The Doors of Life

As I recall seven years ago this week, I was in the midst of completing yet another busy holiday season at retail. It was my 35th holiday season and as I sat back in my office chair, and exhaled as we so often could not do, I reflected on all that had changed in those years, and just coming off of being named Produce Retailer of the Year for 2014 I was thinking, how does it get better than this. But I was also thinking about what would come next...little did I know within six months a door would open.

Doors - our lives are filled with them, large and small alike, some we don't want and those we need...then there are those we do not expect.

Over my entire life, I was always looking for a door to go through. Some came swiftly, while others seem to have taken forever and yet others had danger on the other side. As I entered my 50s I began to think about where I had been in terms of career, how far I had come, what we had accomplished as a team and those who had the greatest impact on me along the way.

I am convinced that doors open or close for that matter exactly when they are supposed to...not when we want them to. And that is expressly the purpose of this story.

As 2015 got underway, it had been nearly one year since I had discussed next career steps with our company leadership. But a door had not yet opened. Meanwhile I was evermore focused on bigger picture issues which impacted my portion of the business. For years I had been an industry volunteer, and was keenly aware that I had great motivation to help others, to make a difference in some way. I was at a crossroads so it seemed, and I was waking up to it more each day.

In early Spring 2015, I received an inquiry, in fact two regarding opportunities with companies within the fresh produce. Up until this point in my career we (my wife and I) had always said that we would wait for our children graduate, we did not uproot them...it was important to us to see that they could finish school in a place they had grown up and prospered in their own rite.

This time was different, because our children were now grown, mostly out of the house and beginning to make their own way in life. The question on my mind was, is this the door I have been thinking about or not? We decided to pursue these opportunities, and quickly we determined that one stood out far more than the other...and for one reason. One provided us with the opportunity to do what I had been envisioning for quite some time, to do work on a greater level to help and support others within the industry I had spent my entire adult life in.

We were blessed to have had the door opened for us at exactly the right time, we walked through that door standing tall and ready to accept the challenge. And here we are 6 1/2 years later.

It has been so humbling to represent our members and the industry I love at the Produce Marketing Association, an organization I had been a member of for 24 years prior to becoming a staff member and one I believed in the mission and work PMA was embarking upon.

But now another door opens, and as PMA and United Fresh both sunset and the International Fresh Produce Association is born I am in awe of the work which is ahead of us. The vision and mission of IFPA and the level of focus among all of my peers, current and new alike. We have a great responsibility to not only faithfully represent our members, and the produce and floral industries, but to also be a stalwart for both.

I welcome all to consider being a part of something larger than yourself, if you want change let's change it for the greater good which will benefit all - all who are on the wall protecting, defending and investing in these great industries for the next generations.

God Bless and Happy New Year to all