Speaker Profiles

John Ibbitson
The Globe and Mail's Ottawa Bureau Chief
In September 2009, John Ibbitson returned to Canada to become Ottawa bureau chief for The Globe and Mail, capping a career of covering, analyzing and commenting on Canadian and American politics unmatched
by any journalist in North America or beyond.

As Washington bureau chief for The Globe, Ibbitson witnessed the attacks of September 11. As Ottawa political affairs columnist, he wrote on the vicious civil war between Paul Martin and Jean Chretien, the rise of the Conservative Party, and Stephen Harper's 2006 election victory. And then he returned to the United States, to offer unparalleled coverage of the historic 2008 election, and Barack Obama's opening months as America's first black president. Now, he's back home, just in time for another crucial stretch in our nation's history.

The books he has written along the way -- Open & Shut: Why America Has Barack Obama and Canada Has Stephen Harper; The Polite Revolution: Perfecting the Canadian Dream and Loyal No More: Ontario's Struggle for a Separate Destiny -- have sparked controversies from Parliament to the Potomac. Prior to his stints in Ottawa and Washington, Ibbitson wrote plays and fiction, which helps explain the captivating polish of his style. His novel The Landing even won the Governor General's Award for Best Children's Book in 2008.

Alvin Law

Alvin Law, (CSP, HoF) is someone hard to define. It seems obvious when you see him, but when you experience his program, something indescribable takes place. He has no arms, so his program must be yet another example of someone overcoming a handicap. But ask Alvin and he'd say it's that very perception that has been his biggest obstacle. He never had arms so he never "overcame" anything. But his insights from living almost fifty years through such a dynamic period in history has made him one of the foremost experts on adaptation, change and perspective.This is more than just marketing hype. Alvin’s story is real and one that is impossible to forget.

Alvin was born in 1960 and very quickly became a celebrity. He was one of Canada’s first “Thalidomide Babies,” known for bodies deformed due to the infamous morning sickness drug. Not only was Alvin born without arms, before he was a week old he was left at the hospital by young and terrified parents who were convinced by experts that he would be nothing but a burden, never be independent and if he reached adulthood his quality of life would be negligible. They promised his birth family he would be taken care of. What they meant and didn't say was that he would be institutionalized.
Then, Alvin's tragic beginning took a profound fork in the road of life. He was adopted by idealistic and incredible foster-parents who simply said, "We don't believe that his fate is sealed" and proceeded to prove every expert and critic wrong. They taught him to use his feet for hands and with the help of a handful of equally amazing mentors produced one of the most inspiring true stories you will ever witness.

This story is documented in Alvin's first book, Alvin's Laws of Life...5 Steps to Successfully Overcome Anything, (a Canadian Best-Seller) and provides the foundation for all of Alvin's programs. But Alvin wants all his clients to know that his keynotes and follow-up workshops are not just about "him", but what his experiences can contribute to the learning objectives of any meeting attendee. In other words, if the new face of the meetings industry is about content, Alvin Law can deliver.

Here're a few highlights on his resume of life:

Alvin is an award-winning musician playing trombone, drums and piano and received his high school graduation class “Medal of Excellence.” His awards include Saskatchewan Junior Citizen of the Year (1978), George Vanier Award for Outstanding Young Canadians (1982), Mount Royal College Most Distinguished Alumni (1983), Canadian Progress Club Canadian of the Year (1989), and numerous other distinctions. He has also been profiled on several television documentaries, one of which won an Emmy Award (ABS-TV “Frontrunners,” 1993). Alvin has even played a credited role on FOX Television’s hit series, “X-Files” (1995). In 2003, Alvin was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2004, he was honored with “Presenter of the Year/ Mastery Award” by the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS). In 2005, he received his Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association (NSA). In 2009, he was the sole inductee into the CAPS Hall of Fame (HoF).
Alvin has been sharing his incredible life with groups since 1981 and for 15 years, worked almost exclusively with school students and teachers. But that training proved to him that this was a universal message and since then he has presented on five continents to over 2,000,000 in over 7,500 shows. Indeed, it is a show...Alvin plays piano and a drum during his keynote, but it's also an almost perfect program that meeting planners and clients all agree is a complete package that delievers on it's promise; the unforgettable Alvin Law Experience!

Alvin is married to Darlene, who also runs their speaking enterprise, and is father to Vance (born in '85) and other assorted pets. They all live in beautiful Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Dale Pallister – President, OCFA & OCFB

Dale Pallister farms at the southeast end of Grey County near the village of Dundalk. The farm has been in his family since 1873. He's a fifth-generation farmer. And a sixth-generation, his son, farms with him. They crop 3,000 to 4,000 acres as well background and finish cattle. Dale would like to see Ontario farmers capture a greater share of the beef market in the province. Dale believes the Corn Fed Beef program can help achieve that goal. “It's a branded product. It's distinguished by the advertising and it's something that local consumers say they want. It helps to build and maintain a viable beef industry.”

Also active in municipal politics, Dale was re-elected to a second term on Southgate Township Council in 2010.

Curtis Royal – President, Ontario Cattlemen’s Association

Curtis Royal and his wife live in Simcoe County where he has farmed since 1971, running a feedlot. Curtis is the current President of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association (OCA), taking the helm of the organization in February, 2010. He is a past director of the Simcoe Cattlemen’s Association and is a past president of the OCFA, the Ontario Feeder Finance Committee and the Central Cattle Feeders Association. He represents OCA on the Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council. His goal is to help promote change that will make the beef industry in Ontario more profitable and sustainable.

Sal Baio

Sal Baio has been with Loblaw for almost 2 years. He started as Sr. Vice President of Meat and Seafood and is now the Sr. Vice President of Conventional Fresh and Meat & Seafood Procurement. Prior to coming to Canada, he spent the last 15 years as Sr. Vice President of Fresh for two major US Supermarket companies. Sal has been in the industry for nearly 33 years and has held numerous positions within merchandising and operations. Sal also holds his BS Degree in Economics and Marketing.

John Vieira

John is a founding partner of Strategic Research Associates, a market research company specializing in the agriculture and agri-food sectors, based in Guelph, Ontario. John has 20 years of experience leading market research studies in the agri-food sector, including:
- Pricing & demand studies
- New product feasibility studies
- Positioning studies
- Customer satisfaction
- Advertising testing
- Brand awareness studies

In addition to all his work measuring consumer attitudes and opinions, John has moderated over 500 focus groups in agriculture and agri-food and conducted hundreds of surveys with primary producers and other stakeholders in the agri-food chain. His work has included in-depth interviews and focus groups with Canadian crop and livestock producers, focus groups with Midwest US grain growers, in-depth interviews with large dairy producers in California and Idaho and product testing seminars with agricultural equipment operators from the Canada, USA, Australia, Brazil and Argentina. John holds a degree in Economics from the University of Guelph and is a member of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) and a past director of the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association (CAMA).

Robert Meijer

Robert Meijer was appointed President of Canada Beef Inc. effective August 1, 2011. He previously served as Director of Corporate Affairs for Cargill Limited.

Meijer brings fourteen years of policy, regulatory, legislative, political and communications experience to Canada Beef Inc. In his position as Cargill Director, Meijer has been responsible for Cargill’s Canadian government/regulatory relations, communication, and community relation activities. He has also led and managed emerging issues, business risk and customer collaboration for 19 business units in the areas of beef, poultry, milling, malt, grain handling and port services, animal nutrition, canola processing among others.

He also held a board and/or committee position with a number of key agricultural organizations including; the Federal Roundtables, Flax Council of Canada, Malt Industry Association of Canada, Canadian Poultry Processors Association, Animal Nutrition Association of Canada, Western Grain Elevator Association, Canada Grains Council, and the Canadian Meat Council.
Meijer holds two honours degrees – a B.A. (majoring in Economics and Sociology) and B.Sc. (Agri-business Management).

Canada Beef Inc. is an independent national organization representing the research, marketing and promotion interests of the Canadian cattle and beef industry worldwide.

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