NB 92
Jan. 26, 1999
FREDERICTON (CNB) - Premier Camille Thériault announced today the appointment of Raymond Frenette and Harrison McCain, president of McCain Foods Limited, as co-chairs of the Sponsorship Committee of the eighth Francophone Summit.
The Sponsorship Committee is made up of 15 members of the New Brunswick and Canadian business community who have become associated with the Moncton Summit on a volunteer basis. The committee's main task will be to target private-sector companies for financial support for the physical and logistical organization of the many official activities planned for the Moncton summit. This will give Canadian businesses the opportunity to lend tangible support to the Francophone communities of Canada and New Brunswick and to promote the eighth Francophone Summit. The Sponsorship Committee will provide leadership and guidance for the sponsors and volunteers for the Organizing Secretariat in the context of its sponsorship campaign for goods, services, and financial contributions.
Frenette and McCain co-chaired the first meeting of the Sponsorship Committee today, Tuesday, Jan. 26, in Fredericton.
"We are proud to be able to count on the support of the business community of New Brunswick and Canada," Premier Thériault said. "It is an exceptional opportunity for these businesses to demonstrate their know-how within the community and to give themselves international exposure."
On the strength of support from Canada's main linguistic communities, the Organizing Secretariat of the eighth Francophone Summit will continue its organizational efforts for the Summit, which will bring together the 52 heads of state and government of the member countries of la Francophonie. From Sept. 3 to 5, 1999, Moncton will host nearly 1,500 delegates and their entourages, and about 600 journalists and technicians. This is the largest international event that has ever taken place in New Brunswick to date.
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EDITOR'S NOTE - Biographies of J. Raymond Frenette and Harrison McCain are attached. MEDIA CONTACTS: Linda Haché, communications, New Brunswick Department of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs, 506-453-7916; Carole Payne, media relations, Eighth Francophone Summit, Organizing Secretariat, 506-382-1999.
Biography - J. Raymond Frenette
Joseph Raymond Frenette was born in Beresford, April 16, 1935. A real estate agent and businessman, he studied arts at the Collège de Bathurst.
A former councillor for the City of Moncton and the former village of Lewisville, Frenette was first elected MLA for Moncton East in 1974. He was re-elected in 1978, 1982, 1987, 1991 and 1995. He was named interim leader of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick on Aug. 15, 1983, and retained that position until March 4, 1985.
During his 13 years as a member of the official opposition, Frenette served on legislative standing committees on economic development, energy, estimates, law amendments, legislative administration, municipalities and corporations, privileges, procedure, public accounts and standing rules. He was a member of the select committees on alcohol and drug abuse, Maritime affairs and Canada's future, and motor vehicle and highway safety. He has been the finance, health, energy and municipalities critic. In 1979-1980, he was opposition house leader.
He was sworn in as Minister of Health and Community Services and appointed government house leader on Oct. 27, 1987.
Following his re-election in 1991, Frenette was appointed chair of the New Brunswick Power Corporation.
He was re-elected for the sixth time in 1995 to represent the riding of Moncton East and was named deputy premier and president of the Executive Council. Following the resignation of Premier Frank McKenna on Oct. 13, 1997, Frenette became acting premier for the province of New Brunswick from Oct. 14, 1997 until May 14, 1998. He presided the New Brunswick delegation to the seventh Francophone Summit in Hanoi in November 1997.
Frenette served as chairman of the Greater Moncton United Way Campaign, president of the Beauséjour Curling Club and has been appointed to the board of directors of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
He and his wife Armande (Hachey) have two children.
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Biography - Harrison McCain
As founder and chairman of McCain Foods Limited, H. Harrison McCain has directed the growth of the company from a small french fry processing operation in Florenceville, New Brunswick, to the world's largest producer of french fries.
A native of Florenceville, McCain graduated from Florenceville High School and attended Acadia University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1949. After several years in sales with Irving Oil Ltd., McCain left to pursue an independent career. In 1956, at the age of 29, McCain and his younger brother Wallace founded McCain Foods Limited with support of their brothers Andrew and Robert.
In addition to serving as a director of companies within the McCain Group and his role as chairman of McCain Foods Limited, McCain sits on many boards of directors including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the Council for Canadian Unity, Junior Achievement of Canada and the Japan Society, and is honorary director of the Bank of Nova Scotia. He is a member of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission.
McCain has more than 40 years of experience in the food industry. He has received many honours for his achievements, his societal leadership and philanthropic activities. In 1984, he was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1986, he was the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick and named an honorary life member of the Agriculture Institute of Canada.
He was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, and earned the Gary Wright Humanitarian Award from Friends of We Care Inc. in 1992. The next year, he was inducted in the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was named Atlantic Canada's Entrepreneur of the Year and received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from l'Université de Moncton. McCain married the late Marion in 1952 and is the father of five children.
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