The transition board of the newly formed industry organisation Washington State Tree Fruit Association (WSTFA) announced Jon DeVaney as president on 9 July.
DeVaney will oversee the merger of four Washington State tree fruit industry groups into WSTFA, due to begin its operations from 1 September, in time for the Washington apple crop.
“This merger is something that the industry has talked about for along time,” DeVaney told Good Fruit Grower. “There are a lot of people who have been sceptical over a lot of years about the ability to do this, so there’ll be a lot of attention on how well we perform over the next few months.”
The merger between Washington State Horticultural Association, Yakima Valley Grower-Shippers Association (YVGSA), Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association and Washington Growers Clearing House Association has been in the works for two and a half years, with the permanent board of directors to be elected before December.
DeVaney has worked as executive director of YVGSA since 2009, and previously worked as the Washington State director for the USDA’s Rural Development agency.
“This is just the start of providing better services more efficiently to the industry,” DeVaney told Good Fruit Grower, adding it was an exciting step and a huge honour to be nominated president.
