PHILADELPHIA – Effective Aug. 22, Tad Thompson will become the business development manager for the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market. Sonny DiCrecchio, the market's the president and CEO, announced the appointment on Aug. 2.
The new Philadelphia market opened on June 5.
As a freelance writer, Mr. Thompson has primarily worked for The Produce News since 2002. Working from Philadelphia, his responsibilities there have involved coverage of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, as well as considerable reporting on the international produce trade. He has been the Canada manager for The Produce News since February.
Mr. Thompson's freelance clientele included the United States Agency for International Development, which brought Afghanistan tours in 2008 and 2010.
After graduating in journalism from Kansas State University, Mr. Thompson entered the produce industry in 1977 as The Packer's eastern editor. One of his first assignments was coverage of the old Philadelphia market. Working in various capacities since that time, he has consistently been associated with Philadelphia's wholesale produce industry and its fruit import trade.
"We are extremely pleased to have Tad join our staff on the Philadelphia market," Mr. DiCrecchio said. "Given his long experience, there are few people who understand the positioning of our market better than Tad. He has a very broad understanding of all aspects of our industry and knows its key players, which is what we need to help the 26 stockholders of the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market build their business."
Mr. Thompson commented: "I am thrilled by this opportunity because of the chance to pull together a wide variety of my experiences to boost a fantastic industry asset. Sonny and the market's operators have long been my friends and I have a great deal of respect for their businesses and the incredible determination they needed over the last ten years to build the market. I'm anxious to meet with the market board, its stockholders and the marketing committee to determine the best plan to help this amazing market reach its sales potential."
With almost 700,000 square feet of refrigerated space, the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market is the world's largest fully-refrigerated terminal market. It is also the largest-known central refrigeration system in the world, with 2,800 tons of refrigeration, holding over 250,000 pounds of Freon. The market maintains the cold chain, enabling the operators to meet the food safety requirements of the most demanding retail or foodservice customer.
Mr. DiCrecchio noted: "We will be promoting this market as a single source for procuring virtually any fresh produce item that would be available in this country."
The career change caps an eventful year – and month — for Mr. Thompson, who married Debbi Thompson, his grade school sweetheart from Manhattan, KS, on April 30. His son Reece Thompson was moving to China Aug. 4 to teach English and his daughter, Claire Thompson starts her freshman year at the University of South Carolina on Aug. 15.
Source: Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market
