California Avocado Commission appoints executive committee

The California Avocado Commission has new board members and executive officers.

The executive officers, who will service one-year terms, are:

• Rob Grether, chairman;
• Ryan Rochefort, vice chairman;
• Jason Cole, treasurer; and
• Jessica Hunter, secretary.

Their terms last through next October, according to a news release.

“The CAC Board and management are committed to prudently managing growers’ assessment dollars,” Tom Bellamore, commission president, said in the release. “We thank the outgoing 2019-20 CAC Board, under the direction of Chairman John Lamb, for their work to build balanced budgets and prioritize spending and we welcome the new board and executive officers.”

The board approved new and returning members to the commission’s marketing committee at its Dec. 10 meeting. Its members are growers, farm managers and handlers who provide input and guidance about crop availability, advertising, promotion and program timing, according to the release.

Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission, thanked marketing committee chairman Bob Lucy for his 11 years in that role.

“We appreciate his leadership, wisdom and guidance,” DeLyser said in the release.

Lucy, the president and partner at Del Rey Avocados, has been chairman of the marketing committee since July 2009.
Gary Caloroso, regional business development director for Giumarra, is the new marketing committee chairman, according to the release.