My name is Blake Ellis and I am the new St. Clair regional communications coordinator for the Soil and Crop Improvement Association. Agriculture is in my blood, as I grew up on a dairy farm near Moorefield, Ontario in Wellington County. My parents still living on the farm, but are no longer milking cows and are as retired as much as a farm couple can be.

Instead of going into agriculture, I decided to study journalism at Conestoga College in Kitchener. Upon graduation, I found myself in the north of Canada where I worked as the editor of the Thompson Citizen in Manitoba. I stayed in Thompson for nearly 25 years, where I worked as the communications coordinator for the Burntwood Regional Health Authority and served on Thompson City Council for a term as a councilor.

In the midst of the pandemic at the beginning of 2022, I decided to come back to Ontario where I took a job with The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton based in Petrolia. In the last three years I have reported on many issues within Lambton County, as well as Chatham Kent as I have contributed to The Independent’s sister newspaper, The Herald covering Thamesville, Bothwell, Dresden and Moriviantown.

I’m excited to take on the role of regional communications coordinator for the Soil and Crop Improvement Association and I look forward to meeting as many members from Lambton, Chatham-Kent and Essex.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and I look forward to what 2025 brings.