As the month of April winds down, so does an important chapter in the story of an industry-leading advocate for California table grapes.
Kathleen Nave, President of the California Table Grape Commission (CTGC), will retire on April 30 after almost 38 years of championing the category; 25 in her current leadership role.
When asked about milestones, interestingly, Kathleen says that while the how has changed and the what has expanded, the why has remained constant.
“In reflecting on commission milestones, what comes to mind are all the ways in which the industry and the commission board adapted to the challenges and opportunities that a constantly changing business environment presents. What hasn’t changed is the mission of the organization. The mission has remained constant for over 60 years: Create demand for California table grapes worldwide,” Kathleen shares.
Weaving together recollections of how the commission board, over time, has done what was needed for the industry to continue moving forward, Kathleen tells of opening new markets, creating new promotion campaigns, generating actionable data, galvanizing government policymakers and administrators, creating new initiatives, and moving more volume. She talks of the importance of providing a table around which table grape growers gather to make decisions on behalf of the whole.
Noting that motivating retailers to stock and promote and consumers to buy more California grapes more often remains the core of the commission’s work, Kathleen advises that investing in long-term initiatives to support promotion has grown in importance over time. During her tenure, the CTGC created a worldwide licensing program that is now responsible for seven table grape varieties.
Likewise, this is the commission’s 25th year of research on the compounds in California table grapes that benefit health. And then there is the decade-plus partnership with the University of California to fund two table grape farm advisors, the creation of table grape-focused agricultural scholarships to complement those offered since 1984 to the children of farm workers, the advent of a mechanization and automation program focused on labor savings, the advocacy that resulted in USDA buying hundreds of millions of dollars of California grapes since 2018, and the negotiation of multi-million dollar research agreement with USDA-ARS to expand the table grape breeding program and ensure that intellectual property rights accrue to the commission.
“These are all examples of new approaches to achieving that unchanged mission of creating demand,” she circles back to. “Each is an example of a big program that didn’t exist until there was a recognized, shared need into which the commission board put time, intellectual bandwidth, and money. The point isn’t so much the specific initiatives, but that through the organization the industry has the opportunity to identify shared needs and harness resources to see what they can do if they work together.”
"The mission has remained constant for over 60 years: Create demand for California table grapes worldwide.”
Kathleen Nave, Retiring President, California Table Grape Commission
Kathleen says this is at the heart of CTGC’s mission: providing a reason for growers to gather around a table for the betterment of the whole.
“The commission is a tool. The biggest benefit it provides board members is not just the opportunity but the obligation to be a part of the decision-making process for the benefit of the industry,” Kathleen says. “It is no small thing to sit down with competitors and agree to follow a set of rules. It is not a small thing for people to commit their time and attention to be a part of a whole. Any board needs as many smart people around the table as it can get. And those smart people have to come to the table with informed viewpoints and willingness to listen, all while remaining open to having the viewpoint they came into the room with influenced. Valuing an environment that allows for thoughtful, shared decision-making is critically important.”
Created and funded by growers in service of growers is how Kathleen describes the commission. At its heart, she believes the commission is a service organization which carries within itself a gravity that comes from knowing an entire industry is trusting it with its money and its hope.
“For me, this has always been work worth doing because the mission of helping an agricultural industry position itself for long-term economic viability is both exciting and fulfilling. The commission and its staff are part of the larger California table grape community, and there is value in helping that community—and the important people within it—not only survive but thrive,” Kathleen shares.
It is a large task and one that Kathleen is excited to see taken on by a very worthy successor.
“I’m grateful for the time the board allowed for me to work with a successor,” she says. “I know the value of this kind of onboarding first-hand.”
Kathleen explains that she had been with the commission nine years in a communications role when she accepted a two-year transition to President.
“My predecessor, Bruce Obbink, said he had seen leaders in agricultural organizations handle succession poorly,” she says. “He wanted to do it well, and he often said that he wanted my transition to be so smooth that the day after he left was just another Tuesday.”
Building on this foundation and paying it forward to the next generation of leadership, Kathleen has worked closely with incoming President Ian LeMay for the past year in preparation for her final bow.
“Ian refers to it as a passing of the baton, and that is a great metaphor,” she says. “In a relay, the baton is passed as the runners power down the track side-by-side. That’s what this last year has been like: running on the track together from one milepost to the next. As we approach the tape, running flat out side-by-side, I know I’m leaving the commission in really good and caring hands. It is my belief that the day after I leave will be just another Thursday.”
As the hourglass on this incredible career wanes, I want to not only congratulate Kathleen on all she has accomplished, but share gratitude for her having chosen to ensure those accomplishments were felt throughout an integral category for our industry. May the fruits of such labor carry on into this next chapter for a true produce maven. 
