What was predicted by major news media to be the “Blizzard of 2015” on Monday, Jan. 26, trickled down to a brief dusting of snow across most of the Northeast. This left produce professionals grateful, but also in question of decisions made by politicians in preparation for what they believed would be a dangerous storm.

Merrill N. Dibble has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Sun World International LLC. Dibble succeeds David Dever and takes the helm as the company embarks on a plan to strengthen its position as a premier grape breeder, producer, marketer and licensor.

Dibble comes to Sun World from AgReserves Inc., where he served as its Bakersfield, CA-based vice president of California operations for the company’s almond, walnut, pistachio and prune business units.

LaGrasso Bros. Produce, a produce and food distributor located in Detroit, celebrated its 100th anniversary this past year with new restaurant openings and increased same store sales.

“The economy in Michigan has been gaining momentum in recent years and 2014 is a reflection of that continued growth,” said Thomas LaGrasso III, vice president of operations at LaGrasso Bros.

“The organic mushroom market continues to grow at a nice rate,” said Bill Litvin, vice president of sales and national account manager for Giorgio Fresh, headquartered in Temple, PA.

“According to a recent shipping report from The Mushroom Council, the industry saw organic sales increase by 19.3 percent while volume increased by 15.6 percent in the month of December. Similarly, those numbers were reported to increase in 2014 by 30.3 percent in sales and 29.5 percent in volume respectively over the previous year.”

Mucci Farms, based in Kingsville, ON, announced the addition of Stephen Cowan to its sales and marketing department on Jan. 26.

Cowan brings over 14 years of experience in the produce industry to his new position as key account manager. Some of his previous positions have included retail produce manager, category manager produce procurement, and multiple sales and key account manager positions.

The Delhaize Group saw revenue growth during the four quarter of 2014, and the company announced positive numbers for 2014 as a whole. Frans Muller, president and chief executive officer, also noted that in 2015 the company will be focused on continuing to roll out the Easy, Fresh & Affordable strategy at Food Lion.

Easy, Fresh & Affordable is a multi-year initiative to make shopping easier for Food Lion customers at the company's more than 1,100 stores, while keeping the low prices customers expect.