Governance

The roots of the Prince Edward Island Potato Board can be traced as far back as 1920, when the first Potato Growers’ Association was formed on Prince Edward Island. A true marketing board followed in 1950 and was restructured as a producer controlled board under the Natural Products Marketing Act in 1990.

The PEI Potato Board is made up of 12 directors elected by their peers to serve a three year term. The Island is divided into three districts: Western, Central, and Eastern. There are three directors elected per district and three from At Large, one representing each of the three sectors of the industry – seed, table and processing. The directors are all active potato growers, and serve staggered terms so that one term expires and one new director is elected from each district each year – this helps to maintain continuity in board operations from year to year. Board directors may serve a maximum of two terms consecutively.

The Chair of the Board, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are elected from amongst these 12 directors.

Executive

Donald Stavert
Chair

Katie MacLennan
Vice-Chair

Randy Visser
Secretary-Treasurer

Directors

Rit VanNieuwenhuyzen
Director – At Large

Shawn Birch
Director – Central

Becky Townshend
Director – At Large

Andrew Nieuwhof
Director – Central

Committees

The Board operates several committees to deal in detail with specific areas of the industry.

These committees make recommendations on actions to be taken by the Potato Board. All final decisions rest with the full Board of Directors.

The Committees are made up of a select number of Board directors, Board staff members, representatives elected from within a particular sector of the industry and/or individuals appointed to a committee to provide a particular viewpoint or expertise.

The Committees of the Potato Board include: Finance, Farm/Seed, Processing, Tablestock, and Environment/Production/Research.

PEI Potato Board Staff