The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas held its annual membership meeting on May 6 in Nogales, AZ. This year’s meeting had several significant highlights: Walter Ram, vice president for food safety of The Giumarra Cos., received the FPAA Member of the Year Award; eight distributor board directors and two associate board directors were elected by the membership; Matt Mandel of SunFed stepped into his role as chairman of the FPAA; and Gonzalo Avila of Malena Produce Inc. was elected chairman-elect.

Alejandro Canelos of Apache Produce Imports in Nogales, AZ, delivered his last remarks as chairman of the FPAA at the meeting. In addition to his previous contribution as a board member, he also served two years as chairman-elect before completing his tenure as the FPAA chairman. During his remarks, Canelos highlighted the work of the FPAA, including delegation trips to meet with political leaders and government officials both in the U.S. and Mexico, the strides made in improving trade, and the continued steps to strengthen relationships with state and federal officials that affect the FPAA’s members.

“It was truly an honored to serve as your chairman," he said. "I strongly believe in the work that we are doing at the FPAA together as an industry.” Canelos also thanked the FPAA members for their continued involvement in the FPAA and thanked FPAA President Lance Jungmeyer and the staff for the work they do on behalf of the members. He will continue on the FPAA board as the past-chairman for two years.

After a passing of the gavel, Mandel steps into the role of chairman of the FPAA board. He had served on the board for several years prior to becoming chairman-elect in 2012, and as the chairman he will continue to serve as a spokesman for the industry at meetings in Phoenix, Mexico City, and Washington, DC, as well as leading the board in guiding the future direction of the FPAA.

“This is a fantastic opportunity, and I look forward to building on the work we accomplish at the FPAA," he said. "I have learned a great deal from Alejandro and from our board, and I will be looking to all of you for input, involvement and guidance moving forward.”

When it was time to present the 2014 Member of the Year Award, Jungmeyer said, “Walter Ram has been an invaluable asset to our members and this association, leading our group in the ongoing development of FSMA comments, working on several high-level issues in Washington, DC, strengthening our ties with national produce associations, and generously giving of his time and experience to better our industry.”

“To be recognized by my peers is a great honor," Ram said. "I would like to thank all of you for your commitment and dedication to the FPAA. The level of engagement of our members and the work we accomplish is important for our success.”

During the meeting, FPAA members elected eight distributor directors and two associate directors to the FPAA board. Bobby Astengo of Healthy Trends Produce Co.; Ricardo Crisantes of Wholesum Family Farms; Bert Monteverde Jr. of H.M. Distributors; Jose Luis Obregon of IPR Fresh; Rod Sbragia of Tricar Sales Inc.; and Leonardo Tarriba of Farmer’s Best International were reelected to two-year terms on the board. Guillermo Martinez of Del Campo Supreme and Jaime Chamberlain of J-C Distributing Inc. were newly elected to the board for two-year terms.

Sabrina Hallman of Sierra Seed Co. LLLP and Rosie Cornelius of Bay Area Produce were re-elected for a one-year term as associate member directors.

JJ Badillo of Delta Fresh Sales LLC, Chris Ciruli of Ciruli Bros., Brent Harrison of Harrison Fresh, Walter Ram of The Giumarra Cos. and Scott Vandervoet of Vandervoet & Associates Inc. have one year remaining in their board terms.

The following FPAA members were presented with awards of appreciation upon completion of their two-year terms on the FPAA board and their valuable contributions to the FPAA: Martin Ley of Del Campo Supreme and Bobby Bennen Jr. of Ta-De Distributing.

The FPAA members re-elected JJ Badillo of Delta Fresh Sales LLC as chairman of the FPAA tomato division. Chris Ciruli of Ciruli Bros. was elected as chairman of the FPAA mango division. Ciruli replaces George Mendez who has spent many years serving the mango industry as both chairman of the mango division and as a member of the Mango Promotion Board. John Pandol of Pandol Bros. also continues as the chairman of the FPAA grape division.