Almond Board: Introducing Almond Alliance of California

Taylor HillmanGeneral

almond boardSome changes to an almond association could help the industry have a stronger presence. The Almond Hullers and Processors Association is becoming the Almond Alliance of California. Sabrina Hill reports.

Almond Alliance of California

Click the link above to play the news story and hear from association president, Kelly Covello.

From Almonds.com

The Almond Hullers and Processors Association (AHPA) has a new vision and a brand-new identity that was unveiled in April at the AHPA annual convention. As the premier advocate for the California Almond community, AHPA will now be the Almond Alliance of California (AAC).  “Our message is very simple,” said AHPA President Kelly Covello. “The Almond Alliance of California is the only organization fully dedicated to advocating for and protecting our members’ investment in the almond industry. A new focus means we are not the same organization. We continue to value and serve our core members, but our vision and name need to reflect a broader mandate.”

AHPA’s board has adopted a strategic vision that sees AAC becoming “the premier advocate dedicated to the California Almond community.” The AAC will represent and serve growers, huller/shellers, handlers, processors and allied industry partners. Currently, there is no advocacy group dedicated solely to almonds.

The unveiling marks the culmination of more than a year of member consultation and a six-month strategic planning process by the organization’s leadership that drew on the expertise and wisdom of a broad cross-section of the leaders in the California Almond community. The Almond Board of California (ABC) and its board of directors and executive staff provided invaluable assistance in defining the critical issues of concern, mapping out where ABC and AAC intersect and where they operate independently. Covello explained, “Our Memorandum of Agreement with the Almond Board of California empowers us to pick up where ABC must leave off — advocating at any level of government — thus utilizing the investment growers have already made in research through the Almond Board to the fullest extent possible.”