Jun 15, 2020

Pandemic claims Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association event

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association has decided to cancel FFVA 2020, which was set for Sept. 28-30 in Naples.

“The safety and health of our convention attendees is of utmost importance to the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA), as are the best interests of our stakeholders and our organization,” read a statement on the FFVA website.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, FFVA has decided to cancel FFVA 2020, which was set for Sept. 28-30 in Naples.

In its place, we will hold a Board of Directors meeting to accomplish our annual business on Sept. 29, followed by regional meetings around the state in the fall.

Board of Directors meeting

In keeping with our bylaws, FFVA will conduct the same business that we typically do during the convention: a meeting of the Executive Committee, a meeting of the current (2019-20) board, the annual membership meeting, and a meeting of the new (2020-21) board.

These meetings will follow their usual format and will occur on the same dates they were originally scheduled: Sept. 28 and 29. We also will honor Paul Allen, our outgoing chair, and conduct the Emerging Leader Development Program Class 9 graduation at that time. The meetings will take place in southeast Florida at a location to be announced.

Regional meetings

We will host a series of regional meetings in the fall to keep our membership fully informed of our activities on key issues and to solicit feedback and input on other emerging issues. Members, non-members and sponsors will have the opportunity for important networking. The meetings will take place at UF/IFAS research centers in Immokalee, Belle Glade, Wimauma and Citra.

Next year

Mark your calendar for Sept. 13-15, 2021, for our next annual convention, to be held at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples. We’ll see you then.”