Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/418083
18 DECEMBER 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Jon DeVaney will represent the industry in the legislative arena. by Geraldine Warner T he new Washington Tree Fruit Association plans to expand its services to the industry, says President Jon DeVaney, who will be busy working on legislative affairs in the state capital of Olympia in the coming session. The merger of four organizations will be complete when the association absorbs the Washington State Horticultural Association after the annual hort meet- ing in early December. The Washington Growers Clearing House Association, Yakima Growers-Shippers Association, and Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association merged at the end of August. The association's annual budget will be $1.5 million, which is about $250,000 less than the combined budgets of the organizations it is replacing. It will be funded by dues of 3/4 cent per 40-pound equivalent box on apples, pears, cherries, and soft fruit. Packers will remit the dues directly to the association. Growers will not be able to opt out of paying dues, though they can ask to be removed from the mailing list. "To have growers automatically be members, unless they choose not to be affili- ated by saying, 'Take me off your list,' means we maxi- mize the political influence by saying we represent all the growers of the industry, and all the packers, and all the marketers," he said. DeVaney said the new association will not just maintain services that the other organizations pro- vided but will improve on them. He expects that the association will provide more data to producers and expand its educational role. It will also play a more proactive role in state legislative and regulatory affairs so that it's not just pushing back on issues that could have a negative impact, but is asking for improvements to rules and regulations. Ranie Haas joined the staff in October in the new position of director of regulatory and industry affairs. DeVaney will head the legislative effort, working—at least for the first session—with Jim Halstrom, a long- time contract lobbyist for the Hort Association, and Dave Ducharme, lobbyist for the Growers-Shippers Association in Olympia. "I'll spend some time on going to Olympia to identify priorities and explaining the industry's position on issues that come up," he said. Legislative affairs DeVaney, 43, has considerable experience in legisla- tive affairs. He grew up in Washington's Kitsap County and finished high school in Kennewick, where his par- ents still live. He has a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Washington and a master's degree in history at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. "I was in a PhD program, and then I realized that was a good route to unemployment," he said. "The academic job market was not that strong." In 1995, while DeVaney was pondering over what else he might do, Doc Hastings was elected to the House of Representatives from Washington's fourth congressional district. DeVaney got a job first as an intern and then as a legislative assistant with Hastings in Washington, D.C., and transferred to the Yakima, Washington, district office in 2000. Two years later, he joined the staff of the Northwest Horticultural Council as director of legislative and reg- ulatory affairs. He left in 2003 to rejoin Hasting's staff and help run George Bush's re-election effort. In 2005, he took a political appointment as Washington State's director of Rural Development, which is part of the U.S. Orchard & Vineyard Models Available! 800-351-8201 www.proaginc.com PROGRESSIVE AG, INC. .D8JMMJBNT8BZr.PEFTUP$" Simply easy to maintain and operate Better for your bottom line Coverage improved with Lectro Blast 800-351-8201 Call for a dealer in your area Call for a dealer in your area ® bZ1SPHSFTTJWF"H*OD bZ1SPHSFTTJWF"H*OD bZ1SPHSFTTJWF"H*OD Lectro Blast Lectro Blast Lectro Blast New tree fruit association plans to expand services Jon DeVaney