[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3888]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRATULATING BRUCE OBBINK, AGRICULTURALIST OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 8, 1999

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Bruch 
Obbink, recipient of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce Agriculturalist of 
the Year award for 1998. Mr. Obbink has been an active member of the 
agricultural community for many years.
  Bruce Obbink has served on the California Table Grape Commission 
since 1968, most recently as its president. The Commission is the 
promotional branch of California's fresh grape industry and represents 
100 percent of the state's 700 table grape farmers. As president, Bruce 
is responsible for a budget that exceeds $13 million and for oversight 
of the Commission's key programs including advertising, communications, 
community service, international marketing, merchandising, and 
research. He has traveled extensively in the Asian, European, and South 
American markets successfully promoting the California fresh grape 
industry.
  Mr. Obbink lives in Fresno, California, and was raised in the 
Midwest. He is a graduate of Missouri State University and was a naval 
aviator from 1956 to 1962. He was director of education for the Council 
of California Growers and the Agriculture Education Foundation from 
1962 to 1968. Bruch Obbink has generously served a number of Ag 
organizations. He is a member of the National Project to Develop a 
Strategic Plan for Changing the American Diet, has been appointed by 
Governor Wilson to serve on the Exotic Pest Eradication Task Force, is 
past president of the Cal-Ag Committee on International Trade, past 
chairman of the board of the Produce Marketing Association, past 
president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, and has 
participated in several Harvard Business School education programs.
  Bruce Obbink has been consistently recognized and honored for his 
service to the agricultural community. He was named Produce Marketer of 
the year by The Packer, a national produce industry publication, 
selected by Public Relations Quarterly as one of the 100 outstanding 
public relations executives in the United States, and received the 
Produce for Better Health Foundation's first-ever Outstanding 
Contributor Recognition Award. He was presented with the California 
Grape & Tree Fruit League's Mentor's Award for his service to the grape 
industry, and named the American Society for Enology and Viticulture's 
1998 Merit Award recipient for recognition of his many contributions to 
the industry through his role with the California Table Grape 
Commission.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Bruce Obbink, the Fresno 
Chamber of Commerce Agriculturalist of the Year. The California 
Agriculture industry has been well served by Mr. Obbink's tireless 
dedication. I invite all of my colleagues to join me in wishing Bruce 
Obbink many years of continued success.

                          ____________________