Mike Flynn joins Alberta Grains as commission’s first executive director

By Harley Groeneveld, Marketing Communications Specialist | Alberta Grains

Alberta Grains announced today that Mike Flynn has been named the commission’s first Executive Director. He joins the organization with more than two decades of executive director experience.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Mike to the Alberta Grains family as the new executive director of the commission,” says Alberta Grains Interim Chair, Tara Sawyer, farming out of Acme, Alberta. “He provides significant experience leading multiple organizations in a variety of sectors, and has the ideal background and combination of technical, interpersonal and communication skills that we look for in a leader and representative for the commission.”

Mike’s experience as an executive director began over 20 years ago with the Calgary Police Commission (CPC), where he acted as the interface between the commission, the citizens of Calgary, the Police Service, the City of Calgary and other agencies. From there he spent time as an Executive Advisor with then Mount Royal College, providing advice on strategic business initiatives, financial planning and budgetary matters. He would then spend the next seven years serving as the Executive Director for the Urban Development Institute (UDI) where he was responsible for working in partnership with the City of Calgary and associated stakeholder groups to promote and advocate for residential development. Between then and now, Mike held two more Executive Director roles – one with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Land Administration and most recently with FireSmart Alberta.

“All of my roles have been in very different sectors of the economy, so I’ve almost always been faced with a steep learning curve coming in, but I’ve actually found that to be beneficial,” says the newly appointed executive director. “I don’t come in with any sort of preconceived notions related to the agriculture industry and think I bring a fresh perspective to the table. I’m incredibly excited to get started and join such a passionate and talented group of people.”

A common trend throughout Mike’s career has been his commitment to organizations that positively impact Alberta and Albertans. Throughout his time with CPC and UDI, he dealt with an array of stakeholders and focused on increasing accessibility and accountability, while his time with FireSafe led him to rural communities throughout Alberta where he developed formal partnerships and relationships with stakeholders of every level, further cementing his passion for giving back to the province.

“I’m a born and raised Albertan who is proud to call this province home and deeply care about the impacts we have on our land and people,” says Mike. “I think the recognition for our farmers and industry as a whole has been lacking in recent years, and I’m determined to make Alberta Grains a model association that’s recognized as a proper economic driver with our farmers at the forefront.”

Flynn is confident from all he’s seen and heard so far that goal will soon be a reality, and the interim board of directors who selected him feel the same way.

“Mike was a perfect fit for what we’re looking for in an executive director and we couldn’t be happier to be bringing him on,” said Jason Lenz, Alberta Grains interim vice-chair, farming out of Bentley, Alberta. “His unique background and wide array of experiences at the executive level, coupled with his passion and drive to make Alberta Grains a premier institution in the agricultural and not-for-profit sectors made him an easy choice for the role.”

He and his wife Joanie are the proud parents of a daughter, Shae (7) and a son, Maxwell (3). When he’s not spending time with his family, running back and forth between his daughter’s hockey games, jiu-jitsu practice or snowboarding lessons, you’ll likely find Mike out cycling with his headphones on, belting out some U2.

“My two biggest passions are probably bike riding and music, so combining the two is kind of my special alone time where I can get some exercise in, but more importantly sing and occasionally rap to myself - keyword being ‘to myself’.”

As the newly appointed executive director, he is eagerly excited about the opportunity to champion the Alberta Grains story and establish its brand nationally and internationally as an industry leader. Mike sees a tremendous opportunity to help tell the story of the province’s 18,000 wheat and barley farmers and can't wait to get officially started on November 1.

Today’s announcement comes at an exciting time for the future of Alberta Grains, as elections for the first permanent board of directors are just around the corner and will take place at regional meetings across the province throughout November.