Monday, August 19, 2013

Thank You Ladies

On Friday, a seed that Cathy planted two years ago came to fruition.  We had a "ladies only" customer appreciation day.  It was made clear on the invitation that no men were invited. The idea was to hold an event that recognized the contribution of the females in farming.  At the same time it was designed to leave a memorable impression.  From my point of view Cathy, April and Terrilyn hit a home run.
A tent was erected in our back yard.
Tables were set with white linen.
 A floral centre piece was at each table.
 Everyone took home a gift.
Fancy deserts were added to the menu.

The real highlights of the meeting were delivered by Sandy Maynard, DuPont Pioneer Supply Chain Manager and Martina Pfister, DuPont Pioneer Western Ontario Dairy Specialist.
Sandy spoke of her career in a male dominated corporate environment at Pioneer.  She was often the "token female" in the management group.  12 out of 13 bosses during her career were male.  She told some humorous tales, such as the time she was assigned with 7 male managers to a 3 bedroom condo as part of a team building exercise.  She spoke with passion about the quality of new female employees coming on board with DuPont Pioneer.  Her goal is to mentor these young women and hopefully reduce the types of hurdle she had to overcome during her career.
Martina, who is exactly the type of enthusiastic young female that Sandy referred to, then spoke about why she chose a career in agriculture.  Growing up on a dairy farm provided the foundation.  Her travels to other parts of the world convinced her that agriculture was indeed the right place for her.

Well done Sandy and Martina.

PS Thank you Roy and Donna for the back up.

  

2 comments:

  1. A special thanks to Cathy,Russ,April,Brian and Terrilyn for including us in the Ladies Only appreciation day. The weather was perfect, the setting was beautiful and the meal was fantastic. Sandy and Martina provided great insight to their vocation plus some added humour. Keep up the good work.

    Roy and Donna

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