The speaker lineup for this year’s Growing the North Conference includes retired Fort McMurray Fire Chief Darby Allen. Allen led the fight against the 2016 wildfire dubbed “the beast” that forced the evacuation of nearly 90,000 people.
The 9th annual conference at Evergreen Park on February 21st and 22nd is billed as a networking opportunity for municipal leaders and entrepreneurs and a way for them to look at innovation and economic development opportunities in the B.C. and Alberta Peace region. It features speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Registration for Growing the North is still open. Free to the public is Taste of the Peace, a pre-conference event that showcases local growers, producers and food and beverage industry representatives. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. February 20th at the Stonebridge Hotel.
2018 speakers:
Chris Fields – Speaker, Writer, Community Builder at 13 Ways
Garth Braun – President, CEO, & Chair – Blackbird Energy
Glen Nevokshonoff – Chief Operating Officer – Seven Generations Energy
Len Morissette – Owner – CIA Solutions
Emily Salsbury-Deveaux – Executive Director – School of Retailing
Marty Seymour – Director, Industry and Stakeholder Relations – Farm Credit Canada
Cam Battley – Executive Vice-President – Aurora Cannabis
John Gilliland – Member at EU Commission, DG Agriculture, Mixed Farming Expert Industry Panel
Carol Ann Hilton – CEO – Transformation International
Jonathan Banks – Research Associate – University of Alberta
Bruce Vincent – President of Communities For A Great Northwest
J.P. Gervais- Chief Agricultural Economist – Farm Credit Canada
Suzanne West – President & CEO – Imaginea Energy
Darby Allen – Fort McMurray’s Fire Chief (Ret.)