Rocky View County, AB – George Baxter of Alberta and Graham McLean of Ontario have been elected to the Canadian Angus Association Board of Directors following elections in those provinces.
Both directors will serve three-year terms. Baxter and McLean will assume their duties immediately following the close of the 111th annual general meeting of the Canadian Angus Association, which takes place on Saturday, June 10 in Brandon, MB.
George Baxter will replace Doug Reid, who operates Reid Angus at Cochrane, AB with his wife Kate and family. Reid has been involved in the purebred Angus business since 1993 and was elected to the board in 2014. Prior to joining the national board, Reid served for six years on the Alberta Angus Association board of directors. He chaired the Alberta bid committee for the 2009 World Angus Forum and also served as a volunteer preparing for and during the event. He has substantial international marketing experience, visiting every continent and every cattle producing country while working as a sales representative.
Baxter and his wife Laura operate Count Ridge Red Angus near Bassano, AB. Baxter’s purebred herd started in 1974 and was a continuation of his father Andrew’s herd. Count Ridge Red Angus has grown to approximately 200 purebred Red Angus cattle and 100 Red Angus-influenced commercial cattle today. In addition to his cattle, Baxter has been involved in his community serving as a director on the local school board, and in various other positions with 4-H clubs and the Rural Electrification Association.
McLean will replace retiring director and Past President Tammi Ribey. Ribey was elected to the CAA Board of Directors in 2013. In her home province she maintains a 400-acre farm in Bruce County near the village of Paisley. She has a 25-year-old veterinary practice with both large and small animals. Ribey’s father Gary Harron served as President in 1996. They are the only father and daughter to both serve as President of the Canadian Angus Association. Ribey will be Chair of the third Canadian Beef Industry Conference when it moves to Ontario in August 2018.
McLean and his brother Murray operate a purebred Angus cow herd, Melmac Angus Farms near Melbourne, Ontario with 35 cows. Their father Ron started the herd in 1974. They also grow corn and soybeans. McLean has served as president of the Melbourne Fair Board, Lambton County 4-H Association, Watford Optimist Club, Western Ontario Angus Association and Ontario Angus Association. He is currently a co-chairperson of the Watford Silver Stick Hockey Association and director of the Watford Optimist Co-op Housing board.
In addition to the elections, Maritime Director Trevor Welch, Quebec Director Ryan Currie and Manitoba Director Shawn Birmingham were all acclaimed in their respective regions and will return to the CAA Board of Directors for their second (and final) consecutive three-year terms, also serving from 2017-2020.
The Canadian Angus Association Annual National Convention takes place June 8-11 in Brandon, Manitoba. Events are centered around the host hotel, the Victoria Inn. Additional information can be found at http://cdnangus.ca/activities-
The Canadian Angus Association (www.cdnangus.ca) is Canada’s largest purebred beef breed organization. The Association represents more than 2,000 members across Canada for the purposes of registering and recording the pedigrees of purebred Angus cattle in the closed HerdBook and promoting the breed across Canada. The member-approved mandate is to maintain breed registry, breed purity and provide services that enhance the growth and position of the Angus breed.