Memorial Fund to honour ag-biomass pioneer Tiessen

January 23, 2014, Guelph, Ont. – A memorial fund has been
established to honour the vision and memory of ag-biomass pioneer Dean Thiessen of New Energy Farms, who was shot and killed last year in Brazil. The Fund has been introduced by the Rural Ontario Institute and will support its Advanced
Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP).

Dean Tiessen of New Energy Farms was a catalyst in helping
establish the province’s fledgling biomass sector, as well as a leader in the
greenhouse vegetable industry and a member of Class 10 of the AALP from 2003 to 2005.

In honour of Dean, his AALP classmates have established the
Dean Tiessen Memorial Fund to help support the third seminar of each AALP
class. This seminar is traditionally hosted in Dean’s home region of
southwestern Ontario and is focused on the theme of “change”, which his
classmates feel very appropriately describes Dean’s approach to his
agricultural businesses.

“No one in our class symbolized change better than Dean,”
says Henry Koskamp, a member of the Class 10 committee that is establishing the
fund. “His drive to find a solution to high energy costs in the greenhouse
industry helped start our biomass industry and made him a pioneer in energy
crops, not just here in Ontario but also internationally.”

The fund will be in place for ten years to support the next
five AALP classes and will be administered through the Rural Ontario Institute
(ROI), the organization that delivers AALP. The goal is to offer each class a key
note speaker or presenter, include an evening banquet, or arrange for a special
visit in the region in keeping with the “change” theme – all activities that
would otherwise be outside of the scope of the seminar budget.

“As Dean’s classmates, we all have fond memories of his
open, giving spirit and of the many thought-provoking discussions he helped
lead in our class, as well as the zest with which he approached life and
embraced new ideas,” says Andy Van Niekerk, also a member of the fund’s
organizing committee. “We encourage anyone who knew Dean to contribute to this
fund and help keep his memory and his passion for change and innovation in
agriculture alive.”

Donations will be accepted at the AALP Dream Auction in
Guelph on February 8, but can also be made online through the Rural Ontario
Institute at www.canadahelps.org/dn/12160 – please select the Dean
Tiessen Memorial Fund from the dropdown menu. Cheques can be made payable to
ROI and sent to 5653 Highway #6 N. RR#5, Guelph, ON N1H 6J2 with a note that
the funds are to be designated to the Dean Tiessen Memorial Fund. Tax receipts
are available.