CPMA names 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient

Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) BB #:153602 today announced Sam Silvestro as the recipient of the 2023 CPMA Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes individuals who make significant contributions to the fresh produce industry.

Sam has been working in the industry for forty years. He is currently an executive consultant for national brands and has previously held senior roles at Sobeys and Walmart Canada, including special projects manager, director of produce, and director of merchandising.

He has been involved in a number of government committees on food safety and import and export of food products and also served on several boards including CPMA and Ontario Produce Marketing Association.

Sam will be presented with the award alongside other industry members and businesses on Thursday, April 27 at CPMA’s Convention and Trade Show in Toronto.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with Sam on the CPMA Board and experienced, firsthand, his passion and dedication to advance our industry,” says Ron Lemaire, CPMA President. “As CPMA’s Chair in 2016-2017, Sam helped the Association to develop new educational tools for our members and created a role dedicated to identifying food safety knowledge gaps within the industry. He also helped us launch the fruit and vegetable policy statement to increase Canadians’ fresh produce consumption.” 

CPMA members can learn more about the history of the CPMA Lifetime Achievement award, including a complete list of previous winners, in the Produce + membership directory on community.cpma.ca.

For more information, please contact:
Micken Kokonya
Manager, Communications and Market Research, CPMA

Cell: 613-878-3312
Email: mkokonya@cpma.ca

About the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA):

Based in Ottawa, Ontario, CPMA is a not-for-profit organization that represents a diverse membership made up of every segment of the produce industry supply chain who are responsible for 90% of the fresh fruit and vegetable sales in Canada. CPMA is fortunate to represent a sector that is both a significant economic driver for communities and that also improves the health and productivity of Canadians.

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