New Fruit Commission President

From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. The Washington State Fruit Commission has named Eric Patrick as its new president to oversee marketing for Northwest cherries and canned pears.

Patrick takes over for longtime president BJ Thurlby who passed away in January following cancer surgery …

PATRICK … “BJ Thurlby was a mentor and a friend and, you know, served this industry so well for years. So, we’re all very saddened not to have him here. And I actually had worked for BJ about 20 years ago and was the North American Promotions Director for about five years. And so, I was very familiar with the organization and have been in agriculture for about 30 years.”

Patrick says he appreciates his new team …

PATRICK … “We have a great team here and, you know, some of the people like Keith Hu has been our International Director for, gosh, 20 years now. And so, you know, he has a firm understanding of everything that’s going on and has done a great job of promoting Northwest Cherries internationally.”

The rest of the staff, Patrick says is also top notch …

PATRICK … “Karley Lange has been on board for over a decade now and has a great relationship with the retailers, and a great support staff behind them. So, we have a really great team that’s been working very hard for the growers o the Pacific Northwest here for several years. So, I couldn’t be more pleased with the team that we already have in place.”

Patrick comes to the Commission after 20 years as marketing director for the Oakland-based Grant J. Hunt Co., a distributor-wholesaler of conventional and organic fresh produce.