According to a 2012 Catalyst study, women make up 47 percent of the work force but hold only 14 percent of executive positions and 16 percent of board seats. But like most things in the produce industry, those numbers are dynamic and set to change. Smart businesses are recognizing that diverse viewpoints make for better decisions and financial results are actively attracting women to their leadership teams and working to retain their talents.

The California Avocado Commission recently introduced the latest in its communication efforts designed to encourage demand and increase awareness of California avocados: The Scoop blog.

With about 77 percent of Internet users reading blogs and nearly one-third of consumers saying that blogs influence a purchase decision more than any other media or social channel, CAC's blog launch is maximizing its ability to personalize consumer marketing communications.

Tony Godinez recently joined McAllen, TX-based Loop Cold Storage as director of business development.

Godinez has more than 20 years of experience in U.S. Customs brokerage, freight forwarding and third-party handling and logistics of fresh produce from Mexico. He started a U.S. Customs brokerage operation in 1994 and operated a 30,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse, Godinez International, in Hidalgo, TX, for 18 years. In 2012, he took over the operations of another cold storage service provider in the Rio Grande Valley as executive director.

The Hawks Point Golf Club in Vidalia, GA, looked like a scene from “Pirates of the Caribbean” Feb. 8 as almost 300 costumed Vidalia onion growers and their families packed the Vidalia Onion Committee’s annual awards banquet and prepared to launch the 2014 season and the annual marketing campaign.

CBS Farms LLC in Watsonville, CA, has expanded its organic strawberry program this year.

The company, which has strawberry production in both Oxnard, CA, and Watsonville, has added organic strawberries to its Oxnard program and has also increased its organic acreage in Watsonville, according to Charlie Staka, director of sales.

Chelan Fresh Marketing plans to promote two premiere products — Canadian apples and Pacific Northwest cherries — at this year’s Canadian Produce Marketing Association Annual Convention and Trade Show in Vancouver, BC, April 2-4.

Serving as a link between growers and retailers, the company — which represents more than 419 growers from its headquarters in Chelan, WA — has been moving quality tree fruit since 2004.