The Eastern Produce Council’s sixth leadership class topped off its 2024 educational program at The New York Produce Show and Conference, held Dec. 10-12.
“The trade show and conference offer an invaluable opportunity for networking and mentoring for the members of our leadership class,” Susan McAleavey Sarlund, EPC executive director, said in a news release.
A highlight of the show included the recognition of all leadership class participants going back to the program’s inception in 2018, the release said.
“Having all the leadership class members together in one place demonstrated the breadth of this key program,” Sarlund said. “In addition to the field experience our leadership participants receive, the networking and camaraderie of the program classes remains relevant throughout someone’s career.”
The current leadership class also participated in the NYPS Cornell University Future-Leaders-In-Produce Foundational Excellence event, a career-building program providing an immersion into the scope of the produce industry, the release said, adding that members also walked the trade show floor and participated in various seminars.
The release said 2024 class activities began with a visit in March to the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, followed by Holt Cargo Systems at the Port of Gloucester, N.J. In April, the group received training on the Food Safety Modernization Act during a seminar prior to the general EPC membership meeting at Top Golf in Edison, N.J. A combined classroom and field experience took place in October at America’s Grow-A-Row and Rutgers’ Clifford E. and Melda C. Snyder Research and Extension Farm, both located near Pittstown, N.J.
EPC says nominations for the seventh leadership class will open in January 2025. More information is available on the EPC website.
Participants selected for this year’s program include: Jackson Brady, Crispy Green; Kate Degan, JOH; Jessica Huber, America’s Grow-a-Row; Devin Hunt, T.M. Kovacevich; Nick Kraus, MamaMia Produce; David Linthicum, Wakefern Food Corp.; Dustin Manento, Four Seasons Produce; Therese Mauch, Zespri; Chantal McCrossin, F&S Fresh Foods; Jason Morris, Oppy; Cassi Nicodemo, Highline Mushrooms; Ryan O’Neill, Four Seasons Produce; Michael Porcile, JOH; Jillian Rudolph, John Vena Inc.; and Jessica Ziglar, Oppy Transport.
