The Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association is pleased to announce another great lineup of speakers for the annual Beef Industry Convention.  The event will be held January 5 to 7, 2012 at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn in London. Now in its 14th year, the Convention aims to bring each sector of Ontario’s beef business together to celebrate our industry.

This year, we are thrilled to have motivational speaker Alvin Law on our program for the 2012 Convention. Alvin is someone hard to define. He has no arms, so his program must yet be 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. He is also an award winning musician, best-selling author and in 2009, was the sole inductee into the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers Hall of Fame. He has spoken on five continents to over two-million people.

Alvin Law

The Calgary resident 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.  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.  It is Alvin’s roadmap he offers groups around the world to not only enable them, but to prove that attitude can make all the difference.

Globe & Mail’s John Ibbitson Is Back

 

 

John Ibbitson

 

One of the more popular speakers at the Beef Industry Convention is returning to the podium for 2012. The OCFA is pleased to have Globe and Mail political reporter John Ibbitson joining us for another year. Sought out for his analysis of news events relevant to the industry, Ibbitson has delivered informative and insightful presentations in the past.

Ibbitson graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1988 with a Masters degree in Journalism. John worked as a reporter, columnist and Queen’s Park correspondent until 1999, when he joined the Globe and Mail. He served as Queen’s Park columnist, Washington bureau chief and Ottawa political affairs columnist, before returning to Washington to inaugurate his column and commentary on American politics and society.

In September 2009, Ibbitson returned to Canada to become the Ottawa bureau chief for the Globe, 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 newspaper, 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.

Rounding out our speakers’ program for 2012 are consumer researcher John Vieira of Strategic Research Associates in Guelph, Curtis Royal, President of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, Dale Pallister, President of Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association and Ontario Corn Fed Beef, and Jim Clark, Executive Director of OCFA and OCFB.

For the complete agenda and registration details please visit www.beefindustryconvention.com