Latest news with #Konowalchuk
Calgary Herald
30-04-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Progress being made to again provide loans for Picture Butte Cooperative members
The court-appointed restructuring officer for Alberta's largest cattle feeder association says progress continues to be made towards restoring the ability of the Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative (PBFC) to again make loans to its members. Article content Article content Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson issued an order Jan. 27 preventing the PBFC from making any new loans under the government-backed Feeder Associations Loan Guarantee (FALG) program. Article content Article content In the order, the ministry said the PBFC failed to comply with sections of the Feeder Associations Guarantee Act and the Feeder Associations General Regulation (FAGR). and also found some aspects of its operations to be 'unsound.' The order was based on Agriculture and Irrigation inspections between Sept. 7, 2023 and May 15, 2024 and a Nov. 18 report prepared based on the findings. Article content Article content Following the ministerial order, the Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative asked that Alvarez and Marsal Canada be appointed as the restructuring officer, and in February the company was appointed by a court, with a mandate to take the necessary steps to get the order lifted. Under the court order, all current board members were deemed to have resigned. Article content Article content On Monday, Alvarez and Marsal Canada said it has been working closely with the minister's office and lenders over the past several weeks to have the ministerial order lifted and negotiate updated credit term arrangements between the PBFC and lenders. Article content 'We anticipate providing a further update later this week on the timing of when PBFC will be back to 'operations as normal' to allow PBFC being able to provide loans to its Member's without restrictions,' wrote Alvarez and Marsal Canada senior vice-president Orest Konowalchuk in the April 28 update. Article content A spokesperson for Sigurdson said Wednesday the restructuring officer, acting as the PBFC board, 'still needs to solidify a few things operationally' before the ministerial order can be lifted. Article content In Monday's update to members, Konowalchuk had other progress to report, with Alvarez and Marsal hiring a local supervisor for the PBFC. Cody McBride, who has over 25 years of expertise in the agriculture and financial sectors, starts May 5. Article content 'This decision marks a significant step forward in ensuring PBFC's operational stability and progress,' wrote Konowalchuk about hiring McBride. Article content The restructuring officer is also hiring a permanent, full-time administrator and hopes to select a candidate 'in the very near term.' On March 5, an interim administrator, Lynda Miller, was hired following the resignation of the former administrator, according to a March 17 update to members. Article content Members were also informed March 17 that an inventory count was conducted between March 3 and 7. Inspection teams went to 52 farms and feedlots, and found cattle were properly identified and in good condition, and the correct number of cattle were present. Article content The Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, established in 1991, helps members buy livestock through the Feeder Associations Loan Guarantee program, which, according to the province, provides easy access to low-interest, leveraged financing backed by a government guarantee. Under FALG, feeder associations are approved for a maximum revolving credit amount from lenders, and a portion of that amount is guaranteed by the Alberta government, resulting in members being able to get 'relatively straightforward and easy access to capital, that may not otherwise be available to the individual members,' reads an affidavit by former Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative vice chair and board member Tony Ankermann. As of Aug. 31, 2024, PBFC had 227 active and inactive members. As of Jan. 31, members owed PBFC $281,266,976 in total, under both the purchase and equity loan programs, and the PBFC owed the same amount to its lenders. Article content
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Springfield Thunderbirds prepare for Calder Cup Playoffs
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Springfield Thunderbirds are getting ready for the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, where they'll take on the Providence Bruins. 10 without a home after fire on Phoenix Street in Springfield The Thunderbirds will visit Providence for their first playoff game in a series of three against the Bruins, marking the teams' first ever playoff meeting, but it is their fifth post-season meeting, nodding to this New England rivalry. Springfield took the win in each of the first three series against Providence, while the Bruins were out for payback, and clinched a five-game series win in the division semifinals in 2014. Looking to this series, the T-Birds are coming home to the MassMutual Center for game two in the best of three series. 'The crowd's great in the regular season, it's always loud, it's a good home ice advantage for our team with the energy and for playoffs it's up another notch,' said Steve Konowalchuk, the Head Coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds. During the regular season, the T-Birds posted a record of seven wins, three losses, and two shootout losses against the bruins, including wins at four of their last five match ups. Konowalchuk says the team plans to use the same game plan they used all season against the Bruins, adding the excitement of the playoffs and of course, the providence rivalry. If the Thunderbirds defeat the Bruins in the series, they would meet the two-time defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division Semifinals. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
