Fred Lyczewski Fred has resided on the same farm located 3 miles east of Beiseker all his life. He attended a one room school in the same area and after graduating took several courses at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology which have helped immensely in his mixed farming operation.
Fred and his wife Nelda have been married for 46 years and have 2 children Darryl and Dorothy and 4 grandchildren. Fred and Nelda have farmed for 50 years raising hogs (farrow to finish), laying hens, cereal grain and oil seeds.
Fred has been involved with REA’s for over 20 years as a director, beginning with the Beiseker REA and then Central Alberta REA following amalgamation in 1997. Fred is presently on the scholarship and audit committees with CAREA. Fred has been the secretary treasurer of the Beiseker Medical Building Co-Op Ltd. for the past 18 years, and is currently the chairman of the RockyView Gas Co-op and has sat on its Board for 28 years.
Fred enjoys curling, square dancing and was an active member of the Beiseker Golden Years Town and Country Club for 17 years, of which he was Chairman for 6 years.
Fred has always been a willing worker for the community, the church and volunteer driver for seniors. Now that he has retired from farming Fred and his wife enjoy traveling and meeting new people.
Doug Drozd
Doug has lived on several farms in the Mayerthorpe, Sunnybrook and Barrhead areas and now currently resides south of Barrhead with my wife Illie. Doug and Illie have two sons, Devin and James. Doug attended school in Mayerthorpe and Warburg districts. He then spent time farming with his parents on a dairy farm in Sunnybrook and then a cow-calf farm in Barrhead.
Doug joined the Sion REA board in 2000, and then became interested in an amalgamation with CAREA that was successful in 2005.
Doug has a variety of work experience including the Northern Alberta Dairy Pool Creamery in Barrhead. He may have been one the last people to haul cream cans. Doug is currently employed with the district Coop, and has always tried to play an active role in his community.
Doug has always been a supporter of the cooperative movement and is proud of the work and accomplishments of the pioneers of Alberta. He supports rural community self reliance and also in the spirit of cooperation and working together.
Brian Turnbull
Brian and his wife Marjene live and farm in the Onoway area. They have three children who have left the farm to pursue their careers. They currently have two grandchildren. Brian is a third generation farmer and the farm received the Alberta Century Farm award in 2002. Brian and Marjene received the Lac Ste Anne County/Northlands Farm Family Award in 2004. Brian grew up and attended school in the Onoway area. Marjene is a well known potter.
Brian became a director for the Onoway REA in 1993 and remained a director following its amalgamation to form Yellowhead REA and then served as a director from 2000 to 2004. Brian continued on as a director for Central Alberta REA from 2004 and currently sits on the Energy committee and the Board Development committee.
Brian has been involved with a number of organizations over the years including the Alberta Cattle Commission, Alberta Wheat Pool, Agricore, Lac Ste Anne County Agricultural Service Board, Region 5 Soil Conservation Committee, Co-operators Insurance review panel, UFA advisory committee, and has been a delegate to the UGG annual meeting. He is currently very involved with the Onoway Historical Guild.
Jim Towle
Jim and his wife Phyllis operate a family farm in the Innisfail area with their daughter Jenny and her husband. They milk 140 Holsteins daily and farm 1,000 acres for feed and cash crops. Their daughter Jackie lives in the Red Deer area, and son Brad lives in Innisfail. Jim and Phyllis currently have 9 grandchildren.
Jim graduated in Lacombe and grew up in the area. He worked in the electrical industry for Calgary Power/TransAlta for 28 years as a power lineman providing service to the Innisfail area.
Jim became a director with Central Alberta REA in 1998 and is currently Chairman. Because of past work experience Jim brings a solid understanding of the power industry to the board. Jim has always felt that REA’s are an important part of the rural power distribution history of Alberta.
Jim was an instructor and CO with the Army Cadets in Innisfail for several years. He also served on the Innisfail Agriculture Society Board of Directors and was the chairman for two years. Jim also serves on the UFA advisory committee, is a delegate with Alberta Milk and a director with Innisfail Municipal Seed Plant.
Willie Moran
Willie along with his wife Joanne, children Lance and Kelsey operate a mixed farm west of Huxley, with the help of other family members. The farm was originally homesteaded by his grandfather in 1903.
Willie has been a volunteer with several boards in the Community over the years. He served on the Bowden REA Board starting in the early 1980's up until its amalgamation with the Central Alberta REA1992, and has been a director since. Willie has served as past Chairman of both Central Alberta REA and Prairie Power Ltd. He believes that it is important to continue to expand CAREA membership in the future as opportunities come along to help maintain a viable organization.
With his years of experience with REA’s, along with good leadership skills, strategic planning ability and knowledge in the commodity area, Willie feels he has a lot to offer to both Central Alberta REA and Prairie Power Ltd.
Ed Beniuk
Ed along with his wife Tanya live in the Evansburg area. They have three children, a daughter Ahnastasia and two sons Alekxzander and Auhstin.
Ed has worked in the farming industry all his life and driven a school bus for the past 25 years. Ed became a director of the Entwistle/Magnolia REA in 1992, and remained a director following its amalgamation with 3 other REA’s to form the Yellowhead REA. The Yellowhead REA then amalgamated with Central Alberta REA in 2004 during which time he continued as a director. Ed is also a volunteer for the Parkcourt Community Hall.
Ed’s personality and previous work experience have provided him with the experience and ability to make effective decisions and a good judge of character. Ed’s not afraid to ask questions and prides himself on being able to assess all sides of a situation before drawing any conclusions.
Ed enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, ice fishing, playing games, and attending social functions. His hobbies include repairing machinery and going to auction sales.
Murray Ormberg
Murray and his wife Teri farm near Rimbey. They have two sons Lars and Andrew. Murray and Teri have farmed since 1960 and continue to raise Limousine cattle and grow hay and cereal crops. In the early years of farming Murray drove a school bus for Cardinal Coach Lines. In 1965 he became the area manager for Cardinal and retired in 2004.
Murray became a director for the Blindman Valley REA Board in 1976 and served on that Board until 2000 when they amalgamated with Central Alberta REA. During his time on the Blindman Valley REA Board he was chairman for 6 years. Since the amalgamation in 2000 Murray has continued on as a director of Central Alberta REA. Murray has also been a director on the Benjamin Gas Coop since 1992.
Murray’s long standing job as Area Manager for Cardinal has provided him with good knowledge and understanding of business issues. The experience that he has gained over the years on both the REA and Gas Coop boards has provided him with a good background for working with government and other utility stakeholders.
Claude Newsham
Claude along with his wife Eileen, son Randy and his wife Erika operate a family farm west of Innisfail. Their oldest son Laurie, a Faculty Member at Olds College and his wife Carla live in the Olds area. His daughter Michelle lives in the Cochrane area and works as Office Manager at a retreat centre.
Claude was born in Innisfail and raised on the family farm. Upon graduation from High School he spent 10 years in Calgary working as a Dispatcher for a trucking company and Service Manager for a tire store. With his wife Eileen and young family they moved to the farm in the late 60's to take over the farming operation from his parents.
Claude served on the Little Red Deer REA board beginning in the late 1970's up to its amalgamation with Central Alberta REA in 1992, and has been a Director since. Claude served as Chairman from 1996 - 1998 and on a number of different sub-committees since then. Claude is very proud of CAREA and what we have accomplished over the last 14 years.
Dave Wigmore
Dave and his wife Karen have four children and four grandchildren. Dave was born in Lacombe and raised on the family farm west of Blackfalds. Dave and Karen enjoy motorcycling, river boating and camping, however their priorities are family, friends and neighbors.
Dave has tickets of proficiency in plumbing, gas, steam and pipefitting and onsite wastewater management. In addition, he’s an experienced heavy equipment operator. Dave and Karen have owned and operated a plumbing and heating business (Allison Plumbing & Heating Ltd) for over 35 years and an excavating business (Brothers Trenching Ltd) for 20 years. In addition they also own and operate a farm.
Dave became a director of the Blackfalds REA in 1998 and then continued with Central Alberta REA in 1999 after the amalgamation. His background in owning and operating his own businesses has assisted him in his role as a Director. It has proved invaluable when working on the business plan and setting the strategic goals of Central Alberta REA.
Dave has enjoyed being a part of the Central Alberta REA Board and looks forward to continuing to work on behalf of the membership moving into the future.
Joe Bowhay
Joe and his wife, Wanda live in the Elkton community (between Sundre and Cremona), where they enjoy their horse related hobbies and visits from their children and grandchildren.
Joe was raised on a mixed, but primarily dairy farm in the Bearspaw district (between Calgary and Cochrane). After starting his formal education in a one room schoolhouse at Bearspaw, he completed most of his schooling in Cochrane.
After graduation Joe went to work for Calgary Power Ltd. (now Trans Alta). Seven years later he left to join the Calgary Fire Department, where 32 years later he retired as a Captain. Along the way Joe stayed close to his rural roots by maintaining a small herd of cattle and some property which is all part of a larger family farm.
Prior to being elected to the CAREA board of directors Joe became and still sits as a director of the Foothills Natural Gas Co-op. The experience there is so interesting that he was inspired to look for more.
Glen Fox
TBA