"A Quality Fruit Company Committed To
Bearing Fruit...Fruit That Will Last" (John 15:16)
Trust In Each Other
This past month, General Stanley
McChrystal addressed a group of Washington State
business
leaders. While one might think that his talk would have covered strategy,
military strength and technology, Gen. McChrystal spoke at length about leaders
needing to allow their teams to function in semi-autonomous groups, about the
importance of good communication, and also the need for leaders to be servants
to their teams.
As the General saw it,
organizations are filled with good men and women. All too often, however,
leaders obstruct a team's performance on account of their own need for recognition
or inability to trust others. Good leaders need to put themselves aside
and facilitate team work.
On this point, McChrystal
emphasized the importance of constant communication to foster trust. Every day
his teams communicated with central command and then also with each
other. Every day his soldiers recited their creed, "never shall I
fail my comrades." For us at Broetje Orchards, we can learn a lot
from this man, even though he lived a very different reality. How often are we
putting our team first? How often are we truly trusting each other? Do we
strive to never fail our fellow employees?
In a complicated world, success never hinges on
one person. 
As
a way to build team-work, think about our health and have fun at the same time,
Broetje Orchards began its first employee 
6
Week Walking Challenge. A total of 65 employees from many of our
entities accepted this challenge and are walking their way to better
health. Some have formed walking teams and others walk in pairs, but
steps are adding up nonetheless
Changing the Lives of Kids
Araceli
Rivera- Head Teacher
New Horizon Early Childhood Education
Center
Araceli grew up in Mexico City
with 5 sisters and 2 brothers. In 1992 she graduated with a BA in
Psychology from Universidad Tecnológica de México,. She subsequently
obtained her GED and CDA (infants, toddlers and preschool), and is just a few
courses away from completing her Early Childhood Education degree. Araceli
moved to Washington in 1999 and began picking apples at Broetje Orchards.
After only 3 weeks, she was recruited to work at New Horizons Center. She is
now the Head Teacher in our center and is in charge of curriculum and
instruction.
Araceli shares her
knowledge and her love for children with students and teachers and parents
alike. Last Year, she facilitated the
Ready for Kindergarten program for 69 parents and family members.
"We are parents in the education for children and it's essential that parents know they play a very important role.We are here to
support them." Ready for Kindergarten helps parents work
on phonics, math, and social and emotional skills at home with their children.
The program helps parents identify developmental stages and provides ideas and
tools to support educational play. At New Horizons Center you will find Araceli
working in the preschool 2 classroom for part of her day. She says "the
best part of my day is story time, because I can bring stories to life with
different voices, questions and prediction. I know the kids really like this
time too because they are so quiet and looking at me and the book. It is so
much fun to surprise them with what is coming next!"
Harvest
Update
Prescott
Orchard: Finished picking Gala and Golden; 80% finished with Honey Crisp
and Fuji; started picking Red Delicious.
Wallula
Orchard: Finished picking Gala, Golden, Red Delicious, and Honey Crisp;
90% finished with Early Fuji; started picking Opal and Braeburn.
Benton City Orchard: Finished picking Gala; 60% finished with Early
Fuji; started picking Red Delicious
First
Fruits Marketing
2014 Summit: "New Ultra Mesh"
Each October, members of our First Fruits sales team attend the
PMA Fresh Summit. This annual event is the biggest produce expo in the United
States. With 20,000 attendees and 900 exhibitors from over 60 countries
This year the
sales team will be presenting our new Ultra Mesh bags which we offer in
multiple varieties, such as Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith and even our proprietaryOpal. This high graphic bag has beautiful, eye-catching artwork, and will also
be featured in the new product showcase at Fresh Summit.Fresh Summit is a place
where top buyers from the world's largest retail chains as well as key decision
makers from companies all along the supply chain have a chance to meet our team
and see what FirstFruits has to offer.
Vista
Hermosa Foundation
Kirindon, Kenya
With apple harvest in full swing,
we recognize how blessed we are by the natural resources in our area and the
important role that water plays in the development of thriving communities.
Imagine not having access to clean water.Unfortunately this is a reality for
many communities in Kenya. For the last seven years Vista Hermosa Foundation
has supported the World
Vision's Water, Sanitiation and Hygiene (WASH) Project in the
Kirindon region of Kenya. When they started, less than 10% of the population
had access to clean water and only 18% had access to improved sanitation
facilities.
The WASH project is having a
profound impact on children. Mr.Kinanta, head teacher of Kimintet Primary
School. commented that after the school was connected with piped water, there
was a large reduction in the number of students missing school to help parents
each for water. The local clinic also noted a significant decrease in waterborne
diseases. In turn, student test scores on national exams improved
significantly, from 240 in 2014 to 265 in 2013.
To learn more about World
Vision's Clean Water Initiative please visit:
World
Vision WASH Project
Rural
Savings Bank
Oaxaca, Mexico
Micro-finance has played a key
role in poverty alleviation worldwide, but in recent years there has been a
shift towards community led savings. Unlike traditional micro-finance, no
outside capital is contributed: community members learn to save their own money
in a group, which requires a great deal of trust building and solidarity.
Members then request loans from the group and
interest may be charged. To encourage savings and financial training,
members receive interest dividends, resulting in greater community cash flow.
Benefits also include social involvement, community strengthening, women's
empowerment, skill development, social capital, and social
entrepreneurship. VHF has partnered with Fundacion Leon XIII in the
coastal area of Oaxaca this year to support 90 Rural Savings Banks with a total
of 7,000 members. 80% of its members are women, and each bank saves an average
of $3,500 US dollars a month. Uniquely, members of the program also pool a
portion of their savings and interest into community development projects,
which not only benefit the community, but also encourage leadership and
community responsibility
First
Fruits Scholars
Since 1997, Vista Hermosa Foundation has
awarded over $1.3 million in scholarships to first-generation college students
of Broetje Orchards and Jubilee Youth Ranch.
This summer, an Alumni and Scholarship Awards Celebration was held
in Pasco,Washington and an additional $117,000 was awarded to 26 students
attending colleges of their choice this Fall. For students who commit to
performing community service hours each month, they are eligible to renew their
scholarship for up to a four-year degree.
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