The Gulf Citrus Growers Association (GCGA) held its 35th annual meeting at the Verandah Country Club in Fort Myers on June 9.
At the meeting, the GCGA board elected officers to serve the organization for the 2021-2022 season. Ron Mahan of Tamiami Citrus, LLC was elected president. Other officers elected to lead the regional citrus association are Vice President Danny Sutton of Alico, Inc., Secretary Wayne Simmons of LaBelle Fruit Co., LLC and Treasurer Rob Atchley of A. Duda & Sons, Inc.
The association also seated directors during the annual meeting. The directors from Collier County are Mahan, Tom Kirschner of Cooperative Producers, Inc. and Kevin Koppelman of Heller Bros. David Wheeler of Wheeler Farms, Inc. is the director from Glades County. Hendry County directors include Atchley, Dale Johnson of JEBCO Groves, Simmons and Sutton. Kirk Harris of Lipman is the Lee County director, and Emery Smith of Ben Hill Griffin, Inc. is the director for Charlotte County.
A highlight of the annual meeting was hearing from guest speakers Scott Angle and Florida Sen. Ben Albritton.
Angle, vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), gave an update on key initiatives UF/IFAS is engaged in. He said UF/IFAS will begin working more collaboratively with growers on HLB solutions by redirecting citrus breeding efforts to be more responsive for growers.
The meeting continued with Albritton giving GCGA members a legislative update. He touched on SB 88, legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year, expanding farmers’ protection from nuisance lawsuits.
GCGA Executive Vice President Steve Smith says the annual meeting serves as a tremendous fellowship opportunity and presents members with the chance to shed light on the industry to legislators.
“The annual meeting serves as a great opportunity to have our legislators and industry leaders in the room,” said Smith. “It gives our growers an opportunity to get in front of those legislators and meet them as well as our agency leaders.”
The GCGA represents citrus growers in a region accounting for more than 25% of the state’s total citrus production, which generates nearly $1 billion of total economic impact.
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