Company Newsletter

February 2020 | Page 1

New Horizon Early Childhood Education Center

Written by Araceli Rivera, Director of NHECEC

We are a Christian Early Learning Center. During circle time, we teach the principle of God’s love, read the appropriate Bible passages for each age, and pray for families and peace unto the world. We also teach our kids to give thanks for their food before meals. Our main objective in this place is emotional security for children based on love and understanding. It is equally important for us to give families the security and tranquility they need. Our center is licensed for 77

children from 40 days of age to 5 years old. We have plans for each stage of development, working closely with the needs of children in all areas such as health, hygiene, physical, cognitive, language and literacy among others. Every 3 months, after evaluating the growth and development of children, we meet with their families to monitor progress. Themes are changed weekly, allowing children to learn to connect with the real world. We are proud to serve families and do work that impacts the lives of each child.

Matching Fund

Over 5 years ago, the matching fund program was introduced at FirstFruits Farms. The program, overseen by a committee, gives employees facing a death in family or medical emergency an opportunity to fundraise money with a matching contribution of up to $1,000 by the company. Two of our committee members have resigned from the committee in order to focus on their new and expanding roles in the company. Laura Meza (left) and Jesus Gonzales (right) have both served 5 years on the board. During their time on the Matching Fund Committee, they contributed their whole heart, love, and compassion for families who have benefited from this program. Ko Htoo has been nominated to fill one of the empty seats of the board. Two other nominees will be asked to fill the remaining seats.

Payroll Changes

In January and February, our payroll department will be rolling out a new system of payment. Every employee in the orchard, community, and warehouse will be enrolled in direct deposit or given a U.S. Bank Focus Card for their funds to be deposited in. Steve Bradbury, Payroll Manager, emphasized the importance that every employee has access to their funds on payday. “No more waiting in lines or paying a fee to cash their checks,” he said. We are excited to get started with this great program and for our employees to see all of the benefits their focus cards have to offer.

Happy Valentines Day!

“We love because he first

loved us”

_ 1 John 4:19

Vista Hermosa, a FirstFruits Community

Name that Building

Name 3 out of 6 of

the buildings above

to be entered to win

a prize. Visit the front

desk to enter.

Orchard Updates

FirstFruits Farms is well into the pruning season. We are also preparing for grafting in the Spring. Come April, Wallula will be grafting Cosmic Crisp, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady branches into trunks that are being chopped down now. We have many orchard employees who have become experts in caring for our trees over the years. It makes important agricultural processes so much easier to have employees who know what they are doing and are able to train new employees that onboard. “This ranch is so blessed with dedicated [employees]. It makes working here a pleasure to be around people that have spent 20-30 years [of their lives] working here, “ said Joe Shelton, Prescott Orchard Manager.

Company Newsletter

February 2020 | Page 2

Employee Recognition

In January, the following employees were recognized for exceeding expectations from their managers. We thank them for being excellent employees and role models to their peers. All supervisors are encouraged to reward employees modeling the spirit and values of FirstFruits Farms.

Blue Line:

Petra Balderas, Santa Elena Andrade

Red Line:

Aida Maya, Marina Ramirez, Maritza Sandoval, Guadalupe Gonzalez, Pedro Porras, Carmen Rolon, Olivia Solis, Elio Guido

Sanitation:

Enrique Ortiz, Isai Reyes, Javier Perez

Receiving:

Chino Martinez, Angel Nateras, Jesus Flores

Prescott Orchard:

Mariano Balbuena, Isaías Lopez, Bulmaro Barragan, Jesús Tello, Carlos Prado, Marcelino España, Donato Nava, Rafael Quiroz, Pedro Reyes, Jesús Hernandez, José Flores, Gerardo Andrade, Salvador Garcia, Guadalupe Campos, Vicente Garcia, Ricardo Lopez, Juan José Iglesias, Arturo Iglesias, Alfonso Flores, Antonio Soria, Faustino Diaz, Manuel Valdovinos, Sergio Garcia, Armando Iglesias, Yolanda Nava, Luis Caro, Juan Ortega, Saul Flores, R.C. Perez, Ismael Gutierrez

Injury Free Workplace

In 2019, the injury free workplace incentive was introduced to all departments of the warehouse. Congratulations to Receiving, Shipping, Refrigeration, Maintenance, Red Line and Silver Line for meeting their 150 day goal of no injuries. An injury free day is defined as a shift with no injuries causing a medical reason not to return to work the next day, or more, depending on severity. The Red and Silver

Lines won the challenge for 2019, having the most injury free work days!

Red Line Upgrade

Our red packing line, established in 2003, has recently been updated with four brand new poly/pouch baggers. The addition of this machinery increases the capacity of the packing line and can quickly meet customer demands with the ability to switch from poly to pouch bags. In the past, this work was done by hand, a time consuming and labor intensive process. In April, we will be demoing fully automated baggers with an installation plan for May in mind. We look forward to further modernizations and meeting the unique needs of our valued customers.

Accounting

Written by Brinna Rischen, Controller

The accounting department is in full-swing with year end processes: checking and making sure the financial transactions entered during the prior year are correct, working with the auditors who go over our financial records to make sure they are accurate, preparing the annual financial statements, preparing the 401K plan audit, issuing quarterly and annual payroll reports and employee forms like W-2’s . These are just some of our responsibilities while keeping up with the day-to-day work of recording the apple sales and paying bills.

Many thanks to our talented and dedicated staff who keep the financial department running so smoothly and with smiles on their faces.

In Good Times and in Grief

On January 6, we lost a long time community member and employee at FirstFruits Farms and the Vista Hermosa Community. Elena Zavaleta blessed us with her presence for over 20 years. Together, FFF and FFC united to raise money in support of her loved ones during this time. From the community taco fundraiser that sold over 100 orders of tacos, the blue line posole sale, to the matching fund contributions of the company, we all came together for a person who was loved dearly by her FirstFruits family.