Sponsor Spotlight: Scotian Gold
Scotian Gold Cooperative is pleased to be a sponsor of Team Nova Scotia, as our athletes train and compete in the 2011 Canada Winter Games. Formed in 1957, Scotian Gold is owned by 30 apple growers in the Annapolis Valley. In addition, 25 committed growers bring their fall harvest of apples to our facilities, making Scotian Gold Cooperative the largest apple packing company in Atlantic Canada and the recognized leader in the production of quality packed apples for the fresh fruit market in the Maritimes. Scotian Gold handles approximately 96 million energy packed apples each year. Some of those apples are sliced and packaged in convenient single serve and family sized snack packs in Scotian Gold’s processing division. The perfect snack for a lunch box or gym bag, fresh apple slices in our Apple Snacks to Go packs go where you go and don’t go brown.
Scotian Gold growers are committed to growing the best apples and we’re pleased that Scotian Gold apples and Apple Snacks to Go are the official snack for our committed Team Nova Scotia Athletes.
We wish all of our athletes the very best as they train for the 2011 Canada Winter Games.
Originally printed in Sport Quarterly, December 2010
Nova Scotian athletes won’t lack for healthy, home-grown snacks at the Canada Winter Games in February.
One of Team Nova Scotia’s sponsors is Scotian Gold, a co-operative company owned by 30 apple growers in the Annapolis Valley.
Scotian Gold will provide athletes with official snacks for the Winter Games, as well as sponsoring the medal count and the Team Nova Scotia pep rally to be held on January 22.
When Sport Nova Scotia approached the apple growers about being a part of the Games, it was an obvious fit, says Karen Corey.
“Apples are all about wholesome, healthy eating—a natural tie-in to active healthy lifestyles, particularly with youth and young people,” says Corey, Scotian Gold’s director of marketing and business development.
“It was the perfect opportunity for us to get involved.”
A locally owned and operated company, Scotian Gold already plays a big role in communities throughout the province. They support local agriculture fairs and events such as 4-H shows, and they’re also active in supporting youth sports including hockey, soccer and football.
During the annual Apple Blossom Festival, Scotian Gold sponsors Princess Coldbrook and hosts a Family Fun Day. Several team Nova Scotia members were on hand in the event last June.
“We were thrilled to have them take part,” Corey says. “We even had a group of Special Olympians come to Family Fun Day from Bridgetown, specifically to meet the Team Nova Scotia Athletes.”
Scotian Gold is the largest apple packing and storage plant in eastern Canada, marketing more than 50 per cent of the apples produced in Nova Scotia. The company, as it exists now, is more than 50 years old—though its roots date back to the early 1900s when local farmers banded together to market their fruit.
Corey says the company will play an active role in the Canada Games— including keeping the athletes wellfed.
“Certainly during the pep rally we’ll be really active, and during the Games we’ll take in as much as we can,” she says.
“We’ll be doing a promotion with coupons in bags of apples, wherepeople can go online and win tickets to cheer on Team Nova Scotia. And our fruit will obviously be featured, so athletes can go and grab an apple whenever they want."