MBP hosts successful virtual meetings

Manitoba Beef Producers members voted in a new director during one of the 10 virtual meetings

After completing their fall meetings in a virtual format, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) staff are reflecting on their successes and reviewing lessons learned.

MBP staff held 10 virtual district and general meetings over the last three weeks, said Carson Callum. He is the general manager of MBP.

“It was great to get the engagement that we had in this new kind of times we're in. Overall, (the experience) was positive,” Callum told Farms.com. “From an organizational perspective, we still have a lot of work – like advocacy work or public trust communications – that we can do during this difficult time. So, we wanted to ensure that our membership is aware of some of the things we're working on.”

While overall attendance of the meetings was down compared to in-person events, MBP staff were still happy with the outcome, said Callum.

MBP staff held the meetings on Zoom and even conducted the election of a new director in one district.

“A polling system on the Zoom platform allowed for voting. We had two nominations for one director position in district 11,” he said. “We also had a text option for (members who) were on the phone. We had a third party helping us with the meeting. This impartial party tallied the votes, both from the online polling system and the text-in vote.”

The organizers learned many small things over the last three weeks and want to build on these lessons for upcoming meetings, said Callum.

For example, the team will “ensure we have the proper tech support, proper Internet connections, and proper information on the screen when folks sign into” the virtual annual general meeting in February, he said.

FG Trade/E+ photo