As always, Giorgio Fresh plans to have a full team of company representatives on hand at its booth, number 909, at the 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.

Bill Litvin, senior vice president of sales and national account manager for the Temple, PA-based leading mushroom producer, said that in addition to himself, Brian Threlfall, executive vice president of sales and marketing; Doug Stewart, vice president of sales and marketing; Greg Sagan, senior vice president of sales and marketing; Kris Kaczmarczyk, regional sales manager; and Lucretia Parish, vice president of sales Southeast, would all be on hand to meet and greet customers at the event.

“Giorgio Fresh has been a member of the Southeast Produce Council since its inception,” said Litvin. “And we have exhibited at every Southern Exposure event during that time. Our staff members participate in the golf tournament, the opening gala event, the keynote luncheon and the closing reception.

“We are proud to once again be a sponsor of the Southern Exposure event,” he continued. “Our sponsorship helps to purchase the commemorative bags that are distributed to the attendees.”

Litvin observed that with the closure of two mushroom farms — one in California and one in Colorado — in recent times, the U.S. mushroom supply has been curtailed.

“In addition, the lower volumes of Chinese imported canned mushrooms have added pressure, forcing U.S. mushroom growers to choose where to sell their products,” Litvin said. “Giorgio is committed to supplying fresh mushrooms to its many valued customers.”

Litvin said that the additional challenges this year have been from the weather, noting, “Whether it impacts on our employees’ ability to make it to work or on our truck drivers’ ability to get their deliveries made in a timely fashion. We are doing everything we can to continue the high levels of service that our customers expect.”

On an upswing for Giorgio Fresh is its excitement in announcing the launch of its newly redesigned website, www.giorgiofresh.com. It also recently launched its official expansion into the world of social media with its brand new Giorgio Fresh Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram pages.

“We’ve worked carefully to craft our new vision and hope to be a source of expertise to our customers with posts, including recipes, product knowledge, company and industry information, giveaways and more,” said Litvin. “It is our goal to continue to present new ways to market mushrooms to the public. We hope that these new ventures will allow us to do so, and we encourage everyone to check out our social media pages and our new website.”