The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association and the Southeast Produce Council announced that they will join forces in a series of regional educational programs for their members.

The SPC is rolling out its new "Educational Road Show" program developed in partnership with United to reach out to the organizations' members in various cities throughout the Southeast. United will work with SPC to develop quality education programs and bring in expert speakers.

Fresh grapes will be branded under the "Birds Eye Fresh" label as the result of a new marketing agreement reached Sept. 23 between Rochester, NY-based Birds Eye Foods and Pandol Associates Marketing Inc. in Delano, CA.

Lyn Hughes, senior marketing manager for Birds Eye Fresh, told The Produce News that the company had been looking to add grapes to its product line for some time, and that she and Jim Pandol of Pandol Associates initiated talks last May during the United Produce Show in Chicago.

Michael D. Hickson, co-owner of Frontier Produce in Tulsa, OK, died Sept. 11.

Mr. Hickson, 49, was the victim of an accidental drowning in a swimming pool at his home in Tulsa, according to his partner and brother-in-law, Robert DeWitt.

Mr. Hickson was born and raised in Perry, OK, and was a graduate of the public school system there.

Charles F. Hanline Jr., executive vice president of John F. Stambaugh & Co. Inc. in Plymouth, OH, died Sept. 18 as the result of injuries sustained when the private plane he was piloting crashed shortly after take-off from Seneca County Airport in Tiffin, OH.

Mr. Hanline was 56 and a resident of Willard, OH. He was born in Shelby, OH, and was a graduate of Plymouth High School and Ohio State University.

There were just too many potatoes on the market.

"Freeport is intact and appears to have weathered Hurricane Rita relatively well," Mike Mitchell, director of corporate communications for Chiquita Brands International Inc. in Cincinnati, said Sept. 26, The port of Freeport [in Texas] has told us that the ship channel is currently open for daylight vessel movements. They are awaiting survey results from the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, but reports indicate that the ship channel is expected to be open sometime Tuesday [the Sept. 27] or Wednesday for 24-hour traffic.