From the CCA General Manager

CANADIAN CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION

2320 - 41st Avenue N.E. Calgary, AB T2E 6W8 Phone: (403) 250-9242 Fax: (403) 291-9324 E-Mail: cca@charolais.com Home Page: www.charolais.com

PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATIVES: ALBERTA

President: Lyle Bignell, Stettler Secretary: Lisa Paget, Carbon

SASKATCHEWAN

President: Orland Walker, Hudson Bay Secretary: Dave Blechinger, Rosetown

MANITOBA

President: Harry Airey, Rivers Secretary: Rae Trimble Portage la Prairie

ONTARIO

President: Gord Tomlinson, Norwood Secretary: Doris Aitken, Mount Forest

QUEBEC

President: Francois Couture, Notre-Damedu-Bon-Conseil Secretary: Laurent Jourdain

MARITIMES

President: Ricky Milton, Cornwall, PE Secretary: Jennifer MacDonald, St. Mary’s, Kent Co., NB

STAFF:

General Manager: NEIL GILLIES Registry & Office Manager: MEL REEKIE Registry: JUDY CUMMER French Liaison: CYNTHIA BECK 306-436-2007 CBeck@charolais.com

EXECUTIVE:

PRESIDENT: WADE BECK Box 5, Lang, SK S0G 2W0 Ph (306) 436-4564 email: wcbeck@sasktel.net

1st VICE-PRESIDENT: BRENT SAUNDERS RR 3, Markdale, ON N0C 1H0 (519) 986-4165 Fax (519) 986-4273 email: saunders@bmts.com

2nd VICE-PRES: CAMPBELL FORSYTH Box 3, Eriksdale, MB R0C 0W0 (204) 739-2678 Fax (204) 739-5547 email: cmforsyt@mts.net PAST PRESIDENT: LYLE BIGNELL Box 1055, Stettler, AB T0C 2L0 (403) 742-6792 Fax (403) 742-8128 email: lylebignell@hotmail.com

DIRECTORS: BERNARD BEGIN

1630 Rg St-Martin, Ste-Marie, PQ G6E 3A8 (418) 387-7514 Fax (418) 387-5623 email: louberfarm@hotmail.com

BRIAN COUGHLIN

RR3 1012 Snake River Line, Cobden, ON K0J 1K0 (613) 646-9741 (613) 312-0270 email: cornervu@nrtco.net

URSULA CORPATAUX

Box 397, Erskine, AB T0C 1G0 Ph/Fax (403) 742-3337 ucorpataux@xplornet.com

DORY GERRARD

RR 2, Innisfail, AB T4G 1T7 (403) 227-5632 Fax (403) 227-2583 email: info@gerrardcattlecompany.com

JOHN WILGENBUSCH

Box 4, Halbrite, SK S0C 1H0 (306) 458-2688 Fax (306) 458-2371 email: wilgenbusch@sasktel.net

RICKY MILTON

4558 Rt. 19 RR 2, Cornwall, PE C0A 1H0 (902) 393-8699 email: rmilton@upei.ca

Spring Report Card

Neil Gillies, General Manager, Canadian Charolais Association

It is indeed a pleasure for me to notify the membership that Melanie (Mel) Reekie will be joining the Canadian Charolais Association (CCA) as the Manager of the Registry Department and Office Manager on May 1st, 2012. And just to allay everyone’s fears, Judy Cummer will still be with us in her usual capacity until the end of the year. Judy is stepping down from her current role as she would like more time at home with her husband as he retired a few years ago. However, the good news is that Judy will continue to serve the membership in 2013 and beyond in a part time role.

Mel will have the opportunity to gain knowledge of the Association’s systems under the tutelage of Judy, which should enable a seamless transition of duties and expectations with the membership. A press release introducing Mel is featured in this month’s Charolais Banner.

The Charolais office is undergoing a major renovation, which will be the first since the early nineties. In December, we were approached by our major tenant with a request for more space in the building and those that are familiar with the office layout would know that the open area in the center of the building was largely underutilized due to a downsizing in recent years. It was agreed that they could take over that section, so apart from the common areas of the computer room, kitchen and bathrooms: the CCA will now be housed in the reception area and the three south offices, and retain control of the boardroom.

One of the tenant’s requirements was an interior upgrade to their space in the building and they offered to fund the renovation. Due to the fact that the building had not seen any upgrades in the past 20 or so years, we decided to upgrade the CCA portion of the building and refurbish the kitchen and bathroom areas. For anybody who has renovated and tried to live and work in the same space will know, on many days the sounds, smells and upheaval of moving equipment and furniture put a strain on accomplishing daily tasks. However after about 6 weeks, we are nearing the completion and if you get an opportunity, please stop by for a tour and a visit. My last topic for this month is to report on the extended bull sale tour that I carried out this spring. We decided that it would be a good opportunity for me to travel to a series of bull sales across the prairies to basically interact with our membership and their buyers, and get a pulse on the industry and the wants and needs of the marketplace. My sojourn lasted 24 days and encompassed 21 sales in the three prairie provinces As everybody would know, the sales across the country were very strong; exceptional could even be a description used. Since first observing Charolais bull sales in the mid seventies I have never seen such a robust market as we experienced this year. Needless to say everybody was more than willing to talk cows again, which has been a long time coming. Due to space constraints the article must end, however if anybody would like to visit about the trip please give me a call and we can talk cows – or should we say bulls.

NOTICE OF MEETING

In accordance with Article IV of the By-Laws of the Canadian Charolais Association, you are hereby officially notified of the 53rd Annual Meeting and Convention of the Canadian Charolais Association, to be held on Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 at 3:00 p.m MDST at the Olds College Alumni Centre, Olds, Alberta. NOTE: Only Active Members in good standing shall be entitled to vote at any meeting of the Association, and each active member or his/her proxy shall have one vote; only an active member in good standing may act as proxy for a member and no member shall vote as proxy for more than three (3) other members. A member in good standing is a member who is not in default of any of the By-Laws hereof, and who is not in arrears in payment of any membership fee, dues, or other monies to the Association, and who is not under suspension from the Association.