The California Fresh Fruit Association kicked off a new fiscal year during its 80th annual meeting March 22 in Newport Beach, CA. The event featured the election of the board of directors and chairman, as well as industry and committee updates.

The board of directors is made up of 47 men and women from operations located from as far south as Coachella Valley to as far north as Lake County. Harold McClarty of HMC Farms was elected chairman of the board of directors for the 2016-17 fiscal year. The organization's officers are nominated to serve for a one-year period and are selected by a committee of past board chairs.

The full slate of officers includes:

• Chair: Harold McClarty of HMC Farms, a Kingsburg-based tree fruit and fresh grape shipper.
• First Vice Chair: Randy Giumarra of Giumarra Vineyards, a Bakersfield-based fresh grape and tree fruit shipper.
• Second Vice Chair: Kevin Herman of the Specialty Crop Co., a Madera-based fresh fig, pomegranate and persimmon shipper.
• Secretary/Treasurer: Louis Pandol of Pandol Bros. Inc., a Delano-based fresh grape shipper.

The board welcomed new directors Melissa Poole of Wonderful Orchards, Demetri Hronis of Hronis Inc., Mike Thurlow of Mountain View Fruit Sales and Patrick Scully of Scully Packing.

The board also gave its thanks to four exiting directors: Bo Brett of Mountain View Fruit Sales in Reedley, Toni Scully of Scully Packing in Finley, Edge Dostal of Fruit Patch Sales in Dinuba and Ron Frauenheim of Ron Frauenheim Farms in Sanger.

The association’s board meets three times a year to take action on regulatory and legislative issues at the state, federal and international level.

The association also honored long-time board member Ken Enns with the prestigious Mentor’s Award, which is bestowed to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the fresh grape, berry and tree fruit communities through their leadership in the industry. Enns has served on the CFFA board for 27 years and served as its chairman in 1998.

Prior to the annual membership meeting, the annual industry workshop featured keynote speakers Victor Davis Hanson, a professor and nationally syndicated columnist, and Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli, executive directors of the Center for Produce Safety.

Hanson reviewed the national political scene and shared his insight on the current factors affecting California agriculture, exposing the many challenges for the industry to survive. Fernandez-Fenaroli discussed the importance of food safety and CPS’s mission to provide ready-to-use, science-based solutions to prevent and minimize produce safety vulnerabilities.