“We are so pleased to honour a visionary and well-respected leader in ag and food whose work has demonstrated how innovation, leadership and a deep respect for his field can lead to inspiring results and impact across a sector,” said Gina Grandy, dean of the Haskayne School of Business, in a April 10 news release.

“We celebrate not only his achievements throughout a storied career, but also his commitment to nurturing a sustainable future for all of us.”

McConnell, a graduate of the University of Manitoba who is now based in Alberta, launched an agriculture communications and marketing business from his basement in 1984. This company grew into AdFarm, one of North America’s largest agricultural marketing companies, the release said.

He has also served on boards such as that of the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI), 4-H Canada and the Calgary Stampede Foundation, CCFI’s website says.

McConnell was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2012, and was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in 2017.

He said is personally inspired by family and “the entrepreneurial spirit.”

“Helping and inspiring entrepreneurs is something I truly enjoy and something I find extremely inspiring,” McConnell said in the news release.

McConnell will receive the award at a banquet in Calgary on June 20.

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Hepworth was among 78 appointments announced by governor general Mary Simon in late December.

The London, Ont., resident was recognized for his contributions to agriculture and research “which have propelled the sector to new heights,” according to Simon’s office.

He was a farmer and veterinarian in Saskatchewan before entering provincial politics during premier Grant Devine’s Progressive Conservative governments, where he served in several portfolios until 1991.

After his political career, Hepworth moved to Ontario and began working with the Crop Protection Institute and Canadian Agra Group of Companies. He was instrumental in the formation of CropLife Canada and retired as its chief executive officer and president in 2014 after 17 years. He was appointed to the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame that year.

Hepworth has also served as chair of Genome Canada and the Global Institute for Food Security at the University of Saskatchewan. The list of his involvement with other institutions includes the Canadian Council of Academies Expert Panel on Sustainable Management of water in agricultural landscapes, the Scientific Advisory and Governance Committees of the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund, the advisory board of the National Research Council of Canada’s Plant Biotechnology Institute, the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council and the federal pest management and national biotechnology advisory committees.

He was on the board of Input Capital Corp. and a director and chair of Canterra Farmland Holdings LP.

He received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2020.

—Karen Briere is a reporter for the Western Producer. She writes from Saskatchewan.

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