On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, the California Citrus Mutual Board of Directors ratified the election results for 10 open positions on the 2018-2019 Board of Directors. The results are as follows:

The Board of Directors unanimously elected Curt Holmes as Chairman, Matt Fisher as Vice Chairman, Al Bates of Sun Pacific as 2nd Vice Chairman, and Brian Neufeld as Secretary/Treasurer.

"I'm honored to serve a third consecutive term as Chairman of the Board for California Citrus Mutual," says Holmes. "Once again the members of CCM have elected a strong Board to represent the California citrus industry and I am confident with their leadership CCM will continue to be a respected advocate for the growers."

CCM President Joel Nelsen stated, "It is my pleasure to welcome the 2018-19 Board of Directors. The CCM Board of Directors are instrumental in driving the association's priorities and positions on major policies affecting the California citrus industry. These individuals are leaders and influencers in the citrus industry and will continue to build upon the great work of their predecessors. The CCM staff look forward to working with the Board in the next year to serve the industry as the 'voice of the citrus grower'."

Serving on the 2018-19 Board of Directors are:

Al Bates, Sun Pacific - Kern County
Adam Brown, Citrus Grower - Tulare County
Gus Carranza, Citrus Grower - Tulare County
Mike Cox, BASF - At-Large Director
John Crowe, Citrus Grower - Tulare County
Brian Fien, SunWest Fruit Company - Fresno County
Matt Fisher, Citrus Grower - Kern County
Colby Fry, Citrus Grower - Kern County
John S. Gless, Citrus Grower - Kern and Riverside Counties
Carlos Gutierrez, Visalia Citrus Packing Group and Citrus Grower - Tulare County
David Hines, Kings River Citrus - Fresno County
Curt Holmes, Citrus Grower - Tulare County
Pete Hronis, Hronis, Inc. - Kern County
John Kalender, Gillette Citrus - At-Large Director
Zak Laffite, Wonderful Citrus - Kern County
Matt Leider, Citrus Grower - Tulare County
Brian Neufeld, Citrus Grower - Tulare County
Jim Philips, Porterville Citrus - Tulare County
Will Pidduck, Finch Farms - Ventura County
Jared Plumlee, Booth Ranches - Fresno County
Dave Tomlinson, Griffith Farms - Tulare County
Keith Watkins, Bee Sweet Citrus - Fresno County
Rick Wescott, Citrus Grower - Tulare County
Todd Williams, Citrus Grower - Tulare County
Tom Wollenman, Citrus Grower - Tulare County

The 2018-19 Board of Directors will be announced at CCM's upcoming Annual Meeting on November 15th at the Visalia Convention Center.

California Citrus Mutual is a citrus producers' voluntary membership trade association representing a $3.3 billion industry with an economic impact of $7.1 billion according to a recent University of California study. Seventy five percent of the industry's tree crop base supports the organization and its efforts to create a better economic environment for the industry.

Source: California Citrus Mutual