<p>Valley Fruit & Produce is welcoming a couple new faces to the team. Ray Iwamoto has joined the Valley team as the Berry Category Manager and Don Stalcup is joining the company as new Division Manager.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Ray will be responsible for managing inventories, maintaining relationships with growers, and ensuring that needs across all customer channels are met, according to a press release. Ray joined the supply side of the industry as manager of the Giumarra International Berry Division. He spent the last 8 years as District Manager for Sunrise Growers, a strawberry shipper based in Placentia, California, prior to joining Valley.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Don La Londe, COO will continue to also be responsible for the berry category. Don notes, "Ray will help us continue to provide our customers with the best berries and the most up-to-date information.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Ray feels that his position at Valley is a natural progression of his career, “The LA Wholesale Produce Market is the most dynamic market in the U.S. and Valley has played a major role in this market for decades. Valley has actually been involved in every step of my career in produce. As a retailer and as a shipper, Valley has always been a valued partner so when the opportunity to join their team was presented, it just made sense. I look forward to helping Valley continue to be a leader in berry sales.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Don Stalcup brings 46 years of retail produce experience to his new role which includes 25 years at Albertsons, as head of the produce department and the corporate trainer. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>CFO Carrie La Londe stated, “Our Retail Management division specializes in helping independent retail operators compete with chains by providing them with Direct Store Deliveries, Weekly Ads with Suggested Retail Pricing, Weekend pushes, Special Buy opportunities, and In-store Merchandising and Marketing help. We already have a good team in place, but we are excited that Don's leadership will lead to the development of additional services, in addition to improving our existing ones, to help our customers grow their produce business.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Don reflects, “Valley’s volume and competitive pricing is a distinct advantage for the independent retail customers. The Retail Management division takes that advantage to the next level by providing them with structure and resources to run ads, get special buy opportunities, and create show-stopping displays. I appreciate the opportunity to use my experience and training to help a new generation of retailers.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Congrats are in order for Ray and Don!</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://valleyproduce.com" target="_new"> Valley Fruit & Produce </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
