The sixth Eastern Produce Council (EPC) Leadership Class topped off its 2024 educational program with an informative agenda of events at the New York Produce Show and Conference (NYPS) in New York City from December 10 to 12, 2024. “The trade show and conference offer an invaluable opportunity for networking and mentoring for the members of our leadership class,” says Susan McAleavey Sarlund, EPC Executive Director.
A unique highlight of this year’s show included the recognition of all leadership class participating going back to the program’s inception in 2018. “Having all the leadership class members together in one place demonstrated the breadth of this key program,” says McAleavey Sarlund. “In addition to the field experience our leadership participants receive, the networking and camaraderie of the program classes remains relevant throughout someone’s career.”
The current leadership class also participated in the NYPS Cornell University Future-Leaders-In-Produce Foundational Excellence event, a career-building program providing an immersion into the scope of the produce industry. Members also walked the trade show floor and participated in various seminars.
The 2024 class activities began with a visit in March to the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market (PWPM) in Philadelphia, PA, followed by Holt Cargo Systems at the Port of Gloucester, NJ. In April, the group received training on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) during a seminar prior to the general EPC membership meeting at Top Golf in Edison, NJ. A combined classroom and field experience took place in October at America’s Grow-A-Row and Rutgers’ Clifford E. and Melda C. Snyder Research and Extension Farm, both located near Pittstown, NJ. Nominations for the seventh Leadership Class will open in January of 2025. For more information visit www.easternproducecouncil.com.
Participants selected for this year’s program include: Jackson Brady, Crispy Green; Kate Degan, JOH; Jessica Huber, America’s Grow-a-Row; Devin Hunt, T.M. Kovacevich; Nick Kraus, MamaMia Produce; David Linthicum, Wakefern Food Corp.; Dustin Manento, Four Seasons Produce; Therese Mauch, Zespri; Chantal McCrossin, F&S Fresh Foods; Jason Morris, Oppy; Cassi Nicodemo, Highline Mushrooms; Ryan O’Neill, Four Seasons Produce; Michael Porcile, JOH; Jillian Rudolph, John Vena Inc.; and Jessica Ziglar, Oppy Transport.
