Page 6 - VT Vibe Newsletter June 2018 FINAL

Five Questions With

DENIS WILSON What are some of your responsibilities? changes while working in Winnipeg,
I oversee export vessel and container Vancouver and now back in Regina for the
logistics that involves working closely second time.
with teams in Regina, at ports and
overseas offices. I also manage the What do you like best about working
domestic laker freight program where at Viterra?
we ship grain from the Great Lakes to St. Every day is different and I continue to
Lawrence ports. learn new things.

What work accomplishment are What do you like to do in your spare
you most proud of? time?
It’s difficult to single out one I enjoy staying active including biking,
accomplishment. I am proud of my hiking and golf. In the winters I also
What is your role with Viterra and how
long have you been part of the team? ability to adapt to change. I’ve held enjoy snowmobiling.
many positions in accounting, trade
My current role is Manager, Marine execution, logistics and vessel chartering.
Transportation. I’ve been with Viterra for I experienced multiple organizational
over 23 years.

Engineering student drawn to innovation in agriculture

From a young age, Drake Cornell had a “During one of Drake’s work terms with IT, Drake finished his last semester and after
fascination with applying electrical and he expressed an interest in the work that receiving his degree in Electronic Systems
electronics technology to find innovative we were doing so we decided to bring him Engineering, he was offered a permanent
ways to solve real-world problems. After on in a term position says Paul Bourlon, position on the Automation Services team.
finishing high school in Moose Jaw, Manager of Automation Services. “Soon
he began studying engineering at the after he started, it became apparent that “I’m very thankful that the management
University of Regina and honing his skills. he was a very hard worker, not afraid to teams at Viterra encouraged my interest
Soon after, he began his first work term take on new things, and a very quick study. and allowed me to work in the field I had
at Viterra through the co-op program and We had him on small projects at first then always wanted to,” says Drake. “I am glad
was placed with the IT department’s Grain progressively more difficult tasks, and to be a part of the culture of ingenuity and
Applications team. quickly realized that he’d be a great fit on advancement encouraged here, and I think
our team.” Viterra represents the best of our community
“This was my first exposure to the culture and the ag industry.”
of innovation present at Viterra, and I was For his final university engineering project,
impressed by applications such as SIPS Drake was part of a team of four students
which have been purpose built for the that designed and built a data-logging
unique needs of the business,” says Drake. and real-time monitoring system for the
University’s Cougar Motorsports “Baja”
As a result of this positive work experience, team. The Baja team consists of University
he ended up working for Viterra during all students who design and build an off-road
of four his work terms while completing vehicle to compete against universities
his studies – two with IT and two with across North America. The monitoring
Automation. He soon found that the system is essentially like a “black box” used
automation side of the business was what in aircraft, and provides live data feedback
he wanted to pursue after taking part in a for the pit crew on parameters such as
facility tour and seeing firsthand some of speed, fuel level, and GPS location. The
the work done by the automation team. team was awarded the Lockheed Martin
Award for Best Project.

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