Leaving Alberta Ag. and Agriville

[melvill]

I'm taking early retirement and leaving Alberta Ag. at the end of September. I'm leaving with a very heavy heart because I absolutely loved my work.

I'm also leaving my moderator's role at Agriville. I've been a moderator for about 10 years. I confess I haven't been very active in adding new posts for the last six to eight months but I have continued to read each and every post.

I also confess that I would have preferred if this forum was more about marketing strategies and much less about politics. I know Tom4cwb will give me flack over saying that but marketing strategies are what interest me most.

In closing, have a good harvest and good marketing.

[wilagro]

melvill: Thanks for your guidance and best of luck with that retirement...I'm sure that you will find lots to do.

[Fransisco]

Thanks for all your contributions mel and I hope you'll still stop by here from time to time.

As to your pet peeve. If the CWB actually ever becomes voluntary I think you will see this forum then be used in the way you would prefer.

[mcfarms]

Was thinking about you Lee and wondering, for those that aren't following this or don't understand whats going on (maybe I don't completely either) IN order to implement Alberta's new Livestock management strategy and hire 30 new bodies to teach us how to enter our RFID numbers in the database( my wife has beeen doing it just fine thank you George) Alberta Ag. has offered packages to many of our long time people and asked departments to do a cutback on budgets, thats because Alberta if you hadn't heard is completely destitute and the AG dept. is rolling in extra bodies. If Alberta AG wnats to implement a program for the beef sector fine but not at the expense of an already fairly abandoned crop sector.
IMO this is a stupid move to lose the experience and talent and replace it with clerks.
Lee your help with the marketing clubs and your experience will be missed and theres a cold one in the fridge for you here anytime.

[Steve_Winkler]

Sorry to hear you'll be leaving Lee. It was a pleasure meeting you last year in Beisiker and I know my sister Michele will miss you at the ag station in Brooks. Best of luck.

Steve Winkler

[melvill]

Leaving my job is a much tougher experience than I expected. I'm helped along by messages from wilagro, Francisco, mcfarms and Steve and others coming directly to my office by phone or e-mail. I'm also helped along by calls and e-mails continuing to come from producers asking for my marketing strategy advice - 5 yesterday and two so far this morning. It's all very gratifying.

[parsley]

Dear melvill,

I'm sorry for being slow to respond, but yesterday was like non other...you couldn't duplicate a similarly interesting five hour experience that I had, except on Discovery channel.

Your news saddened me.

But I want to say some things about you.

the name melvill, on Agri-ville, for me, is synonymous with years of experience, with crinkly wit, with kitchen-table practical replies, with patience..., with dedication, with a pinch of left-wing spice, with curiosity, with approachability, with someone you want to go horseback riding with to explore the hills and rivers, and trees, with perkiness,and most of all, with warmth.

With a little luck, you'll continue to occassionally post on here, would you consider it, after all, we are supposed to be like your kids now, lol, but if you use a pseudonym, and we find out, I'll hang you by the heels on the clothesline until it's time to hit the bar, LOL

My best to you, melvill, and thanks for the dedication and all your time,

As always, Parsley

[TOM4CWB]

melville,

Interesting topic 'politics'... at the base of everything we do!

"Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions."

The better we understand why we do what we do... perhaps we can then actually do a better job of it!

Thanks for your wit... smile... and chuckle!

Hope you find happiness... contentment... & peace!

All the best in your new endeavours... what ever they may be!

[just_wondering]

thanks for all your posts lee I was wondering if you will still be available to help farmers out with marketing strategies ?
Will you be in the consulting business to help farmers out in the new market choice environment.
Oh dear , I've brought politics into another thread
thanks again for a job well done

[melvill]

Thanks again for all the kind wishes.

Yes, I'm pretty sure I'll be around to offer advice and strategies to producers, probably with a private consulting firm. I'm not sure which one yet.

First, though, I'm going to take a month off to get my feet on solid ground and to drive my 1966 Meteor Montcalm S-33 2Dr hardtop, which my wife has named Carolyn. Carolyn is finally near home. She is in a resto shop in Dunmore having a few frame repairs and a new master brake cylinder. Then she'll be a driver, hopefully before snow falls.

[charliep]

Before the thread goes off the first screen, I would like to express my thanks to Lee for over 25 years of a work activities (8 years of which I took my own life detour to Winnipeg) including moderatoring Agri-ville. I could share stories about travelling the Peace River country early on in both our careers and finally many interesting places like Oyen, Bow Island, etc later on but I won't (too incriminating).

Suspect Lee won't be retiring but rather just moving to something else. I look forward to working with him on whatever path he chooses.