Another highlight he recalls was the establishment of the Dispute Resolution Corporation, the tri-national (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.) dispute resolution system that gave shippers from all three countries a road map and guidance on how to handle disputes no matter where they shipped their product. McInerney served as chairman of the DRC from its inception in 2000 through 2017. In 2007, Western Growers, in conjunction with C.H. Robinson, established the Western Growers Transportation Program. McInerney worked closely with CHR over the past decade fine tuning the program and helping to pitch it to members, as well as helping to expand it to other associations around the country. Still another highlight for McInerney was the six years he served as chairman of the Alliance for Food and Farming—another collaborative industry effort designed to solve an industry problem. During his career. McInerney servedWestern Growers in a variety of positions. Over the years he oversaw almost all WG activities at one time or another. He served a stint inWashington D.C. in between lobbyist hires and also was named interim president for a period of time as the association traversed the very difficult period between the untimely death of president Dave Moore in 2001 and the hiring of current president TomNassif in 2002. After being named president and CEO, Nassif remembers fondly meeting McInerney for the first time. “He pledged to me that he would support everything I wanted to do and do it as best he could, and he has.” Nassif continued: “He is one of the most respected ag leaders in the country. He is admired for his unmatched knowledge of the fresh produce industry and his willingness to tackle any issue that benefits the industry and our members. He avoids being in the spotlight and taking credit for the many invaluable successes he has spearheaded. We will find others to do his work but no one will replace him. It will be a great loss for us all.” McInerney is equally effusive about Nassif ’s impact on the association. “For the past 17 years I have been very lucky to work for Tom Nassif who has been a great leader and has brought a great entrepreneurial spirit to the organization. Over those years we have seen phenomenal growth in the services and products we offer to our members. We are a solution-driven association.” In fact, McInerney said that has been the approach at Western Growers since he joined the organization 43 years ago from both
Matt McInerney, Tom Nassif and Jasper Hempel of Western Growers in the early 2000s
the staff and the volunteer leaders. He said he has served with many generations of the same families as the organization leaders are often second, third and fourth generation family members of the growers who founded the organization and have taken it on its 90-year journey. “There are just too many to name,” Matt said. “I can’t recall one board member that I wouldn’t want to go out and get a beer with.” As he retires, McInerney is extremely confident that the association is in great hands. “I am very optimistic about the future of this organization as we have a number of young professionals who have come aboard in the last 10-15 years and are taking key position. These people are passionate about what they do and love the industry. They are the right people for these positions.” He noted that Bryan Nickerson, who has an industry background, has become the manager of the trade practices division. “He will answer to Jason Resnick, vice president and general counsel, who has a keen legal mind and will be very helpful to Bryan.” McInerney took the opportunity to bid farewell to Ken Gilliland, another long term WG employee, who retired at the end of the year and worked with Matt for the majority of the past four decades. “Ken was a great help and those international trade issues that he and I were involved in have been shifted to our Washington D.C. office where Dennis Nuxoll will oversee them. He is an international attorney by training so that’s a natural.” McInerney said Kim Sherman, the association’s director of membership, has taken on the responsibility of being the point person for the Western Growers Transportation Program that is run in conjunction with C.H. Robinson. He said her background with the Chamber of Commerce makes her well suited to handle that responsibility. In the area of food safety, another industry concern under McInerney’s umbrella, “Hank Giclas will continue to be our main guy in that area. He is a superstar in that area and has great industry respect. He brings a unique perspective to the position.” McInerney added, “I am at a point where I am very, very comfortable with the state of Western Growers as I walk out the door. I am proud of the team that I am leaving behind and look forward to watching from afar the exciting new directions they take the organization.”
Matt and Luanne McInerney
11
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2019
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker