Ascending to Chairman of the Board is Reggie Griffin, Corporate Vice President, Produce & Floral Merchandising & Procurement, The Kroger Company, Cincinnati, OH. Reggie began his career at Kroger in 1969, working part-time as a produce clerk and bagger while attending college. He joined the company’s management training program in 1972, and since moved upward in responsibility in produce, merchandising and operations during posts in Paris and Memphis, TN; Murray, KY; Houston, Corpus Christi and Dallas, TX; and Los Angeles, CA, before becoming corporate director of produce & floral in the Cincinnati headquarters office in 1999, and vice president in 2001. Griffin is a past chairman of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, past president of the Houston Fruit and Vegetable Association, and past member of the Board of the Produce Marketing Association.  Reggie earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Memphis State University.

Nominated as Chairman-Elect is David W. Krause, President, Paramount Citrus, Delano, CA. David has lived in the Central Valley of California and worked in agriculture his whole life. He joined Paramount Citrus in 1999 as COO, and was named President in 2001. Paramount Citrus is the largest integrated grower and packer of citrus in California. Paramount owns and farms approximately 30,000 acres in various locations throughout California and Mexico. David is also a third generation farmer. He and his wife Lisa currently live on their ranch in the Orange Cove area, and they farm in both Fresno and Tulare Counties. David has served in numerous industry roles, including the California Citrus Growers Association, California Citrus Mutual and the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation. He has an A.S. degree in plant science from Reedley College in California.

Nominated as Secretary-Treasurer is Ron Midyett, CEO of Apio Inc. Ron currently serves as a member of the consolidated Board and Chairman of the Fresh-Cut Processor Board. Prior to joining Apio in 2005, Ron held the position of Senior Vice President of Operations at Dole Fresh Vegetables. Ron received a degree in Food Biochemistry from the University of California at Davis and is an alumnus of United Fresh’s Leadership program Class 6.

Current Chairman, Steffanie Smith, CEO of River Point Farms LLC, Hermiston, OR, will move to the position of Immediate Past Chairman and remain on the Board and the Executive Committee.

The following industry leaders have been nominated to serve as new members of the United Fresh Board for a two-year term beginning May 2011:

·         Tony Freytag, National Marketing Director and Member of the Senior Management Committee, Crunch Pak Sliced Apples, Cashmere, WA, is nominated to serve as Vice Chairman of the Fresh-Cut Processor Board. Crunch Pak is the largest producer of sliced apples in the United States. Tony and his two partners started the company more than 10 years ago with an idea for creating healthy snacking by preserving fresh cut apples that he tested in his home kitchen. Today the company is a market leader and is rapidly expanding into the healthy snack and meal replacement categories that include other fresh items such as grapes and carrots. A native of Austin, TX, Tony attended the University of Texas, and began his professional career in produce in 1997 with Naumes, Inc., of Medford, OR.

·         Scott Danner, Chief Operating Officer, Liberty Fruit Company, Inc., Kansas City, KS, has more than 25 years experience in fresh produce, including the past eight years as COO of Liberty Fruit. Previously, he was senior director of produce operations & sales with the Fleming Company and worked for 11 years with C&S Wholesale Grocers, where he started the company’s produce operations. Throughout his career he has participated in many volunteer leadership roles, serving on the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee from 2005-2009, the PMA Retail Board from 2007-2010, and currently serving on the Produce Traceability Initiative Leadership Council, Produce Alliance Board of Directors and Missouri Restaurant Association Board of Directors. Most recently, he served on the United Fresh Wholesaler-Distributor Board. Scott graduated from Thomas College in Waterville, ME with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.

·         David Hille, President, Cabbage, Inc., Westlake, OH, began farming when he was in high school in his home state of Ohio. He began his own company, Cabbage Inc. in 1984, which has grown into a multistate company, growing and shipping cabbage 52 weeks a year throughout the United States. David currently splits his time between home in Vermilion, OH and Palm Beach Gardens, FL during the winter growing season. He serves on the board of the Great Lakes Historical Society and most recently served on the United Fresh Grower-Shipper Board.

·         John Keeling, Executive Vice President and CEO, National Potato Council, Washington, DC, became head of the NPC in 2002 and directed the council’s move from Denver to Washington. He directs the development and implementation of policy for the only national association of potato growers in the United States, and is active on behalf of the potato industry on trade, environment and domestic farm policy issues. Prior to joining NPC, John worked for several key agriculture, food processor and farm organizations including the National Food Processors Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation where he spent 10 years. He currently serves on the United Fresh Government Relations Council, and is a co-chair of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance. John is originally from Texas where his family continues to have farming interests. In addition, he and his brother operate a small farm in Central Virginia. He has a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Washington and Lee University.

·         Dave Russell, Vice President of Sales, Del Monte Fresh Produce Company N.A, Dallas, TX, leads the sales group for one of the world's leading vertically-integrated producers, marketers and distributors of high-quality fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. Prior to his current position, Dave headed the sales and marketing team for Standard Fruit and Vegetable Co., which was later sold to Del Monte. Dave is a member of the Strategic Account Management Association, and recently served on the PMA Retail Board. Most recently, he served on the United Fresh Fresh-Cut Processor Board. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Northeast Missouri State University and an MBA from Webster College in St. Louis.

·         Angela Paymard, Chairman of N2N Global, Longwood, FL, entered the produce industry in 2007 when she became CEO of KPG Solutions, a premier provider of software, consulting and hardware solutions for the worldwide food industry. In less than 36 months, she has successfully re-aligned the company, focused on new initiatives, recruited top additional talent and expanded operations into Europe. Prior to her current position, Angela worked for Citigroup and Larrabee Ventures on Wall Street in investment banking and financial services. She is an active member of the FDA/USDA Recall Evaluation Committee, the United Fresh Supply Chain Logistics Council and sits on the Technology Working Group for the Produce Traceability Initiative. She attended Loyola Marymount University and has a bachelor’s degree from California Lutheran University in philosophy and political science.

Current Board members nominated to new positions of service on Market Segment Boards and Councils include:

·         Chairman, Fresh-Cut Processor Board – Jan Berk, San Miguel Produce, Inc.

·         Chairman, Global Advisory Council – Paddy Callaghan, Nature’s Best Ltd.

·         Chairman, Nutrition & Health Council – Dan’l Mackey Almy, DMA Solutions, Inc.

The following officers of Market Segment Boards and Councils will continue service on the Board: 

·         Chairman, Grower-Shipper Board – Fred Williamson, Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce

·         Vice Chairman, Grower-Shipper Board – Will Steele, Frontera Produce

·         Chairman, Wholesaler Distributor Board – Brendan Comito, Capital City Fruit Company, Inc.

·         Vice Chairman, Wholesaler-Distributor Board – Ron Carkoski, Four Seasons Produce, Inc.

·         Chairman, Retail-Foodservice Board – Mitch Smith, McDonald’s Corporation

·         Vice Chairman, Retail-Foodservice Board – Randy Scott, Food Lion

·         Chairman, Food Safety & Technology Council – Walter Ram, The Giumarra Companies

·         Chairman, Supply Chain Logistics Council Chairman – David Dever, Pandol Brothers Inc.

·         Chairman, Government Relations Council – Barry Bedwell, California Grape & Tree Fruit League

The following current At-Large Board Members will continue service on the Board: Mike Celani, Ready Pac Foods, Inc.; John Chrosniak, DuPont Crop Protection; Tony DiMare, DiMare Company; Emily Fragoso, Status Gro; Roger Harkrider, H-E-B; Brent Harrison, Al Harrison Co. Distributors; Ana Hooper, Darden Restaurants; Lorri Koster, Mann Packing Company; Mike Martin, Rio Queen, Inc.; Phil Muir, Muir Copper Canyon Farms; Mark Murai, California Strawberry Commission; Roger Pepperl, Stemilt Growers, LLC; Bruce Peterson, Peterson Insights, Inc.; Doug Riley, Hy-Vee, Inc.; John Smith, Bayer Crop Science; Ivan Tarriba, Farmers Best International, LLC; Geoff White, Safeway, Inc.; Greg Wohlleb, Bunzl Distribution, Inc.; and Jackson Woodward, Horton Fruit Company.

"In total, the slate of nominees for our consolidated Board of Directors, together with our returning Board members and new officers, makes this a tremendously diverse and skilled set of leaders to represent our entire industry and guide our association in the year ahead," said Board Development Committee Chairman Jim Lemke.

Board members concluding service at the May meeting include:

·         Jim Lemke, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., who served as Chairman of the Board in 2009-2010, and this past year as Immediate Past Chairman

·         Mike Cavallero, Dole Food Company, who served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Board from 2008-2011

·         David Barney, who has served as Chairman of the Global Advisory Council

·         Ashley Rawl, who has served as Chairman of the Nutrition & Health Council

·         Charles Hall, Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association

·         Brian Kocher, Chiquita Brands International

·         Rick Urschel, Urschel Laboratories

"I’d like to personally thank those leaders who are concluding their service at this meeting," said United Fresh President Tom Stenzel. "They have contributed greatly to our industry’s success in so many ways, and we appreciate the time and resources they have given to serve our industry. I’d also like to thank Jim Lemke and Board Development Committee members Will Steele, Ron Carkoski, Jan Berk, Randy Scott, Steffanie Smith, Reggie Griffin and Mike Cavallero for their work this year in nominating an outstanding slate of officers and Board members. We recognize that the strength of our association comes from strong representation of our membership across the total supply chain, bringing together an exceptional group of industry leaders to serve our industry."