May 23, 2019

Rainier Fruit promotes top performers Belknap and Markley

Rainier Fruit recently promoted two of its own, naming Blake Belknap as vice president of sales and Blaine Markley as director of domestic sales.

Rainier Fruit is a multi-generation, vertically integrated fruit company based in Selah, Washington, that produces apples, pears, cherries and blueberries.

Belknap has been with Rainier Fruit Company for 22 years, and was formerly the Director of Domestic Sales. In his time with the company, Blake has become an invaluable source of knowledge and a leader on the Sales team.

“I’m blessed to work with an amazing team, and in this new role, I’m looking forward to working with them to ride the rapids of tomorrow’s (agriculture) industry,” Belknap said in a press release.“We are fortunate to have great leaders like Blake making a difference on our team,” said Andy Tudor, Vice President of Business Development. “He brings years of experience and wisdom to this new role.”

Markley has been promoted to Director of Domestic Sales, filling Blake’s former role. Blaine has been with Rainier Fruit Company for seven years, starting out in the appointment scheduling department and progressing to the Domestic and Export Sales team before her recent promotion.

“I’m most looking forward to further engaging in the development of the company’s culture,” Blaine said, “Hopefully from this new vantage point, I’ll be able to help shape the growth of others as I continue to look for ways to keep growing as an individual. Of course, my ultimate goal is to be a positive impact that grows the company as a whole.”

“It’s impressive to see the impact that Blaine has had at our company in just seven years,” said Mark Zirkle, CEO, “She brings drive and determination to the Director of Domestic Sales role, and we’re all excited to see how she will continue to excel.”

Rainier Fruit is a family-focused company that strives to create a healthy, happy workplace for its talented team members. With these two recent promotions, the organization demonstrates their commitment to promote from within and continue to develop talented individuals.

While these recent developments have slightly shifted the team, other key stakeholders at Rainier Fruit remain committed to their positions. Randy Abhold will remain as President of Rainier Fruit; Andy Tudor remains as Vice President of Business Development, and Troy Howard will remain as Director of Export Sales.