Molly Golden, director of marketing for the New York Apple Association headquartered in Fishers, NY, will be gracing the exposition floor and meeting with customers and potential customers at the 2014 Southern Exposure conference and expo on Feb. 27 to March 1. The event will be held at the Caribe Royale Conference Center & Hotel in Orlando, FL. She’ll especially be spreading the word on the new and already highly acclaimed “Ruby Frost” apple introduced earlier this year

Though it is one of the largest Southeastern-based distributors of fresh produce in the United States, with facilities from Cleveland to California, Coosemans Interproduce Divisions of Tampa, FL, has plenty of room to grow and an ambitious new strategy to capture retail and foodservice market share.

Brenda Briggs, vice president of marketing, and Valerie Ramsburg, sales and marketing representative for Rice Fruit Co. in Gardners, PA, will be representing the firm at the upcoming Southeast Produce Council’s 2014 Southern Exposure annual conference and expo.

The event will be held Feb. 27 to March 1 at the Caribe Royale Conference Center & Hotel in Orlando, FL.

“We will be at booth number 1029,” said Briggs. “Although we’ve been members of the council for three years, this will be our first time exhibiting.”

“We look forward to exhibiting at the Southern Exposure annual conference and expo this year,” said Peter Wilder, marketing director for To-Jo Mushrooms in Avondale, PA. “To-Jo will be exhibiting at booth number 415, and manning it will be Tony D’Amico, president; Paul Frederic, senior vice president of sales and marketing; Michael Wood, vice president of fresh operations; and Todd Kostka, sales and marketing specialist.”

Best known as a world leader in the sweet onion category and a top producer of Vidalia onions, Bland Farms LLC of Glennville, GA, has continued to add to its product lineup and made a major personnel announcement leading up to its appearance at the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure trade show in Orlando, FL, Feb. 28 to March 2.

Having been involved in the business since an early age, Troy Bland, formerly director of quality control and procurement, has been promoted to director of operations. The move represents a significant increase in Bland’s responsibilities.

Brooks Tropicals, headquartered in Homestead, FL, is a leading grower, packer and marketer of fresh tropical fruits and vegetables.

The company’s flagship products include papayas, starfruit, avocados — particularly the Florida-grown “SlimCado,”which boasts having less fat and fewer calories than other commercial avocados — and approximately 20 other tropical specialty products, such as the Uniq fruit. Under the loose and bumpy skin of this large citrus fruit is the refreshing taste of a grapefruit with a hint of tangerine.