Nogales, AZ — The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas (FPAA) held its annual membership meeting on May 17 in Nogales, Arizona. This year’s meeting had several significant highlights:
- Alejandro Canelos of Apache Produce Imports assumed the chairman position
- Matt Mandel of SunFed was elected to fill the position of chairman-elect
- Terry Shannon, Jr. of Shannon Brokerage Co. was the recipient of the 2011-2012 Fresh Produce Association of the Americas Member of the Year award
- A slate of board directors was elected by the membership
Alejandro Canelos of Apache Produce Imports in Nogales, Arizona has served on the FPAA board as the chairman of the FPAA tomato division and has been involved in the produce industry for many years.
Matt Mandel of SunFed has served on the board for several years, and has served as a spokesman for the industry at meetings both in Phoenix and Washington, D.C.
Jaime Chamberlain, now the FPAA’s past-chairman, said, “The annual meeting is so important for us to be able to sit down as a group, discuss issues affecting the industry, and elect representatives to our board. Having worked closely with Alejandro Canelos during my time as chairman, I can say that he is going to do fantastic things for this organization. The new chairman-elect, Matt Mandel, will bring a great amount of energy to this board, and I look forward to seeing all of the good things they are going to do for this industry.”
“The community can expect more and more involvement from FPAA in the political realm, and in trying to cut down red tape to get produce across the border,” said FPAA President Lance Jungmeyer. “Alejandro Canelos and Matt Mandel will build upon the efforts to influence federal and state regulators and lawmakers that took form under Jaime Chamberlain’s leadership.”
The meeting concluded with the election of eight distributor directors and two associate directors to the FPAA board. Jose Luis Obregon of IPR Fresh, Christian Reyna of Divine Flavor, LLC and Rod Sbragia of Tricar Sales were newly elected to the board for a two-year term.
The following members were re-elected to a two-year term: Bobby Astengo of Prime Time International; Robert Bennen, Jr. of Ta-De Distributing; Martin Ley of Del Campo Supreme; Bert Monteverde of H.M. Distributors and Leonardo Tarriba of Farmer’s Best International.
Sabrina Hallman of Sierra Seed Company LLLP and Chuck Thomas of Thomas Produce were re-elected for a one-year term as associate member directors.
The FPAA and its members rely on the commitment and expertise of their board of directors in advancing the goals of the membership.
Source: The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas