VIDALIA, GA -- The Vidalia Onion Committee will be promoting Georgia's famous sweet onions this year on several fronts.

A massive fire the afternoon of March 13 completely gutted the 40,000- square-foot facility of Golden Valley Specialty Mushrooms Ltd., one of North America's larger growers of organic specialty mushrooms in Pitt Meadows, BC, about 25 miles east of Vancouver.

Members of the Georgia Senate honored Delbert Bland, president and chief executive officer of Bland Farms LLC in Glennville, GA, Feb. 5 for his significant contributions to the state's economic health and wellbeing.

Bland Farms began growing Vidalia onions on five acres in 1982. From those humble roots, growing operations burgeoned over the years beyond the borders of the Peach State and into Utah, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, Texas and Peru.

NEWARK, DE -- Kathy Means, Produce Marketing Association's vice president of government relations, has been named to serve the 2008-12 term on the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Fruits & Vegetables. Appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Susan C. Schwab, Ms. Means is one of 34 chosen nationally to sit on the committee.

Watsonville, CA-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. has hired Kevin Murphy as its senior vice president of supply and operations.

Mr. Murphy's responsibilities include production, logistics and distribution, packaging, nursery, quality assurance and food safety. He replaces Al Rodrigues, who retired from this position.

Dulcinea Farms has reinforced its leadership with the appointment of Luzius Caviezel as general manager and Keith Kato as senior vice president of sales and marketing. The new management structure places a strong emphasis on sales and marketing, concentrating on key retail customers and the continued growth of the brand.