SANTA BARBARA, CA – The California Cut Flower Commission's (CCFC) Board of Commissioners recently elected Michael A. Mellano of Mellano & Company in San Luis Rey, chair of the CCFC. Mellano has served as chair of the Commission's Grower Research and Economic Committee since being elected a Commissioner in 2008. Mellano succeeds Lane DeVries of The Sun Valley Group in Arcata.
"I consider it an honor and privilege to serve my fellow flower and greens farmers in this capacity," shared Mellano. "Based on the work the CCFC has been able to accomplish for our farms over the last several years, I'm excited about the road ahead for our California flower farms."
In addition to the election of Board Chair, the Board of Commissions elected the following Commissioners to serve as officers on the Commission's Executive Committee in 2014:
2014 Executive Committee:
- Chair Mike A. Mellano, Mellano & Co., San Luis Rey
- First Vice Chair Diana Roy, Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers, Fallbrook
- Second Vice Chair June Van Wingerden, Ocean Breeze Farms., Carpinteria
- Secretary /Treasurer Tom Lemus, Farmers' West, Carpinteria
- Past Chair Lane DeVries, Sun Valley Floral Farms, Arcata
About the California Cut Flower Commission
The CCFC is a state commission, created by the state legislature to promote California-grown cut flowers and foliage. The CCFC is overseen by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and is funded by assessments on flower farms with gross sales over $500,000. There are approximately 225 flower farmers throughout the state. They produce and market approximately $273 million worth of flowers and foliage each year and have an economic impact of $10.3 billion to the state's economy. California's cut flower farms employ approximately 14,000 people directly.
Source: California Cut Flower Commission