and philanthropic donors.

The 75-page report goes into detail about the hemp industry, its environmental and social impact, and the opportunities available to investors.

Read the report here: Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity

Also on this episode, we check in with hemp and bison farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, PA, where he grew 50 acres of hemp grain. We’ll hear about harvest and dry down and crushing the seed for oil and cake.