Appreciation to former president
Cecil Cass was honoured at the Ottawa Valley Seed Growers Association AGM on Aug. 8, when he ended his two-year term as president. Pictured with Cass are his wife Maureen Cass and daughter Audrey Dumoulin.     Courtesy photo

by Kalynn Sawyer Helmer
AgriNews Staff Writer
VANKLEEK HILL – The Ottawa Valley Seed Growers Association (OVSGA) held their annual general meeting on Aug. 8, hosted by the Vankleek Hill Agricultural Society. During the meeting, two-year President Cecil Cass, of L’Orignal, completed his term.

Cass will remain on the Board as past president and will continue to exhibit at the Ottawa Valley Farm Show (OVFS) presented by the OVSGA. Cass is a past dairy farmer and a large crop farmer. He has proudly exhibited at the Championship Seed Show during the OVFS for the past 68 years. In an email to AgriNews after the meeting, Arlene Ross, Interim General Manager of the OVFS, said, “We congratulate and thank Cecil for his dedication to and history with the OVSGA.”

During the AGM, the Board of Directors nominated and voted for David Blair of Pakenham to serve as the next President for the coming term. Blair has a long history with the OVSGA and has served as first vice-president for the last two years. During Blair’s term, Robert Dessaint, of Sarsfield, will serve as first vice-president and Jeff Waldroff, of Newington, will serve as second vice-president.

“Our Board of Directors, which has representatives from all across Eastern Ontario, is very excited to work with our new Executive as we plan forward for #OVFS18,” said Ross. The upcoming OVFS will hold its 91st anniversary in 2018 and will run for three days on March 13, 14 and 15.

Ross explained the Board plans to expand on the local food concepts introduced this year with local beef, local chicken and local pork featured each of the days. Also in the works are featured speakers throughout the event.

The OVSGA is proud to support agriculture in Eastern Ontario, agriculture education programs, the local soil and crop improvement association and will announce in late September the winner of their first-ever annual Seed Growers Scholarship.

The rest of the meeting was business as usual, said Ross. The Board is currently advertising to hire a new General Manager for the OVFS. “We are very excited to bring a new face to the organization,” she concluded.