Salinas, CA, February 9, 2010 – River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC has recently
enhanced its Sales and Finance departments with the addition and promotion of
several key individuals.
Larry Narwold joins River Ranch as Eastern Regional Business Manager, where
he will work closely with customers in managing and growing the River Ranch
retail and foodservice business throughout the region. He brings over 35 years
of fresh produce experiences to the company, with a strong emphasis in the retail
and wholesale segments. He started his career with National Tea Company and
Supervalu, ending up as the produce director of the Bloomington, IN facility.
Narwold then spent 9 years with Tanimura & Antle as Regional Sales Manager
and Director of Sales at the Jackson, GA plant and 5 years as Vice President of
Sales and Grower Relations with Green Giant Fresh. He was most recently
Business Development Director with NationFresh. Narwold is an active member
of the Southeast Produce Council, past Chair of the Scholarship/Charity
Committee and also served as Vice President and President while being on the
Board of Directors. Narwold resides in Lake Spivey, GA, a suburb of Atlanta.
Matt Lyons has been promoted to River Ranch Sales Manager, managing the 9
person sales staff and oversee day-to-day sales functions with an emphasis on
commodity markets, retail and foodservice sales and customer relationships.
Over his 18-year career with River Ranch, Lyons has worked in several aspects
of the company as Agricultural Operations Coordinator, Plant Scheduler &
Regional Procurement and Logistics Manager within the Processing department,
several positions in the Docks & Cooling Operations, and most recently as
Broccoli Sales Commodity Manager in the Sales department. Lyons resides in
Salinas with his wife Emily.
Juanita Machuca has been promoted to Salesperson in the River Ranch Sales
office. She has been with the company for 5 years as Sales Coordinator and will
manage key retail private label and foodservice accounts, while also focusing on
culturing new business.
Michele Hawkins joins River Ranch as Senior Financial Analysis Manager,
reporting to the Chief Financial Officer. She brings several years of experience
from Chiquita Brands/ Fresh Express in a similar role. Hawkins will work closely
with the sales and marketing department to assist in managing and developing
customer portfolios and identifying areas of opportunity. In addition, she will
manage several financial projects including customer profitability, SKU
rationalization and plant cost efficiencies. She has a BA in Mathematics from UC
San Diego and an MBA in Finance from UC Irvine. Hawkins resides in
Greenfield with her husband and two children.
The expertise that Larry Narwold and Michele Hawkins bring to River Ranch not
only strengthens our sales and finance departments, but also broadens the total company knowledge and experience as we enter an exciting year of growth and opportunity. Matt
Lyons and Juanita Machuca have been key players in our Salinas Sales office and instrumental
as we continue to service our valued retail, foodservice and commodity customers, commented
Kim St. George, Senior Marketing Manager for River Ranch.
Source: River Ranche Fresh Foods, LLC
Caption: Clockwise from left to right: Larry Narwold, Matt Lyons, Juanita Machuca and Michele Hawkins.
