New Chair steps into role

January 25, 2010

Gay Lea Foods welcomes Mark Hamel as Chair of the Board of Directors. Mark was elected following the January 20, 2010 Annual General Meeting in Waterloo.

Mark has served as delegate for 12 years and on the board of directors for the past five years. Being chair comes naturally to Mark — his father Walter was chair of Gay Lea for the 1977-1980 term. He has been a member of our co-operative since early childhood, and has held his own producer license since 1979.

Mark lives on one of his farms in Elmwood with his wife Cathy, where he and his son milk over 100 cows. His son Matt, who is a partner and lives with his wife Larissa and their three sons on the family farm, is the fourth generation of Hamel dairy farmers. Mark’s daughter Megan has her degree in human resources and just recently joined her husband Chris in their electrical contracting business. They also have a two-year old son. Daughter Erin is an environmental co-ordinator with Peter Kiewit Sons Co. while her partner Faisal works in the investment industry in Oakville.

Mark’s main goal is to maintain a strong sustainable co-operative. His primary objective is growth: financial growth on the top and bottom lines, membership growth not only in numbers but also in training and education, and delegate growth in their training and development.

Mark would like to see more involvement of the directors with the employees. He feels that the combination of the two groups provides Gay Lea with many strengths and positive contributions. He also feels strongly about giving employees the right tools so they can do the best job.

“We have a great opportunity to showcase our co-operative to consumers and convey to them our mission and values,” he stated. Mark is looking forward to his new role.      

< Back to News