Chairman Jonathan Shaw expressed his thanks to Hood for bringing the benefit of his wide-ranging experience and knowledge of the industry to the Board over the past two years. “Matt is a highly professional operator and a successful businessman in the industry who has helped us to separate the wood from the trees on a number of challenging industry issues. His advice has always been highly valued on the Board. We wish him well in his future endeavours. Matt has indicated that he will be available to continue to provide input into the strategic direction of Growcom and we thank him very much for that.”

Shaw said that Hood’s position on the Board would be filled, initially on a casual basis, by the Chairman of the Mareeba District Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association and mango grower, Joe Moro. “I am very pleased to have Joe on the Board. He has had years of experience in business and in the horticulture industry as well as wider community involvement across North Queensland. Joe will be a valuable asset and help bring us the perspective of the industry from that part of the world.”

Moro has been Chairman of the Mareeba District Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association since 1995 and is well known for his many years of dedicated and wide ranging industry and community involvement.

In 1997, he was appointed by the Queensland Government to the Queensland Horticultural Institute Board in the Department of Primary Industries.

Moro was a Mareeba Shire Councillor from 2000 until 2008 and served as the Chair of the Mareeba Shire Council Regional Art Development Fund.

He has been a Board member of the Cairns Region Economic Development Corporation for a number of years, and was also the first non-tobacco grower to be elected to the Board of the North Queensland Co-op (formally the NQ Tobacco Growers Co-op Association Limited) and went on to become Deputy Chairman.

As a Director of the Mareeba Regional Development Organisation (MRDO) Moro worked with the Board to develop the organisation into a Tableland-wide concern – the Tableland Economic Development Corporation. This subsequently evolved into the Tableland Future Corporation and continues to serve as a Director on the Board.

He also helped in the formation of the Australian Mango Industry Association and went on to serve as Chairman of the Board. Moro is a dedicated and experienced farmer and proprietor of the family farming business, A Moro & Son.  He has grown a wide variety of crops over the years including pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, capsicums, tomatoes, papaws, watermelons, citrus and tobacco. However, Moro now solely grows mangoes.

Since 1990, he has also been a Partner in the successful business, Moro Auto Repairs.

Shaw said that Moro's appointment to the Growcom Board would be another great step forward in bringing horticulture growers from across Queensland together on key issues.

Two additional new faces on the Board

At Growcom’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 11 November, Growcom also bid farewell to two longstanding Directors, Lorelle McShane from Dalbeg and Kent West from the Fassifern Valley who have retired from the Board after having served their maximum terms of eight years.

“Lorelle and Kent have both worked hard for the industry over the years and helped guide Growcom through some very challenging times. We will miss their passion, their industry knowledge and their camaraderie on the Board,” Shaw said.

The Annual General Meeting also saw the election of new Directors, Belinda Adams, co-owner of Coastal Hydroponics vegetable farming business on the Gold Coast and Sharron Windolf, co-owner of Windolf Farms near Gatton.

Windolf plays an integral role in the management and success of Windolf Farms in partnership with husband and dedicated vegetable farmer, Paul, and other family members.

Windolf Farms produces lettuce, broccoli, parsnips, washed potatoes, pumpkins and watermelons for export and supermarkets in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. 

Windolf has lived in farming areas of South East Queensland for most of her life and became involved in production horticulture on marrying Paul. They have four children.

She has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Southern Queensland and is Secretary of the Lockyer Valley Growers Association.

Adams was originally a primary school teacher for ten years before joining the family farming business, Coastal Hydroponics on the Gold Coast. The business supplies herbs and packaged leaf salads to Coles. She entered the business to take over the Quality Assurance program and was then promoted to the Production Manager’s role.

Adams has been the Queensland representative on the board of EnviroVeg, a program dedicated to creating a profitable vegetable industry based on environmentally sustainable production available through Ausveg. She participated in Growcom’s young growers leadership program, Next Gen, in 2011 and has also taken part in professional development training programs for Quality Assurance.

Adams has been keenly involved in Growcom’s Women in Horticulture program and was awarded a bursary for professional development within the industry in 2012.

She was awarded Ausveg Horticultural Woman of the Year in 2013 and Grower of the Year in 2014.

“We congratulate both women and look forward to their contribution in achieving the success of the Growcom business in the months and years ahead,” said Shaw. “Growcom forges on, enriched by the diversity and talent on our Board, and always focussed on doing the very best for our growers across Queensland.”