Members of the B.C. Tree Fruits Co-operative elected a second member of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association executive to its board of directors at last week’s annual general meeting in Peachland.
Jora Dhaliwal of Kelowna was elected to replace Philip Patara of Kelowna who did not run for re-election. He was elected last year to the board of the industry lobby group, the BCFGA.
Re-elected to represent the northern half of the valley was Malcolm Mitchell of Lake Country.
They were uncontested. The other growers representing the northern half of the valley are Colin Pritchard, Karmjit Gill and Kamlesh Parmar, all of Kelowna.
Re-elected to represent the southern half of the valley were Robert Dawson of Cawston and Nirmal Dhaliwal of Osoyoos. Dhaliwal is also a member of the board of the BCFGA, as well as being president of the BCFGA-owned Plant Improvement Company.
The other directors representing growers in the southern part of the valley are Gordon Hahn of Oliver, Darshan Jassar of Penticton and Ron Vollo of Summerland.
Current board president Rob Dawson will continue to hold that post until the new board meets Nov. 8, when directors will elect the president and two vice-presidents.
Currently, Pritchard is the vice-president representing the north, while Nirmal Dhaliwal represents those from the south.
The co-operative is owned by some 500 farm families and it sorts, packs, markets and distributes a variety of B.C.-grown fruits, including apples, pears, cherries, peaches, apricots, prune plums and blueberries.
The head office is in Kelowna.
jsteeves@kelownacapnews.com
