Jesse Driskill named FPAA president
Jesse Driskill named FPAA president
The board of directors of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas in Nogales, AZ, voted during its board meeting March 4 to hire Nogales produce industry veteran Jesse Driskill as the association's new president, filling the vacancy left by Lee Frankel, who resigned in late November to take the position of chief executive officer at United Potato Growers of America.
Allison Moore, the association's communications director, has served as interim president since Mr. Frankel left, while a six-member executive search committee headed by Bill Sykes, owner of The Sykes Co. in Nogales, looked for a new president. Mr. Driskill will assume his new role in mid-April, according to Ms. Moore.
"We talked to a lot of people," Mr. Sykes told The Produce News March 5. "We had r?sum?s from as far away as South Africa and France. We took quite a bit of time because we wanted to make sure that we talked to everybody who sent us a r?sum?."
It came down to three candidates and then finally to Mr. Driskill, he said. "Jesse has [FPAA] board experience and also 15 or 20 years in the produce business [in Nogales], so that helps a lot."
For the last four years, Mr. Driskill has been running his own business, Driskill Agricultural Services in Nogales, which is involved in agricultural financing as well as sales and distribution. Prior to that, he worked with Meyer Inc. from about 1990 to 2003, initially in King City, CA, and later in Nogales, serving much of that time as general manager.
He also served for several years on the association's board of directors, including four years as board vice chairman and several years as tomato committee chairman.
An accountant by training who earned his CPA, Mr. Driskill worked with an investment firm prior to entering the produce industry.
He told The Produce News that the fact that he knows most of the people in the Nogales produce industry and many of the growers in Mexico will be an asset to him in his new position. He also said that he is looking forward to the opportunity to work for the overall interests of the industry rather than focusing on the narrower interests of just his own company.
"Everybody really likes Jesse's calm demeanor," said Mr. Sykes. "He is very bright. I have seen him in action in Washington, DC, when he was on the board at different times. He was always the voice of reason."
Board members were pleased "when I brought up his name in one of the board meetings" as a prospect for the post of president, Mr. Sykes added. "I think probably 99 percent of the people [in the association] are happy" with the final choice.
While some might have expected that the FPAA would hire a career association executive to replace Mr. Frankel, Mr. Sykes said that board members feel that Mr. Driskill's intimate familiarity with the industry will be an asset.
"The association is constantly evolving," and the industry and the challenges it faces are becoming increasingly complex, he said. "When we hired Lee," who had been a member of the International Trade Commission, "we needed somebody to help us get through all the hurdles and twists and turns of the tomato suspension agreement. Jesse is coming in basically as an administrator. He will be doing a different job than Lee did."
Mr. Sykes noted further that Ms. Moore, who had worked closely with Mr. Frankel for many years, "now can do just about everything that Lee was doing, so she's got that covered pretty well. We are very happy with Allison."
Major challenges lie ahead for the association, a non-profit trade association that represents over 100 U.S. member companies involved in growing, packing, sales and transportation of fresh fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico, according to Mr. Sykes.
Among other things, "the price of petroleum is going to have a huge impact on us here in Nogales," he said. Food safety is "another huge issue" on which the association has been focusing and will continue to focus. "We have Walter Ram, food safety director at Giumarra, and he has been a tremendous help to all of us. All of our farmers are GAP and GMP and some HACCP [certified]. We have been certified for quite a while now. But all of these continuing things have to be emphasized," and doing the needed "pushing and prodding" will be "part of Jesse's job."
Ms. Moore said that from a staff perspective, the association's employees are "really excited that Jesse will be our new president. They all respect his level- headedness and his ability to analyze situations and to come to solutions. I think he is going to be really a great asset."
Allison Moore, the association's communications director, has served as interim president since Mr. Frankel left, while a six-member executive search committee headed by Bill Sykes, owner of The Sykes Co. in Nogales, looked for a new president. Mr. Driskill will assume his new role in mid-April, according to Ms. Moore.
"We talked to a lot of people," Mr. Sykes told The Produce News March 5. "We had r?sum?s from as far away as South Africa and France. We took quite a bit of time because we wanted to make sure that we talked to everybody who sent us a r?sum?."
It came down to three candidates and then finally to Mr. Driskill, he said. "Jesse has [FPAA] board experience and also 15 or 20 years in the produce business [in Nogales], so that helps a lot."
For the last four years, Mr. Driskill has been running his own business, Driskill Agricultural Services in Nogales, which is involved in agricultural financing as well as sales and distribution. Prior to that, he worked with Meyer Inc. from about 1990 to 2003, initially in King City, CA, and later in Nogales, serving much of that time as general manager.
He also served for several years on the association's board of directors, including four years as board vice chairman and several years as tomato committee chairman.
An accountant by training who earned his CPA, Mr. Driskill worked with an investment firm prior to entering the produce industry.
He told The Produce News that the fact that he knows most of the people in the Nogales produce industry and many of the growers in Mexico will be an asset to him in his new position. He also said that he is looking forward to the opportunity to work for the overall interests of the industry rather than focusing on the narrower interests of just his own company.
"Everybody really likes Jesse's calm demeanor," said Mr. Sykes. "He is very bright. I have seen him in action in Washington, DC, when he was on the board at different times. He was always the voice of reason."
Board members were pleased "when I brought up his name in one of the board meetings" as a prospect for the post of president, Mr. Sykes added. "I think probably 99 percent of the people [in the association] are happy" with the final choice.
While some might have expected that the FPAA would hire a career association executive to replace Mr. Frankel, Mr. Sykes said that board members feel that Mr. Driskill's intimate familiarity with the industry will be an asset.
"The association is constantly evolving," and the industry and the challenges it faces are becoming increasingly complex, he said. "When we hired Lee," who had been a member of the International Trade Commission, "we needed somebody to help us get through all the hurdles and twists and turns of the tomato suspension agreement. Jesse is coming in basically as an administrator. He will be doing a different job than Lee did."
Mr. Sykes noted further that Ms. Moore, who had worked closely with Mr. Frankel for many years, "now can do just about everything that Lee was doing, so she's got that covered pretty well. We are very happy with Allison."
Major challenges lie ahead for the association, a non-profit trade association that represents over 100 U.S. member companies involved in growing, packing, sales and transportation of fresh fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico, according to Mr. Sykes.
Among other things, "the price of petroleum is going to have a huge impact on us here in Nogales," he said. Food safety is "another huge issue" on which the association has been focusing and will continue to focus. "We have Walter Ram, food safety director at Giumarra, and he has been a tremendous help to all of us. All of our farmers are GAP and GMP and some HACCP [certified]. We have been certified for quite a while now. But all of these continuing things have to be emphasized," and doing the needed "pushing and prodding" will be "part of Jesse's job."
Ms. Moore said that from a staff perspective, the association's employees are "really excited that Jesse will be our new president. They all respect his level- headedness and his ability to analyze situations and to come to solutions. I think he is going to be really a great asset."
