PORTLAND, Ore. – June 13, 2019 – On Thursday, May 30th, the pear industry elected new officers during their annual meeting in Portland, OR. With the full confidence of the marketing organization, the newly elected officers to the Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) will lead the board, and the newly elected officers to the Fresh Pear Committee (FPC) will lead the committee in accordance with Marketing Order 927: Pears Grown in Oregon and Washington. In the position of Chair will be Mike Taylor of Wenatchee, WA, with Scott Martinez of Medford, OR elected as 1st Vice Chair. In 2nd and 3rd chair is Jordan Matson from Yakima, WA and Don Gibson from Yakima. Each of these officers are serving their first year and will fulfill a term from July 1st, 2019 to June 30th, 2020.

New officers for the Fresh Pear Committee were also elected to serve starting July 1st, 2019 to June 30th, 2020. Ed Weathers of Hood River, OR will serve as Chair for a second and final term, Mike Parrish of Wenatchee, WA will serve as 1st Vice Chair for a first term, Gene Woodin of Yakima, WA will serve as 2nd Vice Chair for a first term, and Matt Borman of Medford, OR, will serve as Secretary/Treasury for a second term.

“I would like to recognize the new PBNW and Fresh Pear Committee officers elected to represent the organization,” said PBNW President and CEO Kevin Moffitt. “As PBNW continues to find new ways to innovate the pear category and build consumer demand for Northwest pears, it is important to have strong partnerships and collaborations. The leadership that the industry puts in place is an important factor to keeping momentum and consumption high and always pushing the industry forward.”

The newly elected officers, as well as the rest of the board members, will continue to work as voices and representatives of the fresh pear industry as a whole. They are looking forward to helping steer the industry in new directions and to playing a pivotal role in making decisions for the Fresh Pear Committee and PBNW.

“The pear industry is entering a time frame of increased focus on consumer satisfaction, as well as innovative marketing ideas and programs,” stated Mike Taylor, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Stemilt Growers LLC. “I am honored to take my turn as Chair of the PBNW board of directors. I am very pleased to work with the board as well as Kevin [Moffitt] and the PBNW staff in these exciting times.”

PBNW officers L-R: Scott Martinez, Don Gibson, Mike Taylor, Jordan Matson

FPC officers L-R: Mike Parrish, Ed Weathers, Gene Woodin, Matt Borman