John Cross talked about leadership at a meeting of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs last week.
As head of Philom Bios, a Saskatoon-based seed inoculant company that started small, flirted with disaster and then grew into a venture worth about $60 million, Cross knows a thing or two about leadership.
In the course of his speech, Cross recalled an important lesson he learned from his parents: give something back to your community. And he speculated upon the number of parents today who teach that same lesson to their children.
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Naturally there is no readily available answer to that question, although I would hazard a guess that the lesson remains fairly prevalent among rural families, where the value of community is still considered a cornerstone of rural life.
As I pondered that possibility, some evidence presented itself via a phone call from Brad Bird.
Producer readers might recognize Bird’s name as one of the newspaper’s freelance writers. But Bird’s byline has been absent of late because he’s busy. He is just over 400 kilometres into his Border to the Bay walk, a quest to walk the length of Manitoba from Turtle Mountain to York Factory.
Bird is making the punishing winter trek for two reasons: to generate public support for Manitoba cattle producers affected by the BSE crisis, and to raise money for heart and stroke research.
He deliberately planned a route through rural Manitoba, and he said last week that response to his efforts has been incredible. In 18 days, he had slept outside twice. The rest of the time, families have put him up for the night.
“It’s an example of the prairie ethic out there, to help your neighbour. It’s still alive and strong.”
Why trek in winter? Well, it separates his effort from the more usual summer fund-raisers. And there’s one other reason.
“A lot of cattlemen work in the winter time, a lot of rural people work outside in winter, so it seems like a symbolic gesture,” he said during his phone call from the road.
Bird’s walk has been endorsed by the Manitoba Cattle Producers’ Association, which apparently appreciates his connection of beef to a heart-healthy diet. As of last week, he had raised about $1,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
The idea for Border to the Bay arose when Bird’s mother died of a stroke in 1997. Since then he has finished a degree in political studies and the time is right.
“Citizenship requires taking action in the public realm,” Bird said. “Citizenship means getting involved, so this is my attempt to do that.”
In other words, he’s giving something back.
