It was a cold October evening, about 6:55PM if I remember correctly. I walked into the Mount Allison student union’s council meeting to sit as a newly elected member. Overwhelmed and intimidated by the whole experience I could barely bring myself to contribute an opinion to the discussions. Looking around at some of the other faces, I knew I was not alone. Suddenly a motion was put forward but had no seconder, this was my time to shine. I raised my placard and declared, “I will second the motion”. Next the chair in his authoritative manner announced, “Joni motions, Alex seconds”. “Hooray” I shouted in my head, “I did something important”. Looking across the floor to Joni I saw a bright smile on her face. I think I just made a friend.
And so our friendship developed over the year working as advocates for student issues, trying to make the world a better place, one small step at a time. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, indeed I thought this was the case at the end of the school year. How would we continue to promote and be advocates for the things we care about? This is where ACORN has come in for us. Woo hoo! Here Joni and I are, together again, trying to make the world a better place, one small step at a time.
Joni and I both have a passion to learn and help in promoting organic products and supporting the community of farmers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers involved in the production and consumption of all things organic. So here we are, our first week on the job, writing this blog, connecting with the organic community in Atlantic Canada and are super excited to be doing it all. We both hope to get to know as many of you as possible and help in the promotion of organic agriculture.
For those of you who would like to get to know us a little more personally, we’ve got a little questionnaire that we have both filled out:
Name: Alex MacDonald
School: Mount Allison
Program: Political Science
Hometown: Oshawa, ON
Favourite animal: Sloth
Favourite fruit/veggie: Mango
What do you want to be when you grow up: Lobbyist
Where in Canada would you love to travel to: Labrador
Favorite quote: “He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” – Harold Wilson.
Name: Joni Fleck-Andrews
School: Mount Allison
Program: Philosophy, Environmental Studies, Commerce
Hometown: Riverview, NB
Favourite Animal: Frogs
Favourite fruit/veggie: Depends on the season
What do you want to be when you grow up: Lifetime student
Where in Canada would you love to travel to: Northern B.C.
Favorite quote: “Be the change you want to see in the world” – Gandhi
See you around,
Joni and Alex
