Harvest time means it’s time for our yearly visit from George Giorno of Ocean Spray! George comes to see us every year, along with various account executives from some of Ocean Spray’s wholesale customers. This year, we were happy to visit again with Greg McCann and Jim Falese of Advantage Solutions, as well as Chris Przewoznik and Ed Peslak of General Trading Wholesale, Lauren Schmidt, Jeff Bowen, and John Scarangello with Ocean Spray’s retail operations, and last but not least, George’s daughter Marissa, a sales analyst with Kellogg’s!

The morning began in our main office, with CEO Bill Haines giving the group an introduction to our operation and a brief family history. Then, it was off in the van to see the harvest in action! We were unfortunately not able to see the harrow at work, but the group was able to see our new bog side cleaner running out at Sim Place, and even got the chance to go up and see the view from the top!

Greg McCann was happy to see our new equipment, as well as the results. “I really enjoyed this visit, as I saw a new process that you weren’t really using last year! It’s great to see how you now save steps in the process and free up some of your people to do other things,” he says. And he was impressed by our team’s driving skills, as well: “It was interesting to watch the tractor trailers navigate around the narrow roads throughout the bog.” He’s looking forward to coming back again next year, with different customers, and the feeling is mutual!

Lauren Schmidt, Ocean Spray’s newest Retail Operations Manager, expressed similar enthusiasm: “I loved the tour of the farm and bogs. Our team got the full experience, from tasting fresh cranberries off the vine, to watching each step in the impressive process of harvest. We lucked out with a beautiful fall day and the colors of the harvest were gorgeous! The Haines family took time out of their busy schedules to show us around for several hours and I know everyone felt the pride they have in the business throughout our time together.”

We say this every year after George and his group come to see us: it’s always a pleasure to speak with people who are genuinely enthusiastic about what they do and are so willing to completely immerse themselves in a new experience. “It‘s always fun to have George and his team here and show our customers how we really do it. I think it’s good for all of us,” Bill says.