JA Alumni Blair & Roslyn Hyslop
From Here to There: Blair Hyslop & Rosalyn Mcfate-Hyslop, JA Alumni
Blair Hyslop and his wife Rosalyn, owners of Mrs. Dunster’s bakery, story dates back 30 years when it all began with JA. Blair was involved with JA Nova Scotia in Dartmouth when he took part in JA’s Company Program in 1983 to 1987. Rosalyn was involved in JA New Brunswick at the time from 1985 to 1988, where she also took part in the Company Program. They both excelled throughout their years in JA, and were both named Achiever of the Year for their region; Blair in 1987 and Rosalyn in 1988. Their stories finally came together when Blair and Rosalyn met doing recruitment for JA Nova Scotia in 1988, when they volunteered to deliver JA programs.
Since then, Blair has spent the last 25 years working to build great Atlantic Canadian food brands here at home and around the globe. His career started with Eastern Bakeries in Saint John N.B. managing brands like Butternut, Karnes and Fun Buns. From there he moved to Moosehead as a Marketing Manager for the Maritimes. And eventually ended up at McCain International Inc. where he became Vice President of Marketing with responsibility for building the McCain brand in more than 100 emerging markets around the globe.
In 2014 Blair and Rosalyn achieved their goal of having a family business when they purchased Mrs. Dunster’s bakery in Sussex NB. In 2015 they added Snair’s Golden Grain bakery in Borden PEI and in 2018 added McBuns bakery in Moncton N.B. The couple also own Kredl’s Corner Market in Hampton N.B. Today, the company has one of the most extensive line of fresh baked goods of any bakery in the region and distribute products to 780+ stores and restaurants in the Maritimes and Maine twice a week. Mrs. Dunster’s is now the largest family owned and operated bakery in Atlantic Canada. These social entrepreneurs are recipients of the 2017 Province of New Brunswick Exporter of the Year Award, Huddle “Business People of the Year” Award, Food in Canada Magazines 2017 Leadership Award for Community & Industry Leadership, United Way Valued Community Partner Award and a Marilyn Trenholme Counsel Literacy Award. They were also 2017 Finalists for EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Atlantic Canada.
Blair and Rosalyn continue to remember JA and the impact it made on their lives. They also make sure to continue their volunteer efforts by giving their time to help future young entrepreneurs follow their dreams. They were awarded 2017 Volunteer(s) of the year for Junior Achievement Southern NB 2017 for their efforts to bring JA to Sussex N.B.
“It is important for young people in Atlantic Canada to understand that notwithstanding all of the negative messages out there about the economy in this part of the world, there are thousands of entrepreneurs in our region, small and large that are very successful”, says Blair. “You can stay in Atlantic Canada and be successful, JA is a safe environment to work on the skills that will help you do that.”
To learn more about JA Nova Scotia, or if you are an alumni yourself and want to share your story, please contact, Emma Eagles at 902-454-4564 or eeagles@janovascotia.ca
To learn more about JA New Brunswick, or if you are an alumni yourself and want to share your story, please contact, Haley Bungay at 506-455-6552 or jamtn@nb.aibn.com