After a solid month of growth, Mowi Canada West has come out on top as the winner of the ‘Best Salmon Farmer Stache’ Movember competition between Cermaq Canada, Mowi and Grieg Seafood.
Brad Marsili, a site manager in Klemtu with Mowi, edged out Grieg’s Mike Crivea and Cermaq’s Eric Jensen with his impressive handlebar moustache.
In total, this friendly challenge between Cermaq, Mowi and Grieg raised $5,436 for the Movember Canada campaign.
“It’s great to win, but mostly I am proud to have been a part of an initiative that raised so much money for an important cause,” Marsili said.
“I grow these ‘staches to support cancer awareness in general. I lost a good friend to cancer and currently have a sister-in-law fighting it. I feel this is a simple gesture to show my support. The competition was a lot of fun and I look forward to defending the title next year.”
Grieg issued the challenge to Mowi and Cermaq back in October, then at the end of November the companies chose who would best represent their Movember efforts. The BC Salmon Farmers Association received photos of the three company finalists and chose a winner on Monday, Dec. 2. Grieg was a close second with Cermaq coming in third.
“I lost by one vote, but that’s okay because it was fun and all for a good cause,” said Mike Crivea, Operations Manager for Grieg. “Congratulations to Brad on his big win, as well as to all of our companies for raising so much money for men’s health. I’m proud to have been a part of this challenge.”
“Movember is an important cause to me as my family has been directly impacted by prostate cancer. When we were approached by Grieg to participate, we saw it as a great opportunity to support a worthwhile cause, while also having a bit of fun,” says David Kiemele, managing director for Cermaq Canada. “We placed third out of a possible three positions, so we know we have some work to do for next year.”
As the winner, Mowi will receive a $500 donation to its campaign from the BC Salmon Farmers’ Association, as well as bragging rights until next November.
“It’s great to see industry coming together in a friendly competition for a great cause,” said John Paul Fraser, Executive Director of the BCSFA. “It was a tight competition. Those contestants grew some pretty impressive moustaches, but in the end Mowi received the most votes.”
Already the companies have confirmed that they will take part in the challenge again next year, with Cermaq and Grieg hoping for a different outcome, of course.
“Overall, it isn’t about who won, as the real winner was the Movember campaign,” added Kiemele. “That being said, will we participate again next year? Yes. Will we come to play? You can bet your beard we will.”