Barbara and Merle Olson, as well as the late Cor Vaan Ray, are among the eight citizens who received the Alberta Order of Excellence this year. The award is the province’s highest honour for citizens under the Canadian honours system.
Barbara and Merle Olson are behind Alberta Veterinary Laboratories Ltd. and Solvet, where they research, develop and manufacture a range of animal health products, including Meloxicam Oral Suspension (to relieve pain and inflammation in recently castrated calves). Barbara holds a graduate degree in toxicology, a PhD from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and also completed a post-doc from the University of Calgary.
Merle earned a graduate degree in electrochemistry before graduating from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and joining a veterinary practice at Pincher Creek, Alta. Merle and Barbara conducted research together while working at the University of Calgary, notably as part of the Biofilm Research Group, where they studied how biofilms affect chronic infections. They helped develop the Calgary Biofilm Device, to help doctors choose the best antimicrobials to treat infections associated with cystic fibrosis. The Calgary Biofilm Device is now used in human and veterinary medicine as well as plant pathology, notes an Alberta government release.
Cor Van Raay was born in Holland and immigrated to Canada in 1959. He began farming in Alberta, and eventually bought cattle and built large feed- lots, later expanding his farming operation into Saskatchewan. Van Raay supported several causes, including the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation, Picture Butte High School and community, the Dragon Boat festival, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Interfaith Food Bank, the Lethbridge YMCA, Lethbridge College, the University of Lethbridge and St. Catherine’s Parish and School in Picture Butte. His $3.75 million gift to the Lethbridge YMCA was among the largest donations ever to a Canadian YMCA and allowed the Lethbridge organization to build a state-of-the-art facility. Van Raay passed away in July, before the investiture ceremony, but he did learn that he was to receive the award.
Dr. Jay Cross has been elected president of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, the first veterinarian and first University of Calgary professor to take the post. The academy is a One Health organization that brings together experts from across the health sciences spectrum to work on health issues affecting Canadians. Those experts examine specific health issues and develop recommendations for decision-makers. Cross is an interdisciplinary researcher, a professor of molecular genetics at the University of Calgary, a founding director of Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute and a rancher.
Sandy Russell of Outlook, Sask. has been appointed the CEO of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council. Russell previously worked as the director of business development for the council’s leading initiative, the Canadian Beef Improvement Network. Russell holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in science from the University of Saskatchewan and has a strong background in the agriculture industry, including as a partner in Spring Creek Land and Cattle Consulting. The Canadian Beef Breeds Council, an incorporated division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, facilitates genetic advancements within the industry and represents the Canadian seedstock sector domestically and internationally.
Congratulations to Duane Movald, who received the 2021 Dave Reid Award from ALUS for his stewardship efforts (see photo at top). Movald and his family were the first to complete a project with ALUS Brazeau in central Alberta, focusing on a watercourse with slumping banks devoid of vegetation. Since starting their riparian project, new tree saplings have emerged along the watercourse, helping to stabilize the banks, prevent soil erosion and mitigate floods. Plants on the banks also capture sediment, ensuring cleaner water downstream. The area is now managed as a pasture cell, only grazed lightly when necessary. ALUS also recognized runner-ups, including Sarah Hargreaves and Drake Larsen of ALUS Elgin (Ontario) and Olivier Martin of ALUS Montérégie (Quebec).
Congratulations to Dr. Trevor DeVries of Guelph, Ont., who was named the 2021 Metacam® 20 Bovine Welfare Award recipient. DeVries is a professor and the Canada research chair in dairy cattle behaviour and welfare at the University of Guelph. His research focuses on how housing systems, management and diet influence feeding behaviour and diet selection. He’s researched topics ranging from feedlot heifers’ behaviour and motivation to obtain forage (contrafreeloading) to pastured dairy cows’ responses to natural fly repellant. In addition to his research responsibilities, DeVries teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of dairy cattle management, behaviour and welfare. He also coaches the university Dairy Challenge team and mentors graduate and undergraduate students.
