FROM YOUR CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD ADDRESS — ANNUAL MEETING 2025
Welcome to the 115th Annual Meeting of the Blue Diamond Growers cooperative. Firstly, thank you to our military veterans for your service and sacrifice for our country. We are honored that you are part of our Blue Diamond family. To show our appreciation, every Veterans Day, our Blue Diamond facilities host annual flag raising ceremonies followed by breakfast for our team members and retirees who are veterans. These events are always well attended and we’re grateful to have the opportunity to honor our Blue Diamond employees who are military veterans.
Stephen Van Duyn Chairman of the Board
Thank you to John Monroe for his years serving on the board. John completed his service this year after sharing his experience, not just in almond farming, but with his engineering mind. John served as Governance Committee chair and he kept us running efficiently. He also chaired the Blue Diamond Growers Foundation. John’s passion for the next generation of California farmers is contagious, and it is because of his dedication and strong efforts that hundreds of students have benefited from scholarships provided by the Foundation. John takes great pride in being part of the board that hired Kai as our president and CEO, stating that “Kai brings energy and focus and challenges us to think bigger and move faster to strengthen grower returns.” John has been truly valuable to our Board and to California farming. As farmers, we are Growing Together alongside our cooperative through dedication to the next generation of farmers and industry leaders. Blue Diamond is dedicated to fostering leadership through several programs that support current and future Blue Diamond members and industry professionals. Since 1994, the Blue Diamond Leadership Program has had over 550 members graduate to become voices and advocates for Blue
Diamond and for the ag industry. While the program was on hiatus for 2025, applications for the 2026 program closed earlier this month with much anticipation for the opening session in January. The second session will follow in June. I look forward to hearing how the program influences the 2026 class and in turn, how they will influence the future of California farming. I’d like to also thank Nick Blom for serving as chair of this vital program. Blue Diamond also supports the next generation of ag leaders by providing college scholarships to local students through the Blue Diamond Growers Foundation. 250 scholarships have been awarded by the Foundation since 2011. The awards aid in these students’ success in achieving their goals of becoming ag professionals. Again, thank you to the Foundation’s exiting president, John Monroe, for working on behalf of the next generation of farmers. Please consider supporting our Foundation and the future of California farming by supporting these students. Since 2017, Blue Diamond Growers and the California Future Farmers of America (FFA) have partnered in the pursuit of investing in the next generation of farmers, food
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ALMOND FACTS
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