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Michigan woman leads a national apple group

By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

BELDING, Mich. — Julia Rothwell of Grand Rapids, Mich., recently was named vice chair of the U.S. Apple Assoc. (USAA) board of directors. She has served as a member of the board since 2003, and next August, she will head it.

She enjoys working to further the industry that she has been part of her whole life. “I want to contribute to an industry that has given me so much. I have spent my entire life in the industry,” Rothwell said. “I have a passion for the welfare of the growers.”

The daughter of Fred and Kathleen Baehre, Rothwell was born into the apple industry, and it has been in her blood ever since. Her father was attending a Farm Bureau meeting the night she was born 53 years ago. Congressman, and later president, Gerald R. Ford was a guest at the meeting.

“I was always able to tell people that the future President Ford congratulated my dad on the birth of his daughter,” she said.
Rothwell’s great-great grandparents emigrated to the United States around 1860 and eventually settled in the Fruit Ridge area, about 15 miles northwest of Grand Rapids, Mich.

Originally livestock farmers, they planted their first fruit trees on the ridge around the turn of the century.

Their original venture into the fruit industry was raising peaches. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the Baehre family began planting apple trees in large numbers.

Rothwell has many fond memories of growing up on “the ridge.” She and her three sisters and one brother spent much of their youth working in the packinghouse for the 400-acre orchard. Rothwell said she wouldn’t trade those experiences.

“All of my siblings and I worked from a very young age on the farm. We picked cherries – not a favorite. We couldn’t wait to graduate to the shaking crews so we wouldn’t have to pick cherries anymore,” she said. “We sold peaches by the side of the road. We pulled suckers, brush and thinned apples.

“We never picked apples. We weren’t skilled enough for that – plus, we were in school during apple harvest time. But, I packed enough apples to make up for not picking them.”

These experiences and others contributed to the passion Rothwell has for the apple industry. She works tirelessly at both the state and national levels to promote it and educate people about key industry issues.

She and her husband, Mike, are part owners of Belding Fruit Storage. Mike also is president and general manager of Belding Fruit Storage and BelleHarvest Sales in Belding.

In 2001, Rothwell was appointed to the Michigan Apple Committee by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

She has served as the board’s third member, vice chair and chair, representing Muskegon, Newaygo, Ionia, Montcalm and eastern Kent counties. In addition, Rothwell has accompanied foreign buyers and legislators to area orchards and packinghouses.
She currently is working with schools, encouraging school districts to include apples in their school lunch programs.

Members of the USAA elected Rothwell to the organization’s board in 2003. Twenty-five individuals are elected annually, representing the nation’s apple-producing regions.

As the largest producing states, Washington, New York and Michigan have the largest number of representatives on the board. Michigan has four members: Rothwell, Denise Donohue of DeWitt, Joe Klein of Sparta and Fred Leitz of Sodus.

The organization is committed to serving the entire United States apple industry by representing it on national issues, increasing demand for apples and related products and providing information on matters pertaining to the apple industry.

In addition to serving as vice chair, Rothwell is chair of the USAA Public Affairs Committee. In that role, she developed and coordinates a now-annual legislative visit each year in Washington, D.C. Several growers participate in the event, which is aimed at educating legislators about key issues and concerns.

“We visit all Michigan Congressional and Senate offices,” Rothwell said. “We educate the legislators on the concerns that are specific to the apple industry. I have participated in many of these trips throughout the years, so I have seen firsthand the importance of the industry meeting face-to-face with their legislators.”

Donohue is also executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, and has worked with Rothwell for several years.
“Julia has spent her lifetime in this industry, and she truly has the growers’ best interests at heart,” she said. “She has been very valuable to the industry in ways that maybe the industry doesn’t recognize.

She alerts everybody about what is going on. She is a grower and board member who understands the importance of political connectedness.”

Donohue said Rothwell has been instrumental in developing relationships between growers and state and national legislators.
“She’s really plugged into political issues,” she added. “She is really passionate about reaching out and educating folks.”

12/2/2009