07/07/06 Hort`s New Communications Coordinator

Hort's New Communications Coordinator. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Fruit growers in the northwest know that the Washington State Horticulture Association represents the growers and shippers of the tree fruit industry by providing education and training as well as being an advocate on issues affecting the industry. Getting the word out to all those members regarding the issues and events falls to the Hort's new Communications Coordinator Lynette Smith. Smith is a local that has recently come home. SMITH: You know it's funny I had to leave the area to really come back here and embrace it and be able to appreciate it in all of it's entirety. And Wenatchee, Yakima, the Valley, Central Washington, it's just such a beautiful place. Smith replaces Darby Jones, who left to spend more time with her family and support the family farming business. Smith will have a full slate of duties. SMITH: I'll be editing Hort Headlines, the weekly update on the current issues. But then I'll be coordinating event planning for the association&our annual golf tournament that we do up in Lake Chelan, the Legislative Hort Day up in Olympia and then our yearly annual meeting which alternates between Yakima and Wenatchee every other year. Smith says that even though she was raised in the area and has family ties to agriculture, going to work for the Hort Association has been eye opening. SMITH: Being that I've been here now for a little over a month and have got my feet wet a little bit more and learning more about the issues and things it's been really, really interesting and has brought to light some things I had known bit and pieces of and kind of brought some more information together and I just think it's really interesting. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.