Success Through Partnerships
Ontario Agri-Food Education
By Alan King, Managing Director, Ontario Agri-Food Education

“It’s a distinct privilege to contribute to an organization that does an important job, and does it well,” says Linda Hruska, who’s finishing her term as Chair of Ontario Agri-Food Education (OAFE) board of directors. This past year has been full of accomplishments for OAFE, which has established itself as the leader in the development of top quality agri-food teaching materials. Says Hruska: “We are proud to be Ontario teachers’ one-stop shopping centre for agri-food resources,” continued Hruska.
In 1997 OAFE:

•     developed 12 new resources,
•    conducted more than 200 teacher professional development workshops,
•    reached more than 500,000 students and adults,
•    distributed more than 100,000 resources to schools in Ontario, Canada, the U.S., Japan, Taiwan and the UK,
•    provided valuable advice to commodity organizations about the development of commodity specific classroom resources, and
•    supported 52 local volunteer agriculture-in-the-classroom committees.

“All of this results in the agri-food industry’s current and future markets gaining a new insight and appreciation for the importance of the agriculture and food industry – for who we are and what we do!

A Company with a Reputation You Can Trust

OAFE is constantly refining and clarifying its activities to insure the agri-food sector is getting the best value for its investment. It conducted important membership focus groups to determine how to best serve and meet the needs of member organizations. The focus groups helped OAFE prioritize its future activities, restructure its benefits of memberships and, most importantly, confirm its vision.

One of OAFE’s strength is, and will continue to be, its ability to bring individuals and organizations in the agri-food sector together to meet the needs of the educational community. OAFE board representatives hosted important sessions with member representatives and other interested groups to showcase its strengths and abilities and to learn about the needs and direction of others in the agri-food resource development market.

As a result, OAFE reviewed and refined its Materials Development Plan. It identified specific topics and matched them to the new Ontario Curriculum 1997 requirements and was successful in securing important seed funding from the Agricultural Adaptation Council, OFA’s Special Projects Fund and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agricultural Awareness Program. OAFE used this financial backing to leverage additional support from industry. In 1997, Special Project revenue almost doubled from the previous year. It’s expected Special Project activity will continue growing at an exciting pace through 1998.

“Success Through Partnerships” was not only the theme for OAFE’s Annual Meeting held recently in Waterloo, Ontario, but it is ‘the’ way for OAFE to insure that we continue to be a desirable investment for both existing and new members,” says Pat Marcotte, newly elected OAFE Chair. OAFE’s resources and services are helping a new generation of consumers learn about agriculture and food production from the Ontario agri-food industry’s perspective – as a vital part of their economy.

Our Strength Is Our People

“The achievements of an organization are the result of the combined effort of each individual.”
Vince Lombardi

Alan King, OAFE’s Managing Director, had the opportunity to travel the province and attend zone and county meetings throughout the year. “I was impressed by the quality of people I met, their dedication to agri-food awareness and the initiative, creativity and inventiveness demonstrated in delivering programs,” he says. The volunteer sector is an important cornerstone in the foundation of OAFE’s success. OAFE honoured its local committees and volunteers by unveiling the OAFE Honour Roll during its annual meeting. “Excellence is an attitude. Each and every person associated with OAFE has demonstrated their commitment to excellence. I am proud to be in the company of individuals who are willing to raise the standards and seek out and achieve new levels of excellence,” he said.

According to Hruska, Since OAFE’s inception in 1991, there has never been an exception to the statement that it’s been a year of tremendous accomplishment. “The rate of growth of this organization continues to increase, and the record of achievement grows longer each year,” she says. OAFE’s membership includes government, commodity organizations, agri-food businesses and individuals. Each offers its unique strengths, that collectively make Ontario Agri-Food Education a “Success Through Partnerships”.

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