agricultural trade negotiator was amazing.” D’Arrigo said his term in office featured many important political elements including the negotiations of a bill for the specialty crop industry, which he said Nassif championed for the entire industry. “I’m sure Chairman Talley did the best he could do under the circumstance, but it’s not the same working from home and conducting these meetings by Zoom,” he said. Like the others, D’Arrigo noted that it is a process to become chairman and if Talley is willing to devote another year to the effort it is well worth it for him and the association. “It is admirable and commendable that he is willing to devote another year. Being chairman is really time consuming and does take you away from running your own business.”
WESTERN GROWERS OFFICERS – 2021 RYAN TALLEY , Chairman ALBERT KECK , Senior Vice Chair STUART WOOLF , Vice Chair CAROL CHANDLER , Treasurer VICTOR SMITH , Executive Secretary DAVE PUGLIA, President DIRECTORS – 2021 GEORGE J. ADAM Innovative Produce, Santa Maria, California ALEXANDRA ALLEN Main Street Produce, Santa Maria, California KEVIN S. ANDREW Illume Agriculture, Bakersfield, California ROBERT K. BARKLEY Barkley Ag Enterprises LLP, Yuma, Arizona STEPHEN J. BARNARD Mission Produce, Inc., Oxnard, California BARDIN E. BENGARD Bengard Ranch, Salinas, California LOREN BOOTH Booth Ranches, Orange Cove, California GEORGE BOSKOVICH III Boskovich Farms, Oxnard, California RODNEY BRAGA Braga Ranch, Soledad, California NEILL CALLIS Turlock Fruit Company, Turlock, California EDWIN A. CAMP D. M. Camp & Sons, Bakersfield, California CAROL CHANDLER Chandler Farms LP, Selma, California LAWRENCE W. COX Lawrence Cox Ranches, Brawley, California STEPHEN F. DANNA Danna Farms, Inc., Yuba City, California JOHN C. D’ARRIGO D’Arrigo Bros. Co. of California, Salinas, California THOMAS DEARDORFF II Deardorff Family Farms, Oxnard, California FRANZ W. DE KLOTZ Peter Rabbit Farms, Coachella, California SAMUEL D. DUDA Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc., Salinas, California CATHERINE A. FANUCCHI Tri-Fanucchi Farms Inc., Bakersfield, California DAVID L. GILL Rio Farms, King City, California BRANDON A. GRIMM Grimmway Farms, Arvin, California JOHN JACKSON Beachside Produce, LLC, Nipomo, California A. G. KAWAMURA Orange County Produce, LLC, Irvine, California ALBERT KECK Hadley Date Gardens, Thermal, California J.P. LABRUCHERIE LaBrucherie Produce, El Centro, California FRANK MACONACHY Ramsay Highlander, Inc., Gonzales, California JOHN S. MANFRE Frank Capurro and Son, Moss Landing, California STEPHEN MARTORI III Martori Farms, Scottsdale, Arizona HAROLD MCCLARTY HMC Farms, Kingsburg, California TOM MULHOLLAND Mulholland Citrus, Orange Cove, California ALEXANDER T. MULLER Pasquinelli Produce Co., Yuma, Arizona DOMINIC J. MUZZI Muzzi Family Farms, LLC, Moss Landing, California MARK NICKERSON Prime Time International, Coachella, California THOMAS M. NUNES The Nunes Company, Inc., Salinas, California STEPHEN F. PATRICIO Westside Produce, Firebaugh, California RON RATTO Ratto Bros. Inc., Modesto, California CRAIG A. READE Bonipak Produce, Inc., Santa Maria, California ERIC T. REITER Reiter Affiliated Companies, Oxnard, California JOSEPH A. RODRIGUEZ The Growers Company, Inc., Somerton, Arizona WILL ROUSSEAU Rousseau Farming Company, Tolleson, Arizona VICTOR SMITH JV Smith Companies, Yuma, Arizona RYAN TALLEY Talley Farms, Arroyo Grande, California BRUCE C. TAYLOR Taylor Farms California, Salinas, California STUART WOOLF Woolf Farming & Processing, Fresno, California ROB YRACEBURU Wonderful Orchards, Shafter, California
He said the term aspect of the position allows for a succession of individuals to provide a constant stream of new input for the professional staff. He said that because of the lack of in-person staff interactions this past year with most people working at home, the staff lost the opportunity to experience the wisdom of Talley’s counsel. Ratto indicated that with a change in staff leadership in 2020, with Dave Puglia taking over the president/ CEO role, that interaction with staff would have been a major component of Talley’s year in office. Ratto added that an emphasis on the WG staff was also a major emphasis during his year as well because a good portion of his effort was centered around choosing a successor for longtime WG CEO Tom Nassif. John D’Arrigo, president of D’Arrigo Bros. of California and 2004 chairman of the board, focused his comments on what a great experience being chairman was for him and how happy he is that Ryan Talley gets a do-over so to speak. “For me it was a priceless experience,” he said. “I had so many experiences that I never would have had if I wasn’t chairman of the board.” Like the others, D’Arrigo marveled at the prestige that the position garners within the industry and the government. He noted that he attended the inauguration of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and got to meet President George W. Bush, which he called a personal highlight. “I will always cherish the photos I received from that meeting.” He added that he was involved in many high-levels meetings with government officials and had the opportunity to discuss very important issues. “I got to meet with the U.S. Special Trade Representative Allen Johnson. The idea that I got to discuss agricultural trade policy with our top Ron Ratto: “It is important to membership that there is direct access to top-level professional staff so that the membership point of view on issues can be directly communicated.”
John D’Arrigo “It was a priceless experience. I had so many experiences that I never would have had if I wasn’t chairman of the board.”
D’Arrigo added that among the professional and personal growth experiences for him was the improvement of his public speaking skills and a huge gain in confidence. In the disruptive year the nation has had, Duda harkened back to one of the highlights of his year and expressed hope that Talley could have a similar experience. Duda served in 2017 and as such went to the inauguration of President Donald Trump as the Western Growers Chairman of the Board. “Witnessing the peaceful transfer of power made me proud to be an American,” he said. “The Bushes were there and the Clintons, including Hillary who had just lost. And the Obamas were there. Each of them came up and congratulated the new president. That doesn’t happen in lot of places. It seemed like a very American thing to do.”
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2021
9
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
Made with FlippingBook Publishing Software