Sheri Mierau, president of the California Tree Fruit Agreement, resigned from her post Tuesday, Dec. 1, and simultaneously it was announced that she was joining Dinuba, CA-based grower-shipper Fruit Patch Sales LLC as its vice president of sales and marketing.

In a letter to the CTFA committee members, Ms. Mierau announced that she had resigned during the Dec. 1 CTFA Executive Committee meeting and said she would continue in her position until the end of the year. She joined CTFA in 2004 as vice president of marketing and became president in December of 2006.

The Orlando, FL-based National Mango Board held a board meeting Nov. 17- 18 in Orlando, bringing together a diverse group of industry members from Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Puerto Rico and the United States.

PHILADELPHIA -- Many key players in the Chilean fruit business were on hand Nov. 19 to honor Leo Holt, president of Holt Logistics Corp., at the 12th annual Friend of Chile award luncheon. Holt Logistics headquarters are in Gloucester City, NJ.

Bob Norberg, deputy executive director for the Florida Department of Citrus in Lakeland, FL, told The Produce News that the current three-year referendum on citrus, which taxes 1 cent per box to growers for research on citrus diseases, ends with the 2009-10 citrus season.

"We are asking growers if they want to continue to tax themselves to support citrus research and to increase the tax to 3 cents per box," said Mr. Norberg. "Depending on the size of the crop, that would generate between $5 [million] and $5.5 million for continued research."

By now, most of us have become exhausted from the constant reminding about the shaky economy that continues to plague the business world. Repetitive news about the sales and unemployment doldrums has weakened the public morale even further. Negative reports about the economy have become a daily routine.

Mission Produce Inc. in Oxnard, CA, a global avocado and asparagus supplier, has hired Mike Haynes as a sales representative.

Mr. Haynes is a University of Southern California graduate with 20 years in the produce industry. He spent six years with Delta Produce and the last three years with Freska Produce exclusively selling avocados. At Mission, Mr. Haynes will be servicing new and existing retail and foodservice accounts.