The Washington Apple Commission is recruiting an additional export manager to help the ­commission work more closely with its ­representatives in overseas markets.

The new person will assist existing Export Manager Rebecca Baerveldt. Together, they will develop and implement new strategies for Washington apple promotions in overseas markets and communicate more frequently with the commission’s 13 representatives, said President Todd Fryhover.
"Obviously, doing it daily is difficult because of the time difference, but we should be talking to these people every single week," he said. "We should know what’s going on in every market at any specific time, and we should be evaluating these programs."

The commission is seeking someone with a marketing background and a willingness to travel abroad, Fryhover said. "They will need to travel extensively and appreciate the multicultural aspect of our jobs."
Fryhover aims to improve the flow of information from export markets back to the commission and make it available to the industry through a password-protected Web page that will be available in the fall.

The Web site will allow marketers to access information about all of the markets where the commission promotes apples. There’ll be an overview of each market, shipment figures by variety and season, the commission’s promotional plan, and reports from the representatives, including a log of what they’re doing and whom they’re meeting with.

"I want everybody to see everything we have," ­Fryhover said. "The back end of the Web site is going to become a communication tool not only between ourselves and the reps, but between the reps and ourselves, and industry, and ultimately the growers. They need to know what’s going on in our industry."