All ballots are in to the Almond Board of California’s board of directors, and representatives of growers and handlers have been chosen and submitted to the USDA for approval.

The following have been selected for terms that will begin Aug. 1:

Grower position, 1-year term: Paul Ewing, Los Banos.

Handler position, 3-year term: Alexi Rodriguez, Caruthers.

Handler position, 1-year term: Darren Rigg, Le Grand.

Co-op grower position, 3-year term: Kelli Evans, Live Oak.

Co-op handler position, 3-year term: Alicia Rockwell, Sacramento.

Grower position, alternates: Katie Staack, Hughson; Brad Klump, Escalon.

Handler position, alternates: Ron Fisher, Modesto; Chad DeRose, McFarland.

Co-op grower position, alternate: George Goshgarian Jr., Fowler.

Co-op handler position, alternate: Dean LaVallee, Sacramento.

The 10-member Almond Board is made up of five growers and five handlers and handles marketing, production research, public relations and advertising, nutrition research, statistical reporting, quality control and food safety efforts for the almond industry.

Voting began April 21 and continued through May 25.

“The board of directors represents more than 7,600 growers and 100 handlers and guides the work of the Almond Board to help the industry succeed in these continuing complicated times,” board president and chief executive officer Richard Waycott said in April.

Among the Almond Board’s key tasks for the coming year will be to select a replacement for Waycott, who is leaving the organization at the end of this year. A search committee led by Chairman Alexi Rodriguez retained Russell Reynoolds Associates of New York City to help with the national CEO search.

Russell Reynolds Associates has more than 50 years of experience working with public, private and nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and around the globe, according to an Almond Board release.

Waycott said this winter that the almond industry faces headwinds, including perennial water shortages in the Central Valley. He believes what is planted in the valley will change over time, but his outlook for almonds is favorable.