SALINAS, CA " Rosalie Pollard has called it a career after working 39 years for the Antle family. Ms. Pollard started her lengthy sales career in produce working at the former Bud Antle Inc., here.

Now 61, Ms. Pollard started her career in produce in 1966 working for Bud Antle as his receptionist and secretary. This continued for about 18 months until Mr. Antle asked her if she would like to move into sales.

When Tom Sakata died Dec. 14, he didn?t leave a void in the daily functioning of Los Gatos, CA-based broker-distributor Bay Area Produce Inc. But he did leave a void in the hearts of people he?d worked with through a roughly 25-year career with the company.

Summeripe Worldwide Inc. of Dinuba, CA, announced the addition of Simonian Fruit Co. of Fowler, CA to the Summeripe Alliance of tree fruit shippers.

Simonian is a multigenerational, diversified family-farming company with a long tradition of quality growing and involvement in the California tree fruit industry.

The beginning of the annual Chinese calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, and so the specific day is different each year. In 2005, it falls on Feb. 9.

The Chinese named each of the 12 years after an animal, based on a Buddha legend. This year is proclaimed the year of the rooster.

William Winsemann III has joined the National Watermelon Promotion Board as director of industry affairs, where he will be responsible for overseeing the operations of the industry affairs department.

Mr. Winsemann has 23 years of experience in business administration, logistics accounting and systems and data management, as well as in policy, trade, agriculture and government.

A two-year U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division investigation into the Eastern Mushroom Marketing Cooperative in Wayne, PA, was completed in mid-December. EMMC Executive Director Charles Matthews said that his group has discontinued its challenged foray into the real estate business, but otherwise received a clean bill of health.

Mr. Matthews said that the cooperative was investigated "from stem to stern? on an anti-trust allegation. Cooperative e-mails and records were analyzed; membership agreements and organization policies were scrutinized.