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For Immediate Release Contact:
Mark Villata
FOR REGIONAL MEMBERS AND ALTERNATES April 7, 2003-- The U.S. Highbush
Blueberry Council (USHBC) is now seeking nominees to fill regional council
member and alternate positions on the Blueberry Promotion, Research and
Information Order. Terms
for current USHBC regional members and alternates will expire December
31, 2003. The nomination
period for the 2004 to 2006 term begins May 5, 2003. Potential nominees are required to complete
a USHBC nomination application and forward their application on to the
U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council office by June 9, 2003. Nomination applications are being mailed by the USHBC
to blueberry growers throughout the United States.
Those who do not receive a nomination application by early May
can obtain a copy by contacting the USHBC at (916) 933-0570 (phone), or
(916) 933-0574 (fax). Applications may also be downloaded from
the USHBC website at http://www.ushbc.org/. Nominees are being sought for four regional grower member
positions. Eligible producer
nominees are those who produced 2,000 pounds or more of cultivated blueberries
in the United States during the period of January 1, 2002 through December
31, 2002. Once the nomination period
is closed, a ballot will be prepared listing all regional nominees.
Ballots will be mailed by the USHBC to blueberry growers on August
11, 2003. The voting period will open for 35 days and close on September
15, 2003. Those receiving the most votes
for each regional representative seat will be recommended to the U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture as council members. Those who earn the second most votes for
each position will be recommended as the alternate. The names of those who receive the third
and fourth most votes will be sent on to the Secretary for consideration
as well. Council members
and alternates will serve for a term of three years starting January 1,
2004 and will be allowed to serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.
USHBC regional representatives
concluding their first term of office are:
The USHBC has adopted a diversity
outreach plan to attempt to achieve a diverse representation on the Council.
USHBC programs are open to all individuals without regard to race,
color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation,
marital or family status, political beliefs, parental status, or protected
genetic information. It is
USHBC policy that membership on the Council and its committees reflect
the diversity of individuals served by its programs. To accomplish this objective, the USHBC will strive to attain
representation of growers and other industry participants from diverse
backgrounds on the Council and USHBC committees.
To this end, the USHBC strongly encourages women, minorities and
persons with disabilities to seek nominations to the USHBC and to participate
in Council and USHBC committee activities. Producers and importers of cultivated blueberries
approved the establishment of the national promotion program through a
referendum conducted by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service from
March 13 through April 14, 2000.
In this referendum, 67.8 percent of those who voted favored implementation
of the order. Those who voted
in favor represented 73.2 percent of the volume of cultivated blueberries
represented in the referendum. The program is funded by an
assessment of $12 per ton on domestic cultivated blueberries and $12 per
ton on fresh and processed imported cultivated blueberries.
Market promotion activities funded through the new program began
in January of 2002. |
Copyright 2002 - U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council