Jeff Send, a leader in the cherry industry for decades, received another accolade at the Cherry Marketing Institute luncheon that was part of the orchard and vineyard show held Jan. 16-17.
Send, who joined his wife, Nita, in being named cherry industry person/couple of the year in 2017, was recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.
Send, a cherry grower and processor from Suttons Bay Township, is past chair and vice chair of CMI, and a former member of the Michigan Cherry Committee and the Cherry Industry Administrative Board. He’s known as an advocate for cherry growers who is unafraid to speak his mind about what’s good for the industry.
Nita Send is director of cherry promotion for the National Cherry Festival.
Also receiving a Distinguished Service Award was Mike Van Agtmael, a cherry grower from Hart who shared several years of leadership with Send on the CMI board. Van Agtmael was named cherry industry person of the year in 2014.
