Oxnard, CA – David Cook is set to retire this June after 44 years in the produce industry. David is a fixture in sales of California strawberries, tomatoes, and celery. “Everybody knows David,” says Tom Deardorff, II, president of Deardorff Family Farms. “Whenever I am at events for United Fresh, PMA, WGA, or other trade groups – people always ask about David. And, when the trade press wants information about California produce, they call David.”
David Cook has been around the produce industry his whole life. His father, Nolan Cook, was also a produce man. Nolan started in produce sales for lettuce grower Bud Antle Inc. (now Tanimura & Antle). In the 1960’s, Nolan started his own lettuce growing/marketing company, Cook Produce, in Phoenix, Arizona. David began his first job in the produce industry during his high school years, working for his father on weekends and summers with the lettuce harvesting crews.
David graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a BS in Business and returned to work with his father at Cook Produce in 1970, supervising the iceberg lettuce harvesting crews. During this time he also met his wife Nancy and they married in 1973. “We have been very lucky together and celebrated our 41st anniversary this year,” said David.
After some time in the field at Cook Produce, David moved to the sales office with his father. There, David found his passion and would stay in produce sales the rest of his career. When his father dissolved Cook Produce in 1975, David went to work for Pacific Fruit and Produce (now Amerifresh) in Phoenix, where he began working as a buyer and inspector. David explains, “I bought just about everything – this was the great thing about that job – citrus, fruit, grapes, melons, all veg. I met a ton of great shippers and some other buyers and brokers as well.” David worked in offices in Salinas, Indio, Fresno, and eventually transferred to Oxnard in 1978, where he continued as office manager for Pacific Fruit and Produce.
“As a buyer, you get a few job offers; recruiters are always on the lookout for people who they see some potential in, but I turned down those offers until hearing about the opening at Deardorff. They had been around a long time, were well-known in the industry with an established reputation, offered a diverse range of products, and were looking for someone to join their sales team.” David added that, “when I started at Deardorff, I thought ‘this is it'.” As it turns out, David was right – he has spent the last 32 years with Deardorff Family Farms (formerly known as Deardorff-Jackson Company).
When he joined Deardorff in 1982, David worked in sales with Bill Deardorff (a third generation member of the Deardorff business) and Jim Henry. David sold mixed vegetable items, berries, and tomatoes. David explains, “It was different back then…there were no contracts, we just sold what we had each day, calling our customers up on the phone or waiting for them to call us. Everything was done by phone at first, then eventually faxing came into play, and now of course there's email and all the other ways to communicate 24/7.”
Things changed quickly in 1994, when Bill Deardorff tragically and suddenly passed away. “That was a defining moment…things all came crashing down on my head but I just had to put one foot in front of the other and keep going.” David stepped up to Sales Manager, taking on more responsibility and quickly playing the lead role. As Tom Deardorff, Sr. (Bill’s brother and retired president of Deardorff Family Farms) says, “We were very fortunate to have David Cook here when Bill passed away.” Indeed, the entire Deardorff family credit David for not only keeping the business moving in tough times, but also maintaining the image of the company. As Scott Deardorff (Bill’s son and current vice-president of Deardorff Family Farms) stated, “Our company was founded by W.H. Deardorff with the ideals of honesty, integrity and hard work. When my Dad suddenly and unexpectedly passed away, David dug in, worked hard, and handled our customers and growers with the type of class, respect and honesty they had come to expect from Deardorff. It was a difficult time for our family and company. We trusted David to carry us forward and he has done so incredibly well.”
David is somewhat philosophical about the sales role. “As the years passed, the longer I was in sales, the more I realized that the ebb and flow of the markets-where on good days everyone's your friend, and bad days you have to hustle-is a lot like life…you have to adjust quickly and think fast on your feet. It can be hard to get used to, but sales, and life, is full of ups and downs. I came to enjoy the seasonality of the business-the beginnings and ends of the various seasons always made things interesting.”
David credits his 32 years at Deardorff to a few key factors: “The people; the Deardorffs are a good family and run a good, smart business. They have been loyal to me and have taken care of me. And with such a diverse product offering, I had a chance in many arenas, allowing me to learn and grow quickly.”
David has worked with many Deardorffs over the years and credits Tom Deardorff, Sr. as having a big impact on his life. “[Tom Senior] was one of greatest guys to work for. He did a great job leading the company and setting an example for healthy eating and exercise habits. A group of us used to go to the gym during lunch a few times a week, and I think that’s when I really began pursuing fitness goals and staying in shape. For me, staying in shape and being healthy kept me focused, competitive, and ahead of the game, which especially helped when dealing with sales. Running, swimming, and yoga have been essential to me, and I’m excited to have more time to continue that after retirement.”
David has seen and experienced the many changes in this industry. As he says, “it’s much faster now, really 24/7, and in a business of dealing with perishables, it’s important to be readily available.” In addition, he noted the increase in food safety regulations just in the past 10-15 years, and vast improvements of cooling/storage/shipping facilities. His career has allowed him to travel to many places, from California, to Arizona, to Colorado, and he recalls the trips up to Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver in Canada, “Canadians are some of the most hospitable people in the world, and conventions there were always fun.”
David passes on a few wise words to those up and coming to the produce sales industry, “Be the first to show up! This business is made of lots of early risers. And for me, being able to start and end my day earlier allowed me to do more with my kids and be involved with all their after-school activities-that was really important.”
He continued with these thoughts, “Don’t be afraid of any new job or afraid to take a risk, but at the same time, don’t be afraid to do a job that you may think is ‘boring’ or ‘beneath you.’ You have to pay your dues.”
David has indeed paid his dues with Deardorff Family Farms. As Tom Deardorff, II says, “He will be missed immensely for what he does, but will be missed even more for how he does it. David defines how it should be done – honesty, loyalty, integrity and hard work. On behalf of everyone at Deardorff Family Farms, we wish him the best in retirement.”
His plans after leaving Deardorff will first include celebrating his son’s wedding in mid June, then a few trips with his wife, who is retiring from her job teaching art classes at Channel Islands High School. David will also pursue a part-time volunteer job at the Oxnard Public Library literacy program helping English language learners for a few hours per week.
Source: Deardorff Family Farms
