JASON MILLER joined Pompano Beach, FL-based Ayco Farms’ sales team, effective Aug. 15

In his new position at Ayco, Mr. Miller is handling cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, asparagus, sno peas, sugar snaps, avocados and gourmet colored peppers, as well as products from Central America, South America and Mexico.

Mexican avocados have two seasons, as Doug Meyer, vice president of sales and marketing at West Pak Avocado Inc. in Temecula, CA, pointed out in an interview with The Produce News Oct. 1.

In celebration of a long-term relationship that brings South African citrus to U.S. consumers, Walmart kicked off a week-long celebration of South Africa for consumers at Walmart stores throughout the Northeast region.

Walmart executives and leaders of South Africa's Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum kicked off the celebration at a "Taste of South Africa" event Oct. 12 at the Walmart Supercenter in Levittown, PA.

Blue Book Services, the leading credit and marketing information agency for the produce industry, will launch its New Hire Academy, a program designed to help new employees learn industry fundamentals.

"If the produce industry was ever simple, it's not simple today," Jim Carr, president and owner of Blue Book Services, based in Carol Stream, IL, said in a press release. "There's always more to learn, and for a new hire it can be especially challenging. We wanted to help our member companies, as well as newly hired individuals, meet on-the-job challenges and succeed."

Heeren Bros. Inc., one of Michigan's larger family-owned wholesalers, marketers and distributors of fresh fruits and vegetables, announced it will break ground on a new $22 million state-of-the-art facility in Alpine Township this month.

Scottsdale, AZ-based Pura Vida Farms, a nationwide pineapple importer and a grower-shipper of melon products, announced the selection of SHAWN AVERA as its new director of watermelon operations for the eastern region.