REGINA, Saskatchewan, Nov. 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) and 4-H Canada, today announced the renewal of their partnership to advance youth leadership and safety in Canada. Made possible through a four year commitment, the renewed annual 4-H Canada Leadership Excellence Awards of Distinction (L.E.A.D.) recognize exceptional 4-H senior youth members and showcase their accomplishments in the area of leadership excellence and safety.
“L.E.A.D. is 4-H Canada’s most prestigious scholarship that recognizes 4-H senior youth that are making lasting contributions to their communities and that seeks to help them as they move into their post-secondary careers,” said Shannon Benner, CEO of 4-H Canada. “This partnership renewal is a testament to CN’s commitment to fostering youth leadership and safety in Canada and our shared value in investing in youth in rural and agricultural communities.”
L.E.A.D. recipients each benefit from four-year scholarships in the amount of $5000 per year toward their post-secondary studies. They also are matched with a mentor who plays a leadership role in their industry and community. This mentorship relationship is an important component of the award program and will help the L.E.A.D. recipients as they forge their careers. Recent studies have estimated that from 2013 to 2022 there will be almost 74,000 job openings in Canadian agriculture, but only 49,000 projected job seekers. This represents a huge opportunity for the country’s youth and it starts with mentorship opportunities and skills transfer.
“CN is excited to continue our support for the L.E.A.D. program that fosters rural youth leadership,” said Sean Finn, Executive Vice-President of Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer of CN, who announced the renewal of CN sponsorship for four more years in Regina today. “The program has been very successful in meeting the goal of developing future leaders who will promote our shared values of leadership and safety across our nation.”
“Agribition is honoured to be the venue for such a significant announcement between CN and 4-H,” says Canadian Western Agribition CEO Chris Lane. “CN has a long history of investing in agriculture programming, and both 4-H and CN are big parts of this show. It’s great to see support for the future of the industry.”
The recipients of the L.E.A.D. scholarships will be announced in the Fall of 2019.
About 4-H Canada
For over 100 years, 4-H Canada has been one of the most highly respected positive youth development organizations in Canada. 4-H Canada has close to 25,000 members and more than 7,700 volunteer leaders. Our goal is to help young Canadians “Learn To Do By Doing” in a safe, inclusive and fun environment. We believe in nurturing responsible, caring and contributing youth leaders who are committed to positively impacting their communities across Canada and around the world. To learn more about 4-H Canada, please visit 4-h-canada.ca.
About CN
CN is a true backbone of the economy whose team of more than 25,000 railroaders transports safely more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America. CN – Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries – serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information about CN, visit the Company’s website at www.cn.ca.
For more information, media may contact:
Jay Poulton
Marketing and Communications Director
4-H Canada
613-759-1013 ext. 131
jpoulton@4-h-canada.ca
CN Media
Jonathan Abecassis
Manager
Media Relations
(514) 399-7956
jonathan.abecassis@cn.ca