Ag youth leaders travel with Cooper on Ontario GROWMARK System tour

The FS Ontario System hosted for 4-H Ambassadors, GROWMARK Summer Interns and Co-operative Young Leader representatives was accompanied by a special traveller from the Ontario Co-operative Association.

Travelling Cooper has become well known as one of the International Year of Co-operative legacy projects that involves a cuddly stuffed bear called Cooper who moves around from co-op to co-op making many connections within the co-operative family network. He is highly visible on many co-op social media sites where he is seen posing for different events, locations and activities.

Adorned with ribbons and buttons from a variety of his visits, Cooper now proudly wears additional co-op medals collected from the various locations on the GROWMARK System tour held this week.

The one-day tour consisted of a visit to UPI Energy’s bulk fuel plant in Guelph, an FS PARTNERS agronomy and Great Lakes Grain facility in Ayr, GROWMARK's Ontario Distribution Centre in Kitchener, North Wellington Co-operative’s retail store and lawn and garden centre in Harriston, and a 24-hour remotely-monitored cardlock FAST STOP® fueling station in Alma.

Where's Cooper....................

 

John Canjar, UPI Energy director, sales, marketing & development poses with 2013 4-H Ambassadors.

 (L-R) Kaitlyn Bell of Prince Edward County, Brendan McDougall of Niagara, Luke Ward of Oxford,

Rebecca Posthumus and Brianna Dracup both from Hastings County.





From (L-R) Standing outside North Wellington Co-operative's (NWC) Harriston FS lawn and garden/hardware store are: GROWMARK Intern Stephanie Campbell (AGRIS Co-op), Co-operative Young Leader (sponsored by AGRIS) and this year's GROWMARK Annual Meeting Ontario youth speaker Ryan McGeachy, Interns Janson Pronk (FS PARTNERS) and Robert Bos (Lucknow Co-op), 4-H Ambassadors Luke Ward, Brendan McDougall, Kaitlyn Bell, Brianna Dracup and Rebecca Posthumus, North Wellington Co-operative Services general manager Kelly Boyle and Jeff McCallum, marketing & communication assistant. Backdrop is a 1942 Ford Stake truck purchased by NWC in anticipation of its 70th anniversary in 2014.