The 15 people who will take over the Canadian Wheat Board will meet each other for the first time on Dec. 29.
The new CWB board of directors, made up of 10 elected farmers and five appointed members, will hold a get-acquainted session in Winnipeg two days before the official transition to a new structure.
The first formal board meeting has been scheduled Jan. 7 and 8, but farmers shouldn’t expect any earth-shattering decisions or pronouncements.
“I’m sure we’ll have a number of issues on the table for us to deal with,” said president and chief executive officer Greg Arason. “But we want to go through this in an orderly way and not make any premature decision.”
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He said the initial meeting will probably focus on talking about how a board operates and the responsibilities of individual directors. Outside consultants will be there to assist.
Arason and other directors said they were encouraged by a Dec. 18 conference call.
“I think we’re a fairly compatible group and I think we all have the same objective of making this work,” said Terry Hanson of Filmore, Sask., director for district eight.
Bill Nicholson of Shoal Lake, Man., district nine director, said a smooth transition to the new structure is vital.
“It’s important to both farmers and customers that for now business continues as usual and grain continues to move,” he said.
