Mar 24, 2016

California fruit association hosts 80th meeting

The California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) kicked off their new fiscal year yesterday during the Annual Membership Meeting at their 80th Annual Meeting in Newport Beach, California. The event featured the election of the Board of Directors and chairman, as well as industry and committee updates.

The Board of Directors is made up of 47 members. The organization’s officers are nominated to serve for a one-year period and are selected by a committee of past board chairs. The full slate of officers includes:

• Chair: Harold McClarty of HMC Farms
• First vice chair: Randy Giumarra of Giumarra Vineyards
• Second vice chair: Kevin Herman of The Specialty Crop Company
• Secretary/treasurer: Louis Pandol of Pandol Bros., Inc.

The board welcomed new directors: Melissa Poole of Wonderful Orchards, Demetri Hronis of Hronis Inc., Mike Thurlow of Mountain View Fruit Sales, and Patrick Scully of Scully Packing. They also gave their thanks to four exiting directors: Bo Brett of Mountain View Fruit Sales, Toni Scully of Scully Packing, Edge Dostal of Fruit Patch Sales and Ron Frauenheim of Ron Frauenheim Farms.

The association’s board meets three times a year to take action on regulatory and legislative issues at the state, federal and international level.

The association also honored long time board member Ken Enns with the Mentor’s Award, which is awarded to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the fresh grape, berry and tree fruit communities through their leadership in the industry. Enns has served on the CFFA Board for 27 years and served as its chairman in 1998.

Prior to the Annual Membership Meeting, the Annual Industry Workshop featured key note speakers Victor Davis Hanson, professor and nationally syndicated columnist, and Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli, executive director of the Center for Produce Safety. Hanson reviewed the national political scene and shared his insight on the current factors impacting California agriculture, exposing the many challenges for the industry to survive. Fernandez-Fenaroli discussed the importance of food safety and CPS’ mission to provide ready-to-use, science-based solutions to prevent and minimize produce safety vulnerabilities.