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MEDA convention: unleashing the spirit in Canada’s west In a post‑economic crisis world there is a great need to set free the innovative spirit of business — hence the theme for MEDA’s Business as a Calling convention, titled Unleashing Entrepreneurship. The convention will be held Nov. 4‑7 in Calgary. “Like MEDA, Calgary is renowned for its spirit, energy and innovation,” says convention planner Howard Good. “It’s a fitting environment to focus on unleashing entrepreneurship.” The convention, MEDA’s largest annual public event, is designed for people who want to connect their faith with their work and who support MEDA’s mission of creating business solutions to poverty. Keynote presentations are slated for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening sessions, as well as the Sunday morning
worship. • David Miller, director of Princeton University’s Faith & Work Initiative and author of God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement, brings a unique perspective to workplace issues. A former executive and entrepreneur — now a theologian and ethicist — he will talk about “Succeeding without selling your soul: Spiritual and ethical grounding for entrepreneurs.” • A festive evening of Russian Mennonite food and Ukrainian music will set the stage for a lively update on MEDA’s entrepreneurial project in Ukraine, where smallholder farmers are being helped to rejuvenate land once tilled by Mennonites. Winnipeg businessman Fred Wall will describe his search for family roots and business connections
in Ukraine. Project manager Steve Wright will present highlights from the Ukraine Horticulture Development Program. • Motivational speaker Frank O’Dea will share his personal experience of the power of business to alleviate poverty. He overcame adversity to transform himself from a street panhandler to become founder of Canada’s Second Cup coffee franchise, now a chain of 70 stores across the country. His topic will be “From homelessness to entrepreneurship: The power of hope, vision and action.” • Pennsylvania pastor Jane Hoober Peifer, who grew up in a business family, will speak on “Unleashing the Spirit of God in the life of the entrepreneur.” She will explore how the creative mind and spirit of the entrepreneur mirrors the creative energy of God in the world. The convention also features opportunities for professional development, networking and in-depth exploration of
the faith/business connection. More than 30 seminars will be offered, including: • From Wall Street to the farm • Father, son and company • Oil and gas in Alberta: Boom or bust • Staircase out of poverty in Haiti • From the tractor to the boardroom • Opportunities in the business of health • A conversation with Alberta writer Rudy Wiebe, one of Canada’s leading novelists Local tourist options range from visits to the spectacular scenery of Banff and Lake Louise in Canada’s Rocky Mountains to tours of local businesses, including the Bernard Callebaut chocolate factory, Alberta Boots and Hats, and a chance to learn “curling,” Canada’s favorite participant sport. For more information or to register, call 1‑800‑665‑7026 or go to businessasacalling.org
Making plant safety a state of mind Having a good safety policy is one thing, but getting employees to buy in is something else. Efforts to do so at a Pennsylvania meat-products company were profiled recently in The Ragan Report, a leading magazine for corporate communicators. The publication featured the communications strategy of Hatfield Quality Meats (the The Marketplace September October 2010
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chief subsidiary of the Clemens Food Group). The strategy is credited with helping the company reduce its serious accidents by one-third from 2007 to 2009. “One of the biggest things you must do is to engage every employee,” the magazine quotes Eric Haman, Hatfield’s corporate communications continued on page 23
