Local youth attend GROWMARK's Annual Meeting

Ed Sauve of Woodslee, Ontario, recently attended the 2011 GROWMARK, Inc. Annual Meeting in Chicago as this year’s youth speaker where he spoke in front of more than 1000 attendees about his views on co-operative leadership. Sauve was one of three young people chosen to take part in the travel opportunity sponsored by GROWMARK.

Also travelling to Chicago was Alissa Goodfellow of Napanee, a 2011 4-H Ontario Ambassador and Sarah McLaren of Courtice, representing Junior Farmers Association of Ontario.

Ed Sauve is a graduate and now a volunteer facilitator at the Ontario Co-operative Association’s Co-operative Young Leaders summer camp program. In his closing remarks in Chicago, Sauve commented on the need to promote co-operatives more than ever especially with 2012 being named by the United Nations as the International Year of Co-operatives.

Ed Sauve was sponsored to attend CYL camp by AGRIS Co-operative based out of Chatham. Attending camp gives young people like Sauve the opportunity to learn about co-operatives and build strong leadership skills through their roles as a facilitator or camp participant.

Each year GROWMARK provides travel opportunities to youth who have shown dedication to leadership development. They travel to Chicago to learn more about GROWMARK and network with business people and other young leaders. As part of their experience, they took part in the annual meeting’s grand opening ceremonies with young leaders from (FFA) also known as Future Farmers of America and had the opportunity to visit the Chicago Board of Trade.

Twelve young represenatatives from FFA and Ontario's Co-op Young Leaders Program, 4-H Ontario
and Junior Farmers' Association of Ontario took part in the
 Colour of Flags opening ceremony at GROWMARK's 2011 Annual Meeting in Chicago in August.