Apple industry leader with local connections new chairwoman of national organization
Kaari Stannard is the new leader of the U.S. Apple Association
Kaari Stannard
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kaari Stannard, a New York marketer, packer and grower is the new chairwoman of the U.S. Apple Association. She will lead the organization’s board of directors.
Stannard is the owner of New York Apple Sales, Inc., one of the largest marketers of New York state apples. She has been in the apple business since 1996. She is a partner in both Pomona Packing and Lake Ontario Fruit, which are apple packing facilities located in western New York. Stannard is also a partner in Fish Creek Orchards, located in Orleans County. Lake Ontario Fruit also is in Orleans County, on Ridge Road in Gaines.
“Kaari’s breadth of knowledge about and dedication to the apple industry have been instrumental in helping shape the direction of USApple during her board tenure over the last several years,” said USApple President and CEO Jim Bair. “Her passion for the apple industry, coupled with her ‘can-do’ leadership style, will serve USApple and its members well during the next year.”
Aside from her leadership with USApple, Stannard is a past treasurer and current board member of the U.S. Apple Export Council and served two terms as board member of the New York Apple Association. She is a past member of the grower shipper board for United Fresh Produce Association and is a graduate of their leadership program. She has and continues to serve on various Produce Marketing Association committees.
Stannard is a licensed CPA and holds a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting from the State University at Buffalo. Stannard succeeds 2017-18 Chair Mark Boyer, co-owner of Ridgetop Orchards near Fishertown, Penn.
U.S. Apple Association is the national trade association representing all segments of the apple industry. Members include 40 state and regional associations representing the 7,500 apple growers throughout the country, as well as more than 400 individual firms involved in the apple business.
Jason Woodworth, a partner with Fish Creek Orchards (formerly called Lamont Fruit Farm Inc.), also serves on the board of directors for USApple. Woodworth oversees 500 acres of wholesale fresh fruit orchards near the shoreline of Lake Ontario. His responsibilities include marketing, pack house relations, quality control and on farm nursery. He is a past chairman of the board for the New York Apple Association.
