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Sudbury advocate recognized for food co-op promotion

Peggy Baillie of Sudbury is being recognized for her work in co-op advocacy. Baillie, the managing director of the Eat Local Sudbury Co-operative Inc. , will receive the Co-operative Spirit Award during the Co-op Conference and Celebration on Oct.
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Peggy Baillie of Sudbury is being recognized for her work in promoting food co-operatives.

Peggy Baillie of Sudbury is being recognized for her work in co-op advocacy.

Baillie, the managing director of the Eat Local Sudbury Co-operative Inc., will receive the Co-operative Spirit Award during the Co-op Conference and Celebration on Oct. 28 in Milton.

Baillie is additionally the founding chair of the Ontario-wide Local Organic Food Co-ops Network and a local farmer, and has been described as a “force for positive change.”

Glenn Valliere, director of purchasing for Ontario Natural Food Co-op, cited Baillie’s “energy, passion, determination and an ability to co-ordinate discussions and maintain focus amongst diverse stakeholders and complex agendas in a rapidly changing and leading-edge organization.”

"After a visit earlier this year to Eat Local Sudbury, I was awed by what Peggy and her team created in terms of maintaining an engaging member experience (for both consumers and producers) and developing critical capital infrastructure for a novel food supply-chain for a relatively young retail co-op in Ontario's North,” Valliere said in a release.

A second Northern Ontario enterprise will also be recognized. Team Werks Co-operative, based out of Thunder Bay, will receive the Co-operative Spirit Award. Team Werks is described as a social enterprise owned and operated by consumers of mental health and addictions services.

The conference is organized by the Ontario Co-operative Association, a provincial body that develops, engages, educates and advocates for the province’s 1,300 co-ops.