FCC elects Ellis Hunt Jr. as new chairman
FCC elects Ellis Hunt Jr. as new chairman
The Florida Citrus Commission unanimously elected Lake Wales citrus grower Ellis Hunt Jr. as its new chairman.
Hunt replaces Marty McKenna, who served as chairman for more than four years and continues to serve on the board. McKenna is the only commissioner in the FCC’s history to serve four consecutive terms as chairman.
“I plan to continue the leadership McKenna provided and serve the industry to the best of my ability as we move forward during this challenging time,” Hunt said.
Hunt is president of Hunt Bros., Inc. which operates citrus groves and a packing house in Lake Wales. A third generation citrus grower, Hunt has dedicated his entire 35-year career to the citrus industry and has served on the Commission since 2011.
Closing out more than four years as chairman, McKenna thanked his fellow commissioners for their support and looked ahead to the work that still needs to be done. “We’ve all been faced with this terrible disease of HLB. We’ve got to solve this before we can continue to move forward as industry,” McKenna said. “In the meantime, we must continue to share the health and wellness message of orange juice and promote Not-From-Concentrate OJ, which is the focus of our industry.”
Commissioners also unanimously re-elected Vice Chairman Michael Garavaglia Jr., who serves as president of Rogers Citrus, Inc. and the managing general partner and chief financial officer of the limited partnership for The Packers of Indian River, Ltd. in Fort Pierce.
