Bob Morrissey is a conversationalist. Whether the topic is audit harmonization, the Farm Bill or the ten-foot inflatable watermelon slice that finds its way into the Fresh Festival on Capitol Hill each year, Bob is seldom at a loss for words. As part of United's Government Relations Council, Specialty Crop Farm Bill Coalition, GAPs Harmonization Steering Committee and Food Safety & Technology Council, Bob knows and understands the value of that conversation. As executive director of the National Watermelon Association, Bob works to ensure the voice of the watermelon industry is prominent in nearly every national discussion on produce policy, citing the annual Washington Public Policy Conference as the best opportunity to keep that dialogue going.

"WPPC gives every crop and nursery group the opportunity to come together as a unified produce industry in Washington to talk directly with our political and government officials,” says Bob. "They are elected to do a job for us, and it is our responsibility to express our issues, our concerns and our solutions to them. They can make or break our industry, and we should all support this annual effort to make our crop industries' voices heard - to make a difference."

It is that difference that Bob strives to make for the farmers he represents.

"Being an advocate for the farmer is certainly what gets me up and brings me to work in the morning. There is so much being thrown at them - new regulations, multiple and differing audits, inspections of all kinds, requirements and standards, hiring practices, sustainability, health care, and so on and so on. I have said for many years that farmers are gamblers; they are resilient; they are dedicated; and they are committed. The success of the produce industry begins on the farm, and happy farmers make for a happy industry. That's what gets me going, every day!"

An avid golfer and native of Pawtucket, R.I., Bob has spent the past three decades in Florida, raising his three children alongside his wife, Betsy. With stops in the retail, merchandising and citrus segments before joining NWA in 2004, Bob counts that experience and the variety of colleagues with whom he’s worked as a great asset.

"The experience of working with my peers in the produce industry is something that I have learned greatly from, and enjoyed," he says. "Each of us has both different and similar issues that we need to address for our constituents. It is a wonderful thing when we come together and pursue common solutions in a unified, non-parochial approach."