EPC Leadership Class tours Hionis Greenhouses

Hionis Greenhouses, Whitehouse Station, N.J., provided another learning experience for the third Eastern Produce Council Leadership Class.

The group toured the operation’s greenhouse facilities Oct. 5, and took another leadership seminar by John Eric Jacobsen, a trainer with the Rutgers Office of Continuing Professional Education, according to a news release.

Hionis has a three-decade history, said Tim Hionis, co-owner, starting with his parents, Spiro and Angie, and now run by him and his three brothers, Pete, Spiro and Gerry.

“My parents started with a one-acre greenhouse in 1985,” he said in the release. “We have now grown to two locations with a total of 15 acres under cover, producing a wide variety of products year-round.”

Kelsey Rose of John Vena Inc. in Philadelphia, said the Hionis operation was remarkable.

“It’s very impressive they’ve built such a large operation and stayed successful over the years, even surviving the struggles and being creative during COVID,” she said in the release. “The greenhouse plant and floral side is different from what I see in my produce job on a day-to-day basis.”

Greater incorporation of the floral side of the produce business is an aim of the EPC.

“Floral and plants have become an increasingly important aspect of the produce department,” EPC executive director Susan McAleavey Sarlund said in the release. “We want more floral entities increasingly involved with our organization and the various sectors of our industry. Visiting Hionis was part of this integration plan.”

Besides the many mums, EPC participants viewed greenhouse operations for succulents, poinsettias and tropicals. The operation also produces Easter flowering bulbs, spring bedding plants and annuals, and flowering baskets.

Hionis explained the role of technology, pointing out a new computerized robotic “sticking machine” used to plant un-rooted cuttings in seedling trays.

“This machine has been a lifesaver for us this past year with the labor shortage,” he said in the release. “Without this machine, my brothers and I would have been here all night doing this work.”

Hionis also discussed new marketing opportunities in greenhouse product.

“We are seeing increased demand for succulents,” he said. “We also have started offering coffee plants, which have become a novelty item. We offer a special shipper with them for retail to easily display.”

In the afternoon, the class learned from Jacobsen as he covered how to master listening and feedback strategies. Jacobsen emphasized the importance of rapport in leadership and feedback and spent time discussing key aspects of subconscious behavior and body language. “Research indicates 93% of all communication is non-verbal,” he said in the release. “The best leaders must be tri-channel communicators, delivering effectively on all three levels – how you look, how you sound and what you say.”

Sarlund agreed about the importance of rapport in the produce industry and EPC.

“So much of what the EPC does is about developing rapport,” she said in the release. “The relationships in our business mean everything, and all our activities from this leadership program to the New York Produce Show center around building rapport between industry members.”

Meeting people who work in all different parts of the produce world is a key benefit of the EPC’s Leadership Class, Vena’s Rose said in the release.

“I’m used to what I see every day in my office at the produce market,” she said. “In our EPC class, there are people who deal with transportation, or buying, or other aspects of the business. Gaining an understanding of what they deal with daily is helpful. It puts everything into perspective.”

Phu Dinh, who handles inside sales at FreshPro Food Distributors in West Caldwell, N.J., valued learning how to listen more effectively.

“I thought I was a good listener but John really showed me how to be a better listener,” he said in the release. “That aspect of the seminar was very helpful.”

The EPC Leadership Program chooses up to 20 up-and-coming produce professionals for each Leadership Class, a professional development experience for those with fewer than 10 years of experience in the industry.

Participants selected for this year’s program include:

• Rich Arduini of FreshPro Food Distributors;
• Kevin Carroll of Wonderful Citrus;
• Frank Ciammaruconi of Wakefern Food Corp.;
• Dylan Dembeck of Minkus Family Farms;
• Phu Dinh of FreshPro Food Distributors;
• Rachel Fabrizio of Four Seasons Produce;
• Michael Harwood of New York Apple Sales;
• Andrew Hernandez of LGS Specialty Sales;
• Brian Kenny of Wakefern Food Corp.;
• Justin Kerner of Ballard Spahr LLP;
• Mattie Leid of Hess Brothers Fruit Co.;
• Michael Paolino of Wakefern Food Corp.;
• Annie Pape of Frank Donio Inc.;
• Gabrielle Procacci of Procacci Brothers Sales Corp.; and
• Kelsey Rose of John Vena Inc.