5. Entertainment
Some conferences have some pretty fantastic
entertainment and CBIC 2017 is among them. I had the opportunity to meet and
hang out with country artist Drew Gregory last year. He’s back this year and I
hear he has new music. I can’t wait to be among the first to hear some of it.
CBIC 2017 will also feature Justin Ament. I’m looking forward to his live show.
Two great Alberta country stars entertaining us and keeping us energized—that’s
a great conference perk!
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| Just hanging out with my new friend, country artist Drew Gregory |
4. Live Cattle
Demonstrations & Ranch Rodeo
Stampede Park is a fantastic venue for CBIC
because we are able to mix live animals with speakers. Learning opportunities
include low-stress cattle handling techniques and best practices to keep
animals calm in chutes and alleys. CBIC also includes a ranch rodeo with top
ranch hands competing in everyday cattle and horse handling scenarios.
3. Speakers like Olympian
Jon Montgomery
I don’t know what an Olympic gold medallist
is going to say in a keynote address to 750 beef producers, but I want to hear
it first-hand! I’ll never forget watching 2010 Olympic coverage and seeing Jon
strolling through the streets of Whistler drinking from a pitcher of beer,
basking in his success, high-fiving anyone who held their hand out. I don’t
watch the Amazing Race but I’ve heard he’s a great host. I have no idea what
he’s going to say, but I know he’ll say it with enthusiasm.
And there are many other fascinating speakers,
including Chef Izu Ani of YSeventy7; Dr. John Campbell, Department
Head, Large Animal Clinical Studies, Western College of Veterinary Medicine;
Don Close, VP Animal Protein, Rabo AgriFinance; Kathy Larson, Economist,
Western Beef Development Centre; John Masswohl, Government & International Relations
Liason, Canadian Cattlemen's Association; Doug Porter, Chief Economist, BMO;
Rich Vesta, CEO, Harmony Beef; and our very own Canadian Angus Association
President Elect, Trevor Welch. I can’t think of any other conference that
offers such a wide array of speakers and varied insights and perspectives on
our industry.
2. Enjoy Dinner at the
Canada Beef Centre of Excellence
I personally
believe that the Canada Beef Centre of Excellence (CBCE) is one of the
best-kept secrets in the beef industry. It is an amazing facility! And the food
is absolutely incredible! I bet it’s pretty difficult to work in the building
when the chefs are hard at work creating culinary delights. I attended an
industry event hosted at the CBCE in June and every dish was Instagram worthy.
I would never have thought of using beef fat to make shortbread cookies, but
the imaginative and talented chefs at CBCE did and they were out of this world!
So join the
Alberta Beef Producers Farm Tour on Monday, August 14th that is hosted
by Alberta Beef Producers and Silver Guitar Sponsor Chinook Financial. The
full-day event includes a tour of the University of Calgary, Veterinary
Medicine Faculty, a ranch and a feedlot tour and dinner at the CBCE.
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| The Canada Beef Centre of Excellence is an amazing facility. Don`t miss the opportunity to experience it yourself! |
1. Networking
About 650 people attended CBIC 2016. That’s
a lot of beef producers! I volunteered at the registration desk on the first
day and the second morning and I got to meet a lot of those people. It was a
great way to match names to faces, meet people that I follow on Twitter, and to
meet new people. It was also a great way to catch up with industry people that
I don’t see or interact with on a regular basis.
It doesn’t matter who you bump into or talk
to at CBIC—you have at least one thing in common with everyone there, which
makes it pretty easy to start a conversation. You never know where it might
lead—a new friendship, a mentor/mentee relationship, or even a new customer or
supplier.
Find your own reasons to attend CBIC 2017
by checking out the conference website at http://canadianbeefindustryconference.com.
Register now—there are only about 100 spaces left!
Post by Tina Zakowsky
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca
