ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Tucker, Ga.
Nathaniel Morris was appointed International Poultry Expo (IPE) sales director, responsible for developing and implementing effective sales and marketing plans to ensure the continued success of the IPE, which is part of the International Production & Processing Expo. Morris joins USPOULTRY from Perdue Farms/Heritage Breeders, where he served as U.S. sales manager. His experience includes serving as territory manager for Arbor Acres Farms/Aviagen and Meyn USA, and as quality assurance supervisor, sales production coordinator and production manager for Seaboard Farms of Athens, Inc.

International Association for Food Protection, Des Moines, Iowa
Dr. Mickey Parish was elected to the executive board as secretary, taking office at the end of 2014, fulfilling a 5-year commitment and serving as president beginning in July 2017. Dr. Parish is the senior advisor for microbiology in the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Food Safety in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). He has served in this position since 2009, after a successful 23-year academic career in positions at the University of Florida and the University of Maryland.

Strawberry Sustainability Research and Education Center at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Renowned plant pathologists Gerald Holmes and Kelly Ivors were named to head research and development efforts at the new Strawberry Sustainability Research and Education Center, a one-of-a-kind partnership between Cal Poly's College of Food, Agriculture & Environmental Sciences (CAFES) and the California Strawberry Commission. In his new role, Holmes will provide overall strategic leadership to the center, working collaboratively with both farmers and academia. He has deep industry and academic experience in plant pathology and most recently worked at Valent U.S.A. Corp. developing fungicides. Ivors will focus primarily on soil-borne plant pathogens in commercial strawberry production. She came from North Carolina State University, where she was an associate professor and extension plant pathologist stationed at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center. While at NCSU, she worked extensively with growers of vegetable, nursery and greenhouse crops conducting applied research on diagnostics and disease management.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Robert “Pete” Williams, senior vice president, announced his plans to retire in May after 37 years with the company. Williams began his Kroger career in 1977 as a management trainee with the company's Delta division. Beginning in 1978, he held a variety of human resources leadership roles, working his way up to serve as director of labor relations in 1987. He then spent the next several years serving as vice president of operations and vice president of merchandising, before being promoted to president of Kroger's Mid-Atlantic division in 1998. Williams has served in his current role since 2007. Today, he leads seven supermarket divisions. His replacement will be named at a later date.

Dole Packaged Foods, LLC, Westlake Village, Calif.
Stuart McAllister was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing, foodservice and industrial, replacing Chris Lock, who retired on March 21 after 20 years with the company. Beginning as a summer intern at Dole Seafood in 1989, he initially led the marketing planning process, developed packaging and conducted domestic and international sales negotiations. He was promoted to director of resourcing, sales and marketing and assigned responsibility for all buying, selling, shipping and planning activities. McAllister transferred to Dole headquarters in 1994, and has since held corporate positions in foodservice marketing, sales and sales strategy. Most recently, he served as field sales director, foodservice.

LimeSprings Beef LLC, Lime Springs, Iowa
Michael Spinks was appointed general manager, responsible for direct oversight and leadership of all operational, sales, quality assurance and human resources activities, as well as finance and accounting. Prior to joining LimeSprings Beef, Spinks was the vice president of operations and sales for OMP Foods. He has also served as operations manager for Perdue Farms.

Tianli Agritech, Inc., China
Due to health reasons, Hanying Li resigned as chairwoman and CEO, effective March 27, but will remain as a member of the board of directors. As a result, Ping Wang was appointed director, chairman of the board and CEO. Wang currently serves as chairman of Aoxin Holdings Co., Ltd.

Ready Pac Foods, Inc., Irwindale, Calif.
Michael Murray was named new general counsel, responsible for providing professional legal advice and representation of legal matters throughout the organization. Murray joins Ready Pac with more than 20 years of experience in global consumer products. His most recent endeavors with Tempur-Sealy International, Inc. had him managing all legal aspects of a $1 billion international business since 1999. He also led many negotiations and acquisitions for numerous international operations and domestic businesses.

SUPPLIERS:

Ashworth Bros., Inc., Winchester, Va.
Marty Tabaka, sales director of the Americas, announced his retirement after 31 years with the company. Tabaka’s tenure began with Ashworth in December 1982 as an outside salesperson. He progressed through the sales organization in managing the New York and New England sales regions. In 1994, he was promoted to Eastern regional manager, and in 2006, was promoted to his current position.