California Prune Board Announces Results of 2018 Election
CONTACT:
DEBBIE MITCHELL, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL
COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
CALIFORNIA California Prune Board
TELEPHONE: (916) 565-6232
E-MAIL: dmitchell@cdpb.org
CALIFORNIA California Prune Board ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF 2018 ELECTION
Officers Unanimously Elected to Serve the New Term
Roseville, CA (July 19, 2018) – The California California Prune Board (CDPB) has officially seated its 22-member board and 15 alternates for the 2018-2020 term. Following certification of the election by the California Secretary of Food and Agriculture, the new board approved the 2018/19 fiscal year programs and budget at its June 21 board meeting.
In one of its first orders of business, the following members were unanimously nominated and elected by their colleagues to serve as CDPB officers: Joe Turkovich was reelected as Chair; Ranvir Singh was reelected as Vice Chair; Dan Bozzo was reelected as Secretary; and, Rajeev Davit was elected as Treasurer.
“”The prune industry in California continues to experience changes, as cheaper global prune supplies disrupt markets, tree crops vie for acreage here at home and volatile trade negotiations offer uncertainty about future market competitiveness,”” said Joe Turkovich. “”The board’s priorities are evolving to develop resilient strategies that further set apart premium quality California prunes from other sources. Our promotion and research programs offer the trade and consumers a clear choice in quality and innovation and have helped bolster prices in key markets by more than 50% over the past decade. Efforts to communicate the value-added versatility of prunes as a healthy food ingredient and clean-label additive are creating diverse opportunities for the industry and unexpected platforms for telling our story. New initiatives that include development of a contemporary brand and more sophisticated systems for measuring performance are soon to roll out. The Board is committed to continuous improvement, ensuring that our efforts are of measurable value to California prune growers and processors,”” concluded Turkovich.
California remains the world’s single leading supplier of prunes. Revered as part of California’s rich history, the prune remains a vital player in California’s economic wealth. On average, California growers produce approximately 99 percent of the United States’ and 40 percent of the world’s supply of prunes and prune products. The prized California prune was born when agriculturists brought the legendary Petite d’Agen plum from Southwest France to California during the Gold Rush and grafted it onto wild American plum stock.
About the California California Prune Board (CDPB): The CDPB represents approximately 800 prune growers and 27 prune, juice and ingredient processors under the authority of the California Secretary of Food and Agriculture. The California California Prune Board oversees domestic and global promotion, nutrition research, crop management and sustainability research, and issues management.
For more information, and to find recipes and videos, visit www.californiadriedplums.org. Follow the CDPB on https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaDriedPlums and https://twitter.com/CaDriedPlums.
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California California Prune Board Members
For the Term 06/01/18 – 05/31/20
Independent Producer Members:
Mike Vereschagin
Perminder Bains
Neill Mitchell
David Wohletz
Dan Bozzo
Ranvir Singh
Jim Demetriff
Independent Processor Members:
George Sousa, Jr.
David Mazzola
John Taylor
Co-Op Producer Members:
Bob Amarel
Rajeev Davit
Phillip Filter
Brendon Flynn
Bob Kolberg
Dave Loquaci
Joe Turkovich
Co-Op Processor Members:
Ana Klein
Dane Lance
Jeff McLemore
Brad Schuler
Public Member
Karen Burke
Independent Producer Floating Alternates:
Matt Bozzo
Tyler Christensen
Joe Mitchell
Sandra Mitchell
Independent Processor Alternates:
Steve Sousa
Linda Kay Abdulian
Richard Wilbur
Co-Op Producer Floating Alternates:
James Strong
Gary Thiara
Paul Paulin
John Amarel
Co-Op Processor Alternates:
Stephanie Harralson
Concetta Cotter
Harold Upton
Public Alternate:
Shirley Humphrey