Waterloo Rural Women’s annual Winter Mini Conference will be held at Steinman Mennonite Church, 1316 Snyder’s Rd. W., Baden, on Feb. 4.
Guest speakers will include: Jenn Christie, dealer development manager at John Deere, Sharon Grose, award-winning photographer from Alma; Lisa Akey of Interfaith Counselling Centre in New Hamburg; and William Hunter, Perth East fire chief.
Keynote speaker for the day will be Christie, on the topic, “Trike to tractor seat: my journey so far.”
Christie splits her time between her family’s sixth generation dairy and grain farm in Bruce County and developing marketing strategy with John Deere dealers across Canada.
Based out of Kitchener, She enjoys the learning opportunities of working in today’s agri-business environment. She was named one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women, in the Telus Future Leaders category, by the Women’s Executive Network in 2013.
Christie established a women’s agriculture network in southern Ontario and is co-founder of the Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation. She has served as John Deere’s representative on the Canadian 4-H Council for six of years, in addition to volunteering as a 4-H leader in Bruce County.
Grose will be sharing photos from her recent trip to New Zealand and Australia. Grose attended the International Farm Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) conference in Hamilton, New Zealand where she was awarded the association’s DeLaval Star Prize Photography People’s Choice award.
Akey, executive director of Interfaith Counselling Centre, New Hamburg, will be talking about Understanding Depression and Anxiety. Her presentation will discuss strategies to empower individuals to cope with the symptoms of mental illness, with specific relevance to women of rural communities. Akey has worked in the mental health field for over 15 years.
Hunter, Perth East’s fire chief, will be talking about fire safety in his presentation entitled “There Is More at Stake than the Barn”
Jenn Smerden of Green Door/Working Center will do a presentation about homemade soap, lip balm and body scrubs.
Cost of the event is $20, which includes a hot noon meal quiche, salad and homemade dessert. To register call 519-576-1933 or 519-669-8066 or email Susan Martin at florahills24@gmail.com
