As National Forest Week is celebrated across the country, Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is seizing the opportunity to announce the recipients of its annual Awards of Excellence program. Today, FPAC announced that Senator Diane Griffin and Marc Joron of EACOM Timber Corporation have been honoured with the Forest Community Champion Award.
The Forest Community Champion award is presented to a community leader who demonstrates support for the forest sector and its contributions to Canada’s environmental, economic, and social priorities.
“Senator Diane Griffin has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the people of Canada and to the advancement of sustainability and responsible resource development. As Chair of the Senate’s Agriculture and Forestry Committee, she has been an advocate for the forestry and agricultural sectors by promoting value-added, sustainably-sourced and Canadian made products to domestic and international markets,” said FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor. “In 2018, the Senator was a key voice for businesses and workers in rural Canada to ensure the unique challenges facing rural and remote shippers of products, like forest products, were addressed in Bill C-49. Her ongoing commitment and public service truly exemplify what it means to be a community champion, and we thank the Senator for her lifetime of dedication in this space.”
Senator Diane Griffin was appointed to the Senate of Canada in October 2016, representing Prince Edward Island, and serves as Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry.
Prior to joining the Senate, Senator Griffin worked in land conservation in both her career and volunteer activity. She was the Natural Areas Coordinator in Alberta for eight years before moving back home to work for the Prince Edward Island Nature Trust. She later served as the PEI Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Environment, then as the PEI Program Director for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Senator Griffin served on national boards and advisory groups such as Nature Canada, Birds Studies Canada, Wildlife Habitat Canada and the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy, as well as the Canadian Environmental Advisory Council. Senator Griffin was a member of Stratford Town Council for 13 years and sees municipalities as key players in reducing Canada’s carbon footprint.
“Protecting nature is my life’s work. Sustainable forestry will play a huge role in protecting our climate and our ecosystems in the years ahead; innovations like mass timber construction stand to aid in our transition to a less carbon-intensive economy,” said Senator Griffin. “I am proud to be recognized by FPAC, an organization committed to reforestation, biodiversity, water protection, and slowing climate change.”
“Marc Joron is a tireless champion of conservation and Canada’s forest sector,” said FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor. “Whether it be directly in his role with EACOM or throughout his many volunteer activities, Marc exemplifies community leadership and demonstrates each day how one individual can make an impactful positive difference.”
Mark is originally from Oakville Ontario, where his father volunteered at a local bird sanctuary and where his interest in the outdoors and wildlife started. Mark would become a boy scout and go on to become a Leader, Venture and Rover – and his first summer job was as park warden. Mark studied forestry at Sault College where he enrolled in the two-year Forestry Technician program and returned for a third year to take Forest Management Planning Technology. He worked in Timmins each summer with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and when he graduated, took on his first full time job at MNR doing Science and Tree Development. Marc has been at EACOM for the past two years as a Woodlands Superintendent, helping to implement sustainable forest management plans. In his spare time, Marc volunteers at Wintergreen Fund for Conservation, Kettle Lakes Provincial Park, Timmins Honour Roll of Trees, Timmins LCC, BeeCity and others.
To learn more about FPAC’s Awards of Excellence recipients, please visit: https://www.fpac.ca/posts/fpac-awards-of-excellence
FPAC provides a voice for Canada’s wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. As an industry with annual revenues exceeding $80B, Canada’s forest products sector is one of the country’s largest employers operating in over 600 communities, providing 230,000 direct jobs, and over 600,000 indirect jobs across the country.
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