Dennis Gertmenian, the retired founder of Ready Pac Produce, was given the Norman H. (Buz) Bolstad Produce Award by the Fresh Produce & Floral Council at its Southern California Produce Expo on July 15. The companion Floral Achievement Award was presented to Marsha Oka-Holmes of Westland Floral in Carpinteria, CA.

The produce industry’s oldest regional trade show was held at the Disneyland Hotel Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. More than 200 firms exhibited at the show, which attracted more than 2,000 attendees with a very robust walk-up registration.Soccer star Landon Donovan and sports sideline reporter Kelliu Tennant were the featured speakers at the FPFC Expo. Click here for more photos of the event.

Landon Donovan, the recently retired U.S. soccer star, was the featured speaker. He talked about his career in a question and answer format with sports sideline reporter Kelli Tennant. Donovan entertained the crowd with anecdotes from his playing days but also discussed the valuable lessons he learned about life along the way. In 2014, he was left off the U.S. World Cup team by a coach carrying a grudge. Though he was deeply disappointed, Donovan said it taught him a lesson of humility and compassion that he never would have learned had he been picked.

Gertmenian, who is largely credited with launching the fresh cut salad industry in a bathtub about 30 years ago, was presented the award by last year’s winner Kent Kuwata of Smart & Final. Kuwata cited Gertmenian’s service to the industry, including his willingness to always give back and having one of the most generous open-wallet policies in the industry. The most recent example of that is his sponsorship of the FPFC Apprentice Program. Entering its second year, Gertmenian has personally been the sole sponsor of the program, underwriting the entire cost because he is a big believer in industry training efforts. With his turn at the podium, Gertmenian said he is very proud of the FPFC and how it has grown over the years. He also thanked the many mentors that helped him during his long career.

As the 2014 floral award winner, Alice Grazziani of Gelson’s presented Oka-Holmes with her award. She noted that the longtime industry veteran, who has worked for a handful of companies over the years, “is known as dedicated, hard-working and kind…the first to arrive and the last to leave.”

“I am so honored,” said Oka-Holmes. “But there are so many people in the room more deserving than me.”

Albertson’s dominated the FPFC Floral Design Contest, which is held in conjunction with the Expo. Dozens of contestants are given identical baskets of floral products and are required to create a design within a short time frame. Albertson’s designers took four of the six spots in thew two categories.

In Level A, which is for designers with four or more years of experience, the top three slots went to: 1st Place: Nicholas St. Clare, Albertsons; 2nd Place: Veronica Alvarez, Gelson’s Markets; and 3rd Place: Gene Dicaro, Gelson’s Markets. In Level B, which was for three or less years of experience, the winners were: 1st Place: Priscilla Moreno, Albertsons; 2nd Place: AshMarie Pardue, Albertsons/Vons; and 3rd Place: Robyn Turner, Albertsons.

While the FPFC does invite attendees to take home free samples after the Expo, the association also works with the Orange County Food Bank to donate leftover display produce to that organization. Kristin Kvesic, who is donated food program manager for the charitable organization, reported that 10,682 pounds of flowers and produce were collected and distributed to Orange County residents.