Oregon State University hires research assistant

Preston Brown has been appointed research assistant at OSU’s Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Hood River. He will assist Dr. Peter Shearer, superintendent of the center, with lab and field studies on the biology, ecology, and management of insect and mite pests, including the spotted wing drosophila. They are involved in a multistate project to combat drosophila in the western United States.

Brown, who is from Marion, Virginia, earned a bachelor’s degree in biological systems engineering with a minor in entomology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2005 and a master’s degree in entomology from ­Virginia Tech in 2009.

USApple elects officers

Julia Baehre Rothwell, Belding Fruit Sales, Belding, Michigan, has succeeded John Teeple, of Teeple Farms, Wolcott, New York, as chair of the U.S. Apple Association.

Raised on her family’s Fruit Ridge farm—Baehre Orchards—Rothwell has been involved in the fruit industry all her life. Her husband, Michael Rothwell, is president, general manager, and a shareholder of Belding Fruit Storage, Inc., and BelleHarvest Sales, Inc.
Rothwell is the second woman to become chair of the U.S. Apple Association. The first—also from Michigan—was JoAnne Thome, of Thome Orchards in Comstock Park.

The transfer came during the association’s Apple Crop Outlook and Marketing Conference in Chicago August 19-20, where USApple members also elected or reelected three regional directors and three regional trustees.

The regional trustees, all reelected, are Kelly Henggeler, Henggeler Packing Company, Fruitland, Idaho; Tom Stokes, Tree Top, Selah, ­Washington; and Mike Wade, Columbia Fruit Packers, Wenatchee, ­Washington.

Regional directors are John Teeple, who was reelected; Frank Davis, Oneonta Trading Corporation, Wenatchee, Washington; and Suzanne Wolter, Rainier Fruit Company, Selah, Washington, who were newly elected to the board. The two new directors replace Bruce Grim, director of the Marketing Associations, Wenatchee, Washington, who completed his term as immediate past chair, and Bill Zirkle, Rainier Fruit Company.

Apple Foundation scholarships

The Washington tree fruit industry is providing financial support totaling almost $400,000 to 112 students this fall through the Washington Apple Education Foundation. Scholarships were awarded to students from 37 high schools. Sixty percent of the students are graduating high school seniors, and the rest are college students. About a third of the ­students received scholarships last year also. For names of recipients, check the foundation’s Web site at www.waef.org.