One of the last of his generation of Salinas Valley Iceberg lettuce giants, Tom Nunes (T3) died on Aug. 5 at the age of 95 after a stellar career of twice building prosperous and innovative vegetable grower-packer-shipper organizations, and spending his entire life in the industry.

Salinas, CA, and the valley surrounding it have long been known as the “Salad Bowl of America,” with lettuce and other vegetables first gaining prominence about a century ago. But it was the generation of agriculturalists born in the 1920s and 1930s who built the area’s farming operations post-World War II that

Brad Franklin, produce manager for Tops Friendly Markets in Towanda, PA, will receive the 2024 Retail Produce Manager of the Year Award.  For his commitment to fresh produce, innovative merchandising, community service and customer satisfaction, Franklin is one of only 20 produce managers nationwide being recognized by the International Fresh Produce Association with this high distinction.

"Brad is a seasoned produce manager who just continues to get better year after year. As the produce department continues to evolve into what the 2024 consumer wants, Brad has the ability to over deliver,"

Northern California-based direct distributor Quebec Distributing Co. has named Butch Hill as its new general manager. Hill started in the produce industry in the Golden Gate Produce Terminal in South San Francisco when he was 16 years old and has spent the past 35 years developing his career with several different wholesalers and distributors.

“I started as a lumper unloading watermelon trucks by hand and gradually moved up through the ranks performing all warehouse duties over the years, eventually graduating to buyer and then salesperson,” Hill said.  “For much of the latter part of my

Tops Friendly Markets has promoted Matthew Blair to category business manager, produce - fruit desk. This move shifted Justin Rowe over to Tops category business manager for produce-vegetable desk, where he made a seamless transition from the fruit desk.

In his new role, Blair will be responsible for developing and managing the procurement and merchandising program for the fruit category to achieve budgeted sales, gross profit, inventory turns and service levels. He will work directly with buyers, pricing and space management to maximize support for assigned categories, select new items and

Honored for outstanding contributions to community support, sustainable agriculture and visionary leadership, John Anderson, Oppy's CEO, chair and managing partner, has been named recipient of the Order of British Columbia and awarded the King Charles III’s Coronation Medal.

Anderson’s recognition comes as part of the 35th anniversary of the province’s highest civilian honor, the Order of BC. He is one of only a dozen recipients this year, all of whom have made exceptional achievements and positively impacted the province, country and world.

With a dedication to farming practices that are

Allen (Al) James Vangelos, who spent more than 50 years in the produce industry, died Sept. 5, just four weeks after his 92nd birthday.

After serving in the U.S. Marines, Mr. Vangelos lived in St. Louis, where he was set up on a blind date with Mary Panos. It was literally love at first sight, as he proposed just four months later on Christmas.  They married in April 1954 and had six children during the next 13 years.

Mr. Vangelos and Mary moved from St. Louis to Northern California in 1959 as he started work in the food/produce business for Birdseye. Soon after, he moved to Dole Foods Corp