St. Joseph entrepreneur and community volunteer, Renald (Ron) Parent, has been recognized as a pioneer by the Economic Development Council of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (CDEM). The acknowledgment comes as CDEM holds special 25th anniversary ceremonies this month, highlighting the outstanding achievements of six individuals.

On Tuesday, a Mountain Ash tree was planted next to a newly carved marble plaque on the grounds of the Musèe St. Joseph Museum in honour of Parent. Ever the one to get things done, Parent even dug the hole for the tree himself! 

Parent lends a hand planting the tree in his honour.

"I guess we don't do things to get recognized," said Parent, explaining this presentation "just kind of happened" after he was notified by CDEM.

In 1967, he started Parent Seed in St. Joseph, and says it grew from a seed operation to an agri-food operation over the years.

"It was a one-man operation, then a two-man operation and then we ended up with thirty-seven employees," added Parent. "A lot of family and relatives, and a good group of people."

Parent has also been a key fixture in the local community over the years, volunteering where he can.

In the 2000, Parent joined the Musèe St. Joseph Museum committee and took over the helm as President in 2001. His focus, to help built up the facility as a sort of retirement project.

"In every community you have people who pick up the reigns and try to make things happen," explained Parent. "As in every community, there's (also) a whole group of people who come in and work with you. It's not a solo act." This, according to Parent, can include family, spouses and employees. "We were lucky at our enterprise, to have people who worked for us like twenty-five to thirty years," he added. "All of that creates a sort of important nucleus, and you want to preserve that and get it to move to the next generation."

Edmond Labossière, president of the CDEM Board of Directors, says Parent was an individual the organization could easily recognize, noting he was identified by many as being a key person in the community, locally and in a much larger sense in his role as President of CDEM back in 2000-2002.

"At that time, he really emphasized the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship amongst our youth, so he had push for a number of initiatives in that area," said Labossière. "But, he also exemplified entrepreneurship because he and his family have developed a very important business here in St. Joseph. So, he not only talks the talk, but we walks he walk."