WESTLOCK — The Gateway Research Organization (GRO) held their Annual General Meeting at Hazel Bluff Hall on March 21, with about 50 persons, including farmers, GRO directors and staff in attendance.
In the 2023 annual report, GRO board chair Mike Hittinger noted “To say 2023 was a challenging year for GRO would be an understatement. The tragic loss of our manager, Sandeep (Nain, killed in a car crash June 11, 2023 in Edmonton) is still felt daily in the office and at board meetings.”
“That being said, time plods on one day after another, things need to be managed, and business continues on whether we like it or not. As a board, we have never been more thankful to have such a committed and capable staff, all of whom stepped up and went above and beyond to ensure the continuation of day-to-day operations.”
Following the passing of Nain, the board appointed staff member Jay Byer to the position as interim manager to carry on the work for 2023, and search for a new manager in the meantime. Byer said he was not interested in taking on the challenge full-time, and after her maternity leave ends this fall, Andria Carlyon will be stepping in as the new manager.
But in spite of the challenges and change, Hittinger noted that in the past year, "the team at GRO has managed to not only survive, which would be impressive in itself given the challenges of the year presented, but to advance and end the year stronger than it began. We continue to maintain a high standing and good rapport with our partners and funding agencies, and continue to be held in high regard for the integrity and quality of our work.”
Byer also highlighted the 2023 year as "another successful year for GRO.” He said they had managed over 3,000 plots with great success, and a 100 per cent success rate for regional variety trials. Several good and well-attended innovative tours were held, including a joint Alberta Pulse Growers — Alberta Canola Producers Commission tour.
Byer added social media presence was good, and along with the new slim and trim look of this year’s annual report and a very positive financial statement, he was very pleased overall.
In his report, Hittinger further added, “We have seen several significant improvements this past year, including some strategic planning work that was completed last spring. If you are watching out for GRO events, you will notice that there is a steady stream of them originating from our office, thanks to the efforts of our new Extension Coordinator, Stacy Murray. Further on the topic of new improvements to GRO would be our new two-row plot sized corn planter, which will allow us to seed corn plots and trials, a feature we are quite excited about.”
GRO has also purchased a compost spreader to add to its line of specialized equipment.
Once reports were concluded, elections were held for new board members to step in for board members either retiring or having reached their six-year limit.
In addition to a memoriam to the passing of the late GRO manager Nain, the report was dedicated to the late Garth Bibby, who passed away in January of this year. Garth was instrumental in the creation of the Pembina Forage Association (1975), the precursor to the formation of GRO (1994).
The AGM this year included guest speakers Grace Nikkel of the Freeom-Naples Multi 4-H Club; Linda Hunt of AgKnow; Sgt. Leigh Drinkwater, unit commander for Alberta RCMP Traffic - Westlock; and Lauren Comin of Seeds Canada.
