Newark, DE and Washington, DC – International Fresh Produce Association BB #:378962 is pleased to announce the three recipients of the 2022 Frieda Rapoport Caplan Family Business Scholarships:
• Mayra Vazquez, Partner/Director of Businesses Development & Sales, Latin Specialties LLC
• Jesse Wiggins, COO & Sales, Wiggins Farms
• Bianca Kaprielian, CEO & Co-founder, Fruit World
The Frieda Rapoport Caplan Family Business Scholarship Program was founded in 2001 by sisters Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, in honor of their mother, Frieda Rapoport Caplan. The program provides the opportunity for representatives from family-owned, IFPA member businesses to attend the IFPA Washington Conference. The three scholarship recipients receive complimentary airfare, hotel and registration to participate in the conference, September 26-28 in Washington, D.C., and will be recognized during the General Session Breakfast on Wednesday, September 28th.
“We are immensely proud to host some of fresh produce’s most passionate and determined professionals in the nation’s capital for the only event that empowers hundreds to advocate for their businesses and shape the future of the industry,” said Jackie Caplan Wiggins, Vice President and COO of Frieda’s, Inc. “With the many challenges faced by our industry, it is critically important for these individuals and their companies to learn how to advocate for their business at the federal level.”
IFPA’s Washington Conference brings together hundreds of produce leaders from all sectors of the industry for education on critical industry issues and meetings with members of Congress, their staffs, top regulatory officials and Embassies. Scholarship recipients will have an opportunity to network with produce industry leaders from across the country, learn effective strategies for sharing the produce industry’s voice at the Produce Advocacy Bootcamp, as well as gain an understanding of the political process and how to advocate for their priority issues while in Washington and year-round back home. Explore the conference schedule.
Each year, a scholarship committee reviews applicants for the program using several criteria, including each candidate’s interest in advocacy work and their commitment to the produce industry.
For more information on the Frieda Rapoport Caplan Family Business Scholarship Program, contact Nikki Wootten, Education & Programs Manager, Talent Development. For information on the Washington Conference, visit http://www.freshproduce.com/events/the-washington-conference.
About the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA)
The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA)?is the largest and most diverse international association serving the entire fresh produce and floral supply chain and the only to seamlessly integrate world-facing advocacy and industry-facing support. We exist to bring the industry together to create a vibrant future for all. We grow our member’s prosperity by conducting advocacy; connecting people and ideas; and offering guidance that allows us all to?take action?with purpose and confidence.? While IFPA is built on the legacy of United Fresh and Produce Marketing Association, it is not just a combination. It is transformational. Recognizing the industry required an even more powerful and unified voice, the leaders of the former United Fresh and Produce Marketing Association chose not to merge, but rather to create an entirely new organization to supersede their organizations, effective January 1, 2022.
