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he Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame has announced that seven outstanding individuals were honoured at the William Glesby Centre in Portage la Prairie on Thursday, July 19, for their contributions to agriculture in their respective communities, the province, and in some instances nationally and internationally by induction into the Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees included five Westman names. The inductees were:The late Evelyn Ames, formerly of WinnipegT. Roy Bailey of Carberry Ed Connery of Portage la Praine Bob and Joyce Gordon of Souris Bill Strath of Souris The late Joe Tsukamoto, formerlyof BrandonThe plaques honounng these individuals, as well as all past inductees, may be viewed at the Keystone Centre.William Joseph Strath 1928Bill Strath was born in Souris on July 23,1928. He received his primary education in a one-room school at South Beresford and his high school education at Souris Collegiate. He attended the University of Manitoba, graduating from the Faculty of Agriculture with a BSA in 1954. There, he met Jean Thomson, also a graduate of the university with a degree in Home Economics. Married in 1952, they returned to the family farm near Souris where they raised four children, Margaret, Barbara, James and Jennifer, and farmed full timeuntil 1980.Service to country and community but mostly to the farmers of Manitoba has been the foundation of Bill’s life. Prior to entering university, Bill had an active career in the military, first with the Air Cadets and then with the 12th Manitoba Dragoons where he reached the rank of Captain.In the winter of 1954-55 Bill taught an Agriculture Diploma course in Brandon. In the early 1960’s he was President of the Souns Valley Agri-Business Association. At this time he became involved in the co-operative movement serving on the Co-operative Hail Insurance Board for 10 years and/Brandon Sunon the local Manitoba Pool Elevators Board (MPE) for approximately 20 years, being elected a Director of MPE in 1974. During 1980-81, he co-chaired Souris’ 100th Anniversary Celebrations. In 1980, Bill became first Vice-President of MPE, and in 1985 was electedPresident. Throughout his tenure with MPE, he represented Manitoba farmers on many boards, including the Manitoba Farm Bureau, the Livestock Committee, Western Co-op Fertilizers, Pool Insurance, and the Great Lakes Waterway Association. He was a member of trade delegation to Brazil andRussia to promote Canadian agriculture. Bill was President of XCAN Grain, a joint marketing company of the threePrairie Pools, from 1987 to 1990. Thiscompany became the largest exporter of Canadian grains outside the Canadian Wheat Board. At the same time, Bill was President and Chairman of the Board of Prairie Pools Inc., a policy group that lobbied the Federal Government on behalf of prairie farmers. Bill was a delegate to the International Federation of Agricultural Producers and Chairman of the Grains Group, whose mandate was to improve trade relationships amongst member nations.In 1990, Bill retired from Manitoba Pool Elevators and received the Distinguished Co-operator Award for his service to the co-op movement. Billand Jean moved back to Souris where he became active in Community TV, Elks, Legion, Communities in Bloom, Town Council, Cemetery Board and the Curling Club.Throughout his career, Strath worked at local, provincial, national and international levels. However, he never lost sight of what he was working for. Western Canadian farmers and their rural way of life.William Strath was nominated by family, friends and colleagues.
Newspaper Details
Brandon Sun Community News
Brandon, Manitoba, CA
Thu, Jul 26, 2007
Page 5
Full Page
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CA 27 Nov 2021
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