LA MIRADA, CA –The first class of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council (FPFC) Apprentice Program has been selected. Applications for the program closed March 1 and Apprentice Committee members reviewed applications and interviewed candidates last month.
The 2014 FPFC Apprentice Program participants will be:
- Alex Abid, FreshPoint, Inc.
- Lauren Del Rosario, Gourmet Trading Company
- Ricardo Frohmader, Val-Pro, Inc., dba Valley Fruit & Produce
- Alexis Hartman, Tosca, Ltd.
- Troy Le Cheminant, Westlake Produce Company
- Monica Lira, Progressive Produce Corp.
- Lynnie Nojadera, Quebec Distributing Co.
- Billy Pasos, Ready Pac Foods
- Garland Perkins, The Oppenheimer Group
- Cindy Raley, Raley’s Family of Fine Stores
- Rachelle Schulken, Renaissance Food Group
- Ting Seng, Sugar Foods Corp./Fresh Gourmet Company, LLC
“Narrowing down to the final twelve proved to be a very difficult task; one of the hardest in the two-year process of getting the program started,” says Committee Co-Chair Kelly Craner of B&C Fresh Sales. “All of the applicants brought impressive resumes and each one of them would have been assets to this first year.”
Co-chair Andrew Bivens of Westlake Produce adds, “We felt the necessity to keep the class at 12 members per year to allow the class to get the most out of each part of the program and to allow them to learn from each other.”
The Apprentice Program was developed to provide exposure to the entire supply chain and experience in the challenges and opportunities in the industry. Networking is a critical part of the program and apprentices will be assigned mentors to facilitate introductions at FPFC Membership Luncheons and the Southern California Fresh Produce & Floral Expo in July.
“We were getting many requests from our membership to develop an educational program for newcomers,” Bivens says, “and we wanted to provide it as a service to our members. We’re confident that this program will show our future leadership the importance of networking, teamwork and proper practices within the industry, and how it takes all the different segments to make us all a success.”
Dennis Gertmenian, Founder and Retired CEO of Ready Pac Foods was so impressed with the Apprentice Program’s goals that he offered to sponsor the program. Gertmenian is providing a $15,000 sponsorship to underwrite program expenses.
“I have a big passion for the industry,” Gertmenian says, “and the Apprentice Program is an opportunity to give young people a better appreciation for the dynamics of the industry and what it has to offer.”
Gertmenian also cites the importance of what he calls “the human side” of the program. “These young people will develop relationships through the course of the year,” he says, “and that friendship and camaraderie is important to their success.”“We couldn't be more pleased to have the support from one of the pioneers of the produce industry,” Craner says. “The leadership he has given to the industry has been remarkable and to have his support of this program speaks to his commitment to the industry and its future success.”
The first meeting of the 2014 class of the FPFC Apprentice Program will be at the FPFC offices on May 7, 2014. Additional tours, seminars and panel discussions will take place approximately every month, with the class graduating at the FPFC Dinner Dance in January, 2015.
For more information on the Apprentice Program and the FPFC, please contact the FPFC office at (714) 739-0177.
Source: Fresh Produce & Floral Council
