DENVER (March 22, 2012)—Brian Jones of Rupert, ID, was seated as a Board Member on the United States Potato Board (USPB) at the organization’s 40th Annual Meeting, March 15-16, in Colorado Springs, CO. He was named to serve on the Board by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on February 6, 2012, for a three-year term ending February 28, 2015. New Board Members serving on the USPB in their first three-year term can be reappointed to serve a second consecutive three-year term.
Jones is the CEO/President of Sun Valley Potatoes and has been with this Rupert, ID, company for over two decades, packing and shipping Idaho Russet Burbanks to foodservice customers like Sysco. He graduated from the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, with a degree in agri-business. After graduation he got married and moved to Rupert, beginning his career with Sun Valley Potatoes, a grower-owned packing and shipping business.
Jones is a past Chairman of the Idaho Grower Shipper Association (IGSA), an organization striving to unite Idaho shippers in working for and discovering solutions pertaining to their industry. Prior to working with the IGSA, he worked with the Board of the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Potato Committee, setting guidelines for shipping quality and sizing. He currently serves on the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) marketing committee, and has a good understanding of table-stock marketing. He was part of the 2007 PILI class.
Jones is married to Candace Jones, and they have two sons: Justin (age 17) and Jacob (age 16). He enjoys hunting, football and managing Sun Valley Potatoes.
Brian Jones was confirmed with fellow New and Re-Nominated USPB Board Members by Patricia Petrella, USDA-AMS Marketing Specialist, Fruit and Vegetable Programs (right side podium)at the 40th USPB Annual Meeting, Thursday, March 15, 2012, at The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO. Bob Keeney, USDA-AMS Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable Programs (second from left), also welcomed and approved the confirmation of the new and returning USPB Board Members.
Authorized under the 1971 Potato Research and Promotion Act, the USPB is composed of producers, importers and a public member appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Producer members are nominated at state and local producer meetings and by mail ballot. Each state is entitled to at least one producer member, and additional members are allotted on the basis of the volume of production. Importer members are nominated by importers, and the number of members is related to the volume of imports, up to a maximum of five importer members.
The USPB administers an industry-funded national research and promotion program to increase US exports and domestic potato consumption. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service oversees the operations of the USPB. More information about the research and promotion programs is available at www.ams.usda.gov/FVPromotion.
For more information on the USPB as the nation’s potato marketing organization, positioned as the “catalyst for positive change,” and the central organizing force in implementing programs that will increase demand for potatoes, please visit www.uspotatoes.com.
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