Five new members and their alternates were recently elected to the Almond Board of California's (ABC) board of directors. The results were submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for certification.

Two independent handler positions and their alternates were elected to the board including: Dave Phippen, Manteca, three-year term; Ron Fisher, Modesto, alternate, three-year term; Dinesh Bajaj, Chico, one-year term; and, Micah Zeff, Modesto, alternate, one-year term.

Elected to one-year independent grower positions were member Mike Mason, Wasco, and alternate Brad Klump, Escalon.

Cooperative grower positions on the board include George Goshgarian, Jr., Fowler for a three-year term; and alternate Christine Gemperle, Ceres.

Bill Morecraft, Sacramento; and, Alicia Rockwell, Sacramento, were named as member and alternate, respectively, to three-year terms as a cooperative handler.

A future board-level election will take place to name the board chairman and vice chairman. The Almond Board of California has 10 elected members and eight standing committees.

Established in 1950 as a federal marketing order, the ABC was originally formed to deal primarily with compliance issues. With the recognized need to address market development, the name was changed to the Almond Board of California in the 1970s. Since then, the board has expanded its attention to production, nutrition and market research, advertising and promotion, quality control and statistical analysis.