It is my pleasure to present a very special award tonight 

 

It is the Distinguished Award for Performance in memory of Penny O’ Carroll 

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This award is meaningful because I know Penny is with us here tonight as she is very pleased to be remembered this way. She had a ton to contribute to our industry and our association. She was taken from us all too soon. 

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And I also know she is endorsing this choice, because this year’s recipients is a character, a fighter, a resilient person He is somehow likeable even when I think he is wrong – just kidding. 

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This year Penny and I are pleased to present the award to Garry Moffat of Specialized Spray Systems based in Lethbridge Alberta. 

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Lethbridge may be Garry’s base, but his real home has been airports, farmer yards, grass strips, the highway, gravel roads and his RV. 

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For many, many years Garry has been providing mobile, on site spray pattern testing and certification services. His start he says was in 1982 – a great majority of you ag pilots were not even in God’s plan just yet. 

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This certification work he did then, and even now is hindered by weather and it takes a great deal of planning and then patience to be ready to work when the weather opp presents. 

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However, you will never find Garry miserable. He has this “what can you do” demeanor, a cheeky smile and a hearty laugh. 

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There is hardly an operator, whether it be air or ground, in Western Canada that doesn’t know Garry and I know first hand how often Garry’s clinic has been called upon sometimes at the last minute to assist an operator with his setup. 

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Garry works very hard to keep up with the technology and he is often challenged, even by me! While it’s true that Garry and I have been in competing roles at times, our friendship is based on both of our intents to try and support the industry and help the industry to evolve. 

​But as a colleague of his, I can tell you Garry has taught me a lot. We have