Michigan hort society hands out service awards

The Michigan State Horticultural Society handed out two distinguished service awards at the recent Great Lakes EXPO Banquet, part of the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO held in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The awards were presented to Dave Trinka and Gene and Dean Veliquette.

Dave Trinka. Trinka is vice president of agri-research and horticultural services for MBG Marketing. He grew up on the family farm in southeastern North Dakota, where they raised hogs, dairy and beef cattle and grew wheat, corn, oats, barley, dry beans, soybeans, flax, millet, sunflowers and alfalfa. Cooperatives were an important part of his farm life.  Electricity, fuel, grain marketing, milk marketing and even telephone service were provided by local cooperatives.

Trinka obtained a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from North Dakota State University, and was employed by the University of Minnesota as an Extension blueberry specialist. It was during his time in Minnesota that he attended his first International Vaccinium Symposium. In July 1988, while on a pre-conference tour of blueberry production in southwest Michigan, the bus made a lunch stop in South Haven. That was the day he decided his short-term plans included blueberries and South Haven. Trinka became the horticulturist for Michigan Blueberry Growers Association in July 1991, after completing a master’s degree at Cornell University. He also played a dual role as the co-op’s member relations manager for several years.

In his current role, Trinka oversees all horticulture and research initiatives for MBG and works with the cooperative’s blueberry producers in several states and British Columbia to help solve their production and pest management challenges. He is also chair of Berry Blue, MBG’s blueberry breeding company.

Trinka maintains an active role with the USDA IR-4 Project as a member of the commodity liaison committee, representing blueberry pest control needs. He serves on the United States Highbush Blueberry Council Health Research Committee. He is also on several Specialty Crop Research Initiative advisory panels and serves on the Michigan State University Trevor Nichols Research Center advisory board.

Trinka met his wife Davie at the National Blueberry Festival. They have two daughters, Chloe and Dakota, and reside near South Haven. He is an avid fisherman during his two days off per year.

Gene and Dean Veliquette. In 1972, Cherry Ke was formed when brothers Dean, Gene and Norm Veliquette merged with their parent’s dairy farm and partnered with brothers Don and Bob Gregory from across the bay in Leelanau County, Michigan. They’ve grown by leaps and bounds since then. Dean’s twin brother Gene passed away unexpectedly in 2015, leaving a big hole in both the operation and hearts of his nine other siblings, of which seven are involved in the many companies that make up Cherries R Us.

Dean is currently president of Cherries R Us, a business established in 1993 specializing in the growing and harvesting of sweet and tart cherries. Cherries R Us owns and operates more than 2,800 acres producing up to 20 million pounds of cherries annually. The company provides work for 25 year-round employees and 75 seasonal employees.

Dean and Gene’s father first planted cherry trees in 1950. Dean recalls that the last year they hand-harvested, Gene picked 160 lugs of cherries in five and a half days. In 2003, after selling a farm in Acme, Gene decided they’d move more than 20,000 trees from that farm to Elk Rapids. It was one tree in a cherry tank, eight on a truck at a time. They also dug another six to eight thousand trees, bare rooted, and then planted them.

Shoreline Fruit was established in 1986 by the Veliquettes and Gregorys. The Shoreline Fruit plant finishes cherries, then markets dried cherries, concentrate and dietary supplements under the brand name Cherry Bay Orchards for the four farming operations owned by the Veliquettes and Gregorys, as well as more than 60 other growers. There are other endeavors, too. They started Great Lakes Packing, with locations in Kewadin and Hart. Cherries are sized, pitted and packed there, and some are brined. Nothing goes to waste, as the pits are dried and marketed for fuel. Cherry Bee was started to utilize their own bees to pollinate cherries, as well oranges in Florida. They have more than 3,000 hives. Triple D Orchards in Empire processes maraschino cherries and has a juice bottling line.

Gene left his widow, Linda, three children and nine grandchildren. Dean and wife Sharon have three sons and nine grandchildren.