Good Fruit Grower

July 1

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6 JULY 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Holtzinger Fruit adds staff H oltzinger Fruit Com- pany in Yakima, Washington, has added two new staff members. Jeramy VanVleck, the company's new operations manager, has more than 15 years of experience in apple packing, storage, sales, and production coordination. He is the third generation of an apple industry family. Daniel Bakes has joined Holtzinger as field service representative for the Columbia Basin and Walla Walla district. He was born in Moses Lake. After earning an associate degree in soil science and ag business from Walla Walla Community College, he went to work for Blue Mountain Growers, Inc., Milton-Freewater, Ore- gon. He provided field services for the 80-member coop- erative and was responsible for assisting with Global Gap certification, harvest planning, and technical support. Stemilt hires regional manager J ocelyn Gerard has joined Stemilt Growers, Inc., of Wenatchee, Washington, as its regional merchandising manager based in Chicago, Illinois. Gerard, who is from Chicago, has spent the last several years working to develop a local food movement, includ- ing a farmers' market and a food cooperative. She earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and has expe- rience in event management, account relations, and marketing communications. She spent ten years work- ing in management at the interior design company Maya Romanoff Corporation. She has also worked in adminis- tration at Reuters, a global information company. Trust fund donation honors Braman T he Michigan State Horticultural Society trust fund recently donated $5,300 to renovate the Envi- ro-Weather station at Belding, Michigan, in observance of grower Bill Braman's 90th birthday. Braman grew apples near Belding and was a founder, in 1957, of the nine-grower cooperative Belting Fruit Storage (now BelleHarvest Sales). But his major claim to fame came in developing the hort society's trust fund, established in 1985. An original member of the trust fund committee, he has chaired it for many years, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through his personal effort, and directed its investments. Over the years, the fund has collected more than $1.2 million from growers and other donors. From that base, it has given more than $1.3 million in support of fruit industry research at Michigan State University—and still has an endowment value of a similar amount. Allyn Anthony, executive secretary of the Michigan Hort Society, said the money is often used as a bridge, providing immediate help for emergency projects when traditional funding fails. The hort society has given Braman its distinguished service award twice, most recently in 2006 to recognize his work with the trust fund. "With his personal fundraising approach, he has helped grow the trust fund and has given generously of his time and personal resources," Anthony said. In 2004, Braman contributed $10,000 in memory of his father and two brothers, with whom he farmed. He retired 27 years ago. On May 7, Beth Bishop, the coordinator of the Michi- gan Enviro-Weather program, presented a plaque to Bra- man at BelleHarvest Sales, where members of the trust fund committee were meeting. Braman, who has a keen sense of humor, says a key to raising money is "putting the hay where the horse can reach it." Many donations come from growers as they are approaching the end of successful farming careers and want to give back to their industry and establish a legacy. Enviro-Weather, which has 73 weather stations across Michigan, has been seeking additional grower finan- cial support in recent years. The stations collect data on air and soil temperature, relative humidity, air speed, precipitation, solar radiation, and leaf wetness, and Enviro-Weather translates that data into reports of fire blight, apple scab, and other diseases, and insect alerts as well, for fruit growers, who can access it from their com- puters and mobile devices. GOOD J OB Industry people in the news. Jeramy VanVleck Daniel Bakes Bill Braman was honored as he turned 90 by a $5,300 donation to Enviro-Weather from the Michigan State Horticultural Society trust fund, which Braman has guided since its founding in 1985. Jocelyn Gerard Dave Wilson Nursery 19701 Lake Road Hickman, CA 95323 (209) 874-1821 Fax 874-1920 Toll Free 800-654-5854 www.davewilson.com "We grew up with Zaiger Genetics and Dave Wilson Nursery. We first experienced the flavor of the Pluot ® and passed on that experience to our community. We often hear customers at our local farm stand say things such as, "you have to experience it, or you can't explain the flavor of a pluot". I call this our return on experience. Generations of support has led us to where we are and what we are about today. We are farmers, we create the experience, we support it, but most of all we are a part of it. Dave Wilson Nursery has been with us every step of the way to stay fully vested in our community and helping to create the experience". Craig Wallis and Bill Loretelli Loretelli Farms, Modesto, CA 75 Years & Growing 1938 - 2013

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