The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas (FPAA) has named Jose Antonio Martinez, COO and general manager of Divine Flavor, as its 2020 Member of the Year. Martinez will be honoured with the distinction at the FPAA’s Annual Meeting this week.
Peers in the association noted that Martinez is committed to industry improvement, and works tirelessly to implement innovations in inspections and warehouse management.
“He has been a great example of a member of the industry interacting with state government,” FPAA chairman Scott Vandervoet said.
Since joining the company in 2014, Martinez has contributed toward shared solutions to industry challenges, including USDA quality inspections.
Earlier this year, when COVID was starting to impact Nogales, Martinez and Divine Flavor participated in an FPAA webinar, helping share lessons about how to stop the spread of the virus in the warehouse setting, and the community at large.
The FPAA noted that since joining the board of directors in 2018, Martinez has participated in all the association’s Mexico City trips, his background proving to be a valuable asset in discussions with the Mexican government. Earlier in his career, he was Assistant Chief of Staff to Sonora Governor Eduardo Bours.
“It’s really great to have Jose on the Board,” said FPAA president Lance Jungmeyer. “The mixture of his experience and his passion is palpable. He brings great energy to solving problems that impact all fresh produce distributors.”
