First female board member tops list of changes at DRC
First female board member tops list of changes at DRC
The year 2008 has been one of leadership change in North America. Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) both campaigned on platforms of change during the U.S. presidential race and Mr. Obama was victorious because of it.
The Fruit & Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corp. has also seen changes to its leadership on its board of directors from all three member nations (the United States, Canada and Mexico), including the first woman to join the board.
Marie Gosselin, president of Les Serres du St.-Laurent, one of Quebec's larger greenhouse tomato growers that is also known as Savoura, was appointed to the board at the end of October.
Ms. Gosselin replaced Martin Desrochers, one of the DRC's founding board members, who resigned his seat last month.
"I think it is great to have a woman on the board," Stephen Whitney, the DRC's president and chief executive officer, told The Produce News Nov. 3. "We're very pleased to have someone as energetic as her on the board. I've known her for quite a number of years and been involved with a lot of associations both in Canada and the U.S. Savoura was a founding member of DRC, and she's got an excellent background. She is someone we think is an excellent fit for the board."
Ms. Gosselin also serves on the Quebec Produce Marketing Association's board of directors as president of its marketing and consumer affairs committee, and she was its 2007 convention chairman. As a member of the North American Tomato Working Group, she has also worked on behalf of issues involving the tomato industry.
Ms. Gosselin told The Produce News Oct. 30 that "she is very honored and very happy to be part of this group. It's an important group that does important work for the industry. I really hope that I can help the group and make it better."
Mr. Whitney said that Danny Raulerson stepped down as a DRC director this spring after leaving his job at the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association. Mr. Raulerson was the U.S. director who was selected to replace Reggie Brown, who was also one of the organization's founding board members.
Mr. Raulerson had two years left in his term at the time he vacated his seat on the board, which was filled in July by Mike Stuart, longtime president of the FFVA.
"We are really fortunate that Mike Stuart agreed to accept the nomination to be appointed to fill Danny's term," Mr. Whitney said. "He's a good fit, someone who has a lot of experience and knows what we're all about.
"The DRC is an outgrowth of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the call within the agreement for a dispute settlement mechanism between the three participating countries in the area of agriculture," Mr. Stuart told The Produce News Nov. 4. "The FFVA was one of the organizations that advocated that piece of the agreement, particularly in the fruit and vegetable industry for commercial disputes in North America, and we've been a big supporter of the DRC since its inception shortly after the passage of NAFTA. At this point and time, I felt it would be a good thing for me to do for the organization and the DRC to get more involved and see if I could be more helpful in some ways."
Mr. Stuart said that he is looking forward to "continuing to grow the organization and working toward its long-term success. It's a highly valuable tool for dispute resolution between buyers and sellers of produce in North American, and I think it really serves as a global model for how the private sector can develop a mechanism to resolve these kinds of disputes."
Mr. Whitney noted that there were two changes to its Mexican board members.
Miguel A. Garcia Paredes, executive director of Consejo Nacional Agropecuario, one of the larger national agricultural organizations in Mexico, was elected to a three-year term during its annual meeting in April.
"Miguel is someone we've known for many years," Mr. Whitney said. "When we were putting the DRC together back in the late 1990s, Miguel was at the table representing the interests of his organization, so he is pretty well acquainted with who we are and what we're about. We're very glad that his organization is willing to let him step forward and take a position on the board and cement our relationship with some of the institutional groups in Mexico and bring them closer to working with us."
Mr. Whitney said that Alberto Curis of Agroindustrial Sonora S.A. de C.V. was also elected in April but subsequently was unable to participate and resigned his seat this summer.
"The chairman of the nominations committee has the capacity to appoint someone to fill a seat for the balance of the term, which is three years," Mr. Whitney said. "Norberto Galzan, the general director of Rodeva S.P.R. de R.L., a large Mexican grower-shipper of mangos in Chiapas, was appointed in October. Norberto is quite involved with regional associations and has a lot of experience in the industry."
The DRC also had two changes to the three government liaison officers who sit on the board. Mr. Whitney said that government liaison officers have no set terms and serve at the pleasure of their respective governments.
Robert Keeney, deputy administrator for fruit and vegetable programs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service, replaced Ken Clayton, who served in the same position with USDA and retired last spring. "Bob is very involved, and when Ken wasn't available, Bob would attend our meetings, so he is very familiar with our operations and what we're all about," Mr. Whitney said. "The USDA has been very supportive of the initiatives we've been working on. Bob is just a super guy to work with, and we enjoy having him around the table."
Mr. Whitney said that Glyn Chancey, acting executive director of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Plant Products Directorate and the original Canadian government representative to the DRC, is coming back to the board to replace Gary Koivisto, who retired from the same position this fall.
"Glyn was very involved in helping get the DRC up and running in the late 1990s and we're very pleased to see him around the table again," Mr. Whitney said.
"We've had a lot of changes in a short time frame; close to a third of our directors have changed," Mr. Whitney said. "We're very fortunate to have other candidates as well that we talked to, so there's interest and that's always a good thing. There are other people out there and somewhere down the road they may make a good fit. We want to bring new people on and want to get some new ideas. It's a great opportunity for the DRC."
The Fruit & Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corp. has also seen changes to its leadership on its board of directors from all three member nations (the United States, Canada and Mexico), including the first woman to join the board.
Marie Gosselin, president of Les Serres du St.-Laurent, one of Quebec's larger greenhouse tomato growers that is also known as Savoura, was appointed to the board at the end of October.
Ms. Gosselin replaced Martin Desrochers, one of the DRC's founding board members, who resigned his seat last month.
"I think it is great to have a woman on the board," Stephen Whitney, the DRC's president and chief executive officer, told The Produce News Nov. 3. "We're very pleased to have someone as energetic as her on the board. I've known her for quite a number of years and been involved with a lot of associations both in Canada and the U.S. Savoura was a founding member of DRC, and she's got an excellent background. She is someone we think is an excellent fit for the board."
Ms. Gosselin also serves on the Quebec Produce Marketing Association's board of directors as president of its marketing and consumer affairs committee, and she was its 2007 convention chairman. As a member of the North American Tomato Working Group, she has also worked on behalf of issues involving the tomato industry.
Ms. Gosselin told The Produce News Oct. 30 that "she is very honored and very happy to be part of this group. It's an important group that does important work for the industry. I really hope that I can help the group and make it better."
Mr. Whitney said that Danny Raulerson stepped down as a DRC director this spring after leaving his job at the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association. Mr. Raulerson was the U.S. director who was selected to replace Reggie Brown, who was also one of the organization's founding board members.
Mr. Raulerson had two years left in his term at the time he vacated his seat on the board, which was filled in July by Mike Stuart, longtime president of the FFVA.
"We are really fortunate that Mike Stuart agreed to accept the nomination to be appointed to fill Danny's term," Mr. Whitney said. "He's a good fit, someone who has a lot of experience and knows what we're all about.
"The DRC is an outgrowth of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the call within the agreement for a dispute settlement mechanism between the three participating countries in the area of agriculture," Mr. Stuart told The Produce News Nov. 4. "The FFVA was one of the organizations that advocated that piece of the agreement, particularly in the fruit and vegetable industry for commercial disputes in North America, and we've been a big supporter of the DRC since its inception shortly after the passage of NAFTA. At this point and time, I felt it would be a good thing for me to do for the organization and the DRC to get more involved and see if I could be more helpful in some ways."
Mr. Stuart said that he is looking forward to "continuing to grow the organization and working toward its long-term success. It's a highly valuable tool for dispute resolution between buyers and sellers of produce in North American, and I think it really serves as a global model for how the private sector can develop a mechanism to resolve these kinds of disputes."
Mr. Whitney noted that there were two changes to its Mexican board members.
Miguel A. Garcia Paredes, executive director of Consejo Nacional Agropecuario, one of the larger national agricultural organizations in Mexico, was elected to a three-year term during its annual meeting in April.
"Miguel is someone we've known for many years," Mr. Whitney said. "When we were putting the DRC together back in the late 1990s, Miguel was at the table representing the interests of his organization, so he is pretty well acquainted with who we are and what we're about. We're very glad that his organization is willing to let him step forward and take a position on the board and cement our relationship with some of the institutional groups in Mexico and bring them closer to working with us."
Mr. Whitney said that Alberto Curis of Agroindustrial Sonora S.A. de C.V. was also elected in April but subsequently was unable to participate and resigned his seat this summer.
"The chairman of the nominations committee has the capacity to appoint someone to fill a seat for the balance of the term, which is three years," Mr. Whitney said. "Norberto Galzan, the general director of Rodeva S.P.R. de R.L., a large Mexican grower-shipper of mangos in Chiapas, was appointed in October. Norberto is quite involved with regional associations and has a lot of experience in the industry."
The DRC also had two changes to the three government liaison officers who sit on the board. Mr. Whitney said that government liaison officers have no set terms and serve at the pleasure of their respective governments.
Robert Keeney, deputy administrator for fruit and vegetable programs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service, replaced Ken Clayton, who served in the same position with USDA and retired last spring. "Bob is very involved, and when Ken wasn't available, Bob would attend our meetings, so he is very familiar with our operations and what we're all about," Mr. Whitney said. "The USDA has been very supportive of the initiatives we've been working on. Bob is just a super guy to work with, and we enjoy having him around the table."
Mr. Whitney said that Glyn Chancey, acting executive director of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Plant Products Directorate and the original Canadian government representative to the DRC, is coming back to the board to replace Gary Koivisto, who retired from the same position this fall.
"Glyn was very involved in helping get the DRC up and running in the late 1990s and we're very pleased to see him around the table again," Mr. Whitney said.
"We've had a lot of changes in a short time frame; close to a third of our directors have changed," Mr. Whitney said. "We're very fortunate to have other candidates as well that we talked to, so there's interest and that's always a good thing. There are other people out there and somewhere down the road they may make a good fit. We want to bring new people on and want to get some new ideas. It's a great opportunity for the DRC."
