jul-aug-2019

NEWS IN A NUTSHELL Regional Manager Dennis Meinberg Retires Dennis Meinberg always wanted to work for Blue Diamond . His dad joined as a member in 1955, giving Dennis the opportunity to be involved in the family operations as well as the cooperative, even appearing in the 1980’s “Can A Week” commercials. So when he was hired in July 2004 as a regional manager to represent the Chico area — where he was born and raised — it was a perfect match. “I already knew all the growers and they knew me,” said Dennis. “I served on Blue Diamond ’s Grower Liaison Committee and also worked as a nursery representative. I just changed pickups, shirts, and hats.” After fifteen years serving Butte, Tehama and Glenn counties, Dennis is retiring. He acknowledges that Blue Diamond ’s greatest asset is the people and when growers and team members work together, it brings together the attributes of being able to deliver the benefits of almonds to the world for generations to come. Dennis is fond of his time at Blue Diamond . Witnessing the company emerge from an almond handler to a global food company and helping grow the cooperative’s membership to its current levels are times he won’t soon forget. He also admits that before coming to Blue Diamond , he never knew what happened to the almond after harvest. Learning the details about the processing and marketing of a final product was remarkable to him. “When I came to work at Blue Diamond , we were right at the cusp of hitting one billion pounds,” he recalls. “That wasn’t very long ago and we’ve doubled that in the timeframe I was there. To be able to put in place vast resources and people to bring the crop from the field to the plants is an extraordinary show of teamwork. I’m proud to have been a part of that.” His decision to retire was not an easy one, but Dennis is ready to spend more time with his wife Sharon and their growing number of great-grandchildren. When asked how he is going to spend his retirement, Dennis smartly says that he is going to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants to. “This is the first Labor Day I can take as a holiday,” he said. “And I have an old fishing pole that needs to get the dust off of it. I will get the RV ready and head up to where the fish are biting, then see what is around the next bend and find that next fishing spot.” Since delivering his first pound of almonds for the cooperative, Dennis knew working for Blue Diamond would be memorable. He and Sharon are thankful for all the help over the years from both grower-owners and team members. “ Blue Diamond is a cooperative made up of trusted people who support one another and I am going to miss that.” Blue Diamond is a cooperative made up of trusted people who support one another and I am going to miss that. 1 0 A L M O N D F A C T S