With the holidays fast approaching, Honeybear Brands — the marketing division of Wescott Agri-Products, a grower, producer and distributor of premium apples and pears — is gearing up to bring consumers a new apple variety, as well as its classic fan favorites.

“We were the first company growing Honeycrisp in Washington state over 20 years ago and you can still expect the best Honeycrisp from our company throughout the holiday season,” said Don Roper, vice president of sales and marketing for the Elgin, MN-based company.

“We see that each market we service has different consumer demands based on a variety of options for holiday meals,” said Bill Litvin, vice president of sales and national account manager for Giorgio Fresh, headquartered in Temple, PA. “Historically, we have seen an overall increase in mushroom product sales throughout the winter holidays as consumers see mushrooms as a prominent side dish to complement their holiday meals.”

The National Watermelon Promotion Board announced that Gordon Hunt, director of marketing and communications, has left the organization after a 10-year tenure with watermelon and a career in produce to take a position as managing director of a new Southeast Asian-oriented company. This change prompted the NWPB to rebalance its resources and implement a significant restructuring.

Howard Glickberg, who took his grandfather's fruit and vegetable stand on 74th and Broadway in New York City and built it into the iconic Fairway Market, with 15 locations across the tri-state New York/New Jersey/Connecticut region, will retire from the company effective immediately.

The announcement was made by Jack Murphy, Fairway Market's chief executive officer, who added that Glickberg would remain on the company's board.

Sam Kass, executive director of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, is stepping down from his position at the White House as of the end of December. In addition to his role with Let's Move!, Kass was the first-ever White House senior policy advisor on nutrition and personal chef to the First Family.

Kass will remain engaged with the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative and the continuing effort to advance childhood nutrition. His successor will be named in the new year.

Maglio & Co. has announced the addition of Chris Warosh as its Midwest regional sales manager.