Record Crowds Flock To Washington Horticultural Show
December 16, 2014 The Washington State Horticultural Association (WSHA) concluded the 110th Annual Meeting & Northwest Hort Expo attracted a record attendance of more than 1,600 members.
This year’s meeting, held the first week of December, was held at a new location, the Three Rivers Convention Center and Toyota Center in Kennewick, WA. The venue was well received by the members, reports the WSHA staff, with close proximity of the trade show and convention and plenty of hotels and restaurants to choose from.
The Spanish language session, which ran all day Tuesday, also had a record attendance of over 450 attendees and offered a free breakout session on tractor safety.
WSHA is the last of the four organizations to merge into the Washington State Tree Fruit Association (WSTFA). This merger process will be complete by the new year. Next year’s convention will be held under the new banner of the Washington State Tree Fruit Annual Meeting.
Once the new WSTFA board is elected into place, they will vote whether or not to add Kennewick, which is part of the Tri-Cities, to the permanent rotation with Yakima and Wenatchee for the annual meeting.
The WSHA awards banquet, which was sponsored again this year by American and Western Fruit Grower, had a record attendance of 400 members, nearly 100 more attendees than last year.
The banquet recognized deserving, outstanding industry individuals who have contributed to the tree fruit industry through their dedication and hard work. The Silver Apple award was given to the late Jerry Haak, who was a speaker at last year’s convention in Wenatchee. He passed away shortly following the convention last Christmas. His wife was there to receive the award in his honor, and she delivered a moving speech.
The Silver Pear award was given to Ray Schmitten, advocate of the pear industry, past pear session manager and a grower in Cashmere, WA. The Latino Leadership award was received by Jose Ramirez, current WSHA Vice-President and horticulturist, Stein-Manzana Orchards of Royal City, WA.
Tim Smith was presented with the inaugural Washington Tree Fruit Distinguished Service Award. This award recognized Smith’s significant contributions to the tree fruit industry over an extended period of time. Smith retired this past summer from his long career in the tree fruit industry, as regional tree fruit Extension specialist for Washington State University.
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