VANCOUVER, British Columbia—The introduction of Scott Fairbairn, the 2018 Canadian Produce Marketing Association Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, was part roast and part heartfelt tribute.
Alex Campbell Jr., son of the founder of Thrifty Foods, where Fairbairn is retiring as category manager of produce operations after a nearly 40 year career in the business, called Fairbairn sarcastic, sardonic and snarky. But, when he got the call to present the award, “I thought, ‘of course,’ nobody in the industry deserves this more.”
“He’s the embodiment of integrity, and he gives everything to make his team succeed,” Campbell Jr. said. “The industry needs more men like Scott, and the world needs more men like Scott.”
Fairbairn said he was humbled, honored, “But, mostly, I’m blessed to work in this industry. You all work in the most exciting, vibrant, best industry in the world.”
“She is inconsistent. She is unpredictable. She is full of challenges, but bear in mind the beauty of her,” Fairbairn said. “Learn to embrace that and not shy away from it and you will fall in love, and from that point there’s no going back.”