REGINA — The newest group of Saskatchewan mentors and mentees taking part in the Next Gen Agriculture Mentorship program have been announced, beginning another year of advancing the industry's future leaders.
The program is funded and delivered through a partnership between Canadian Western Agribition, the provincial Ministry of Agriculture and the federal government, to expose young up-and-coming minds to the agriculture industry.
“Young Canadians are the ones who will shape the future of agriculture, and we all benefit from having them learn from seasoned mentors,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Eight mentor and mentee pairs will take part this year, the fourth delivery of the program, and will partner together for the next 18 months.
Selected by an advisory committee, each participant was chosen through consideration of markers including industry involvement, existing skills, interests, abilities and goals if selected.
“The quality of the applicants and the dedication of mentors show how truly important and how bright the future of our industry really is,” said CW president Chris Lees.
Mentees and their selected mentors for 2022 are:
- Kaitlyn Kitzan, paired with Dale Leftwich;
- David MacTaggart, paired with William Greuel;
- Erika Stewart, paired with Mike Sidoryk;
- Kristin Thompson, paired with Tara Davidson;
- Brooke Dudley, paired with Alison Weaver;
- Chelsey Mitchell, paired with Megz Reynolds;
- Morgan Heidecker, paired with Sheldon Kyle;
- Rena Leier, paired with Clinton Monchuk.
Each pair will work together within the program to expose and prepare mentees with various aspects of agriculture, including industry knowledge, board and governance training and business education — and do some networking for the future.
The program’s goal, said provincial agriculture minister David Marit, is to help young agriculture leaders polish their skills, to advance both their careers and the future of the industry as a whole.
