Matt Miles, a long-time organic salesman in the Washington apple industry, died Dec. 7. He was 49.

A 27-year veteran of the apple industry Mr. Miles made a name for himself in organic apple sales dating back to 1997 with a variety of companies like FirstFruits Marketing and L&M Northwest.

Graduating from Washington State University with a degree in agricultural economics, Mr. Miles kicked off his sales career with C.H. Robinson and quickly saw the growing opportunity in organics. He recognized that organics would be the future and began to cultivate relationships with the organic growing

As part of its ongoing growth, Latitude 36 Foods continued its expansion with the completion of a new 250,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility in Corona, CA.

This newly designed manufacturing center features state-of-the-art packaging capabilities and quality systems, and has focused design for employee welfare and safety. The increased capacity created by this facility will support continued commercial excellence and diversification for the business.

In tandem with the recent completion of the new Corona facility and to support its focus on growth, Latitude 36 has expanded

After nearly three decades on the Superfresh Growers sales team, Dan Harrington, account manager, will retire at the end of the year.

Harrington was one of the first employees at Domex Marketing, joining family owners Ed Kershaw and his nephew Robert Kershaw in 1994. As the longest-tenured salesperson ever hired by the Kershaw family, it is safe to say that Harrington set a standard for the Superfresh sales team that continues to be unmatched. He instilled a standard of care and dedication to his customers. He has invested countless hours into coaching sales associates, and had led and

Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. President and CEO David Smith will retire at the end of 2023. Dan Funk, AWG's chief operations officer, will assume the office upon Smith's retirement.

Smith joined AWG in 2003 and became president and CEO in 2015. He has focused solely on independent supermarket operators' development and success throughout his career. He is in his 48th year in the industry and 36th year of service in wholesale. During his time with AWG, he has seen the cooperative and membership grow from a Midwest company with 1,200 stores and three divisions with sales of $3.2 billion to

The Hass Avocado Board announced four newly elected executive committee board members who will be serving for the 2023 board year: importer Jorge Hernandez of London Fruit as chairperson; California producers C.J. Shade as vice chairperson and Susan Pinkerton as secretary; and importer Sergio Chavez from CalMich Produce as treasurer.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be elected as chairperson for 2023,” said Hernandez. “I am looking forward to continuing to support HAB and its efforts alongside my fellow industry members, especially in an expanded role. As the only independent avocado

In the latest move to strengthen the global marketing focus of the California Table Grape Commission, Maria Montalvo has been promoted to senior marketing director.

In her new role, Montalvo continues to develop retail promotion initiatives and consumer communication strategies to help move California table grapes throughout the U.S., Central America and Mexico while expanding her export market portfolio to include Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Montalvo joined the commission staff in 2019 and has over 20 years of marketing, promotion and sales experience. “Maria’s role in the