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Joe Dietrich Al Dietrich Education Program, which has more than 1,300 graduates. Presenting the Latino Leadership Award, Karen Lewis, Washington State University Extension educator, said Garcia was instrumental in ensuring that the Wenatchee Valley College and Washington State University���s tree fruit production programs were fully articulated, and has been a leader in building partnerships and improving curricula. Most important of all has been his leadership in growing people, she added. n Distinguished Service Awards T he Michigan State Horticultural Society gave its distinguished service award to Al and Joe Dietrich, brothers who operate a 630-acre fruit farm called Riverview Orchards on Fruit Ridge near Conklin, Michigan. The award was presented during the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable, and Farm Market Expo in December. The Dietrich family settled on what was then 80 acres in 1853. Joe and Al are fifth-generation growers���and now partners with their sons, Ryan and Daniel. Joe is on the board of the Michigan Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Association apple committee, a Michigan Farm Bureau affiliate that sponsors the Michigan Processing Apple Growers, which bargains on price and other marketing terms with processors. He is also a director of Cherry Growers, Inc., a cooperative of about 100 growers of apples and cherries. Al is a past president of the Michigan Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Association apple committee. He served on the Michigan Apple Committee and is a previous board member of the U.S. Apple Association. The Dietrich family farm began as a traditional farm and gradually transitioned to fruit farming. After years of brothers and cousins farming together, in 1984, Al and Joe and their cousins, Mike and Jim, split the farm into two orcharding operations. The cousins operate under the name Leo Dietrich and Sons, Leo being grandfather to the four cousins. Together, the two enterprises operate Dietrich Orchards, a packing, storing, and shipping business. In that operation, they have CA storage capacity for 800,000 bushels of apples, and they grow and pack apples, cherries, and asparagus. The apples are marketed by Riveridge Produce. The Michigan Hort Society also gave a distinguished service award to Earl Peterson, an orchardist and entrepreneur who has had a major impact on the fruit industry in west central Michigan. Born on the family fruit farm near Hart, Peterson left for college in 1965 and became a public school teacher. In 1971, he and his wife, Linda, purchased their first farm as a summertime occupation. Peterson left Hart Public Schools, where he was a principal, in 1979, to farm full time. The Peterson family is now farming more than 2,500 acres, mostly tart cherries and peaches. A major transition took place in 1984 when Earl started processing fruit for his farm and for local growers. That business, Peterson Farms, now has three processing www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER JANUARY 1, 2013 9