GROWER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Growers' Canada announces new Grower of the Year Award
Owen Vanstone, chair of Growers' Canada (Commodity Group) is particularly pleased to announce the launch of a whole new initiative on behalf of Canada's wholesale nursery sector, namely the Grower of the Year Award. "I've long been a fan of the CNLA Awards of Excellence Program and see it as a great venue to recognize the outstanding talent that exists in the landscape, maintenance and retail sectors," notes Owen. "But as a grower, and especially as the chair of the national commodity group, I've also been very aware that there was nothing similar in place for Canada's wholesale grower industry."
The solution to this void became immediately apparent to Owen during his recent participation at the AIPH (International Ornamental Horticultural Producers Association) conference held last September in Zaragoza, Spain. This European-based organization, representing floriculture and nursery growers at the country level, and of which CNLA has been a member since 2000, hosted their first ever Grower of the Year Award in 2008-09.
"There were a number of factors that convinced me to bring this back to our Canada Growers' Group," explains Owen. "In particular, I was impressed by the Awards' criteria, as they have been specifically designed to give an equal opportunity for any size of company - small, medium or large - to win this award."
Judging is based on five main criteria:
- Sound Economic Performance
- Innovation in Production and Technique
- Strong Market Orientation and Professional Company Image
- High Environmental Standards
- Sound Human Resource Policy
There will be a double incentive for growers to participate in this awards program, as the winner of the national program will receive an all expenses paid trip for two to the CNLA Awards of Excellence ceremony and banquet, which will be held in Vancouver, BC in February, 2011. And the winner will automatically be entered into the international AIPH award. The top five winners as selected by AIPH will be flown to the destination of the next available award ceremony, scheduled to be held Xi'an, China in September, 2011.
"I'm also pleased to be able to announce that our vision and enthusiasm has been shared by the Royal Bank of Canada, who have agreed to be the presenting sponsor of our brand new program," said Owen, adding that, "It is an acknowledgement of the outstanding work of CNLA and their Awards of Excellence Program to be able to garner the support of an organization such as RBC for this brand new program."
"I encourage all growers to consider participating in this prestigious awards program. I know that Canadian growers have the talent and expertise to compete in this international program and I hope to see one of our members recognized as one of the best in the world in the very near future."
Click Here to download Grower of the Year Award Entry Form.
