A Haggen Food and Pharmacy produce sales manager was honored for 50 years in the grocery industry Aug. 2.
Jerry Callahan, vice president of produce for Albertsons, the parent company of Bellingham, Wash.,-based Haggen, gave Lee Reynolds the Passion for Produce Award, celebrating his 50 years of service in the grocery industry, 45 of which were with Haggen, according to a news release.
Reynolds began his career in 1967 at a Washington Thriftway and then moved to a Washington Albertsons as assistant produce manager. In August, he was hired as the produce manager at the Haggen on Meridian Street in Bellingham, Wash. He has been the head of produce there since 1988.
John Clougher, group vice president of Haggen, said in the release that Reynolds' relationships with local farmers go back to his first days with Haggen, and those connections have resulted in exclusive product launches of proprietary items such as PureHeart mini watermelons, Cotton Candy grapes, organic black seedless watermelon, Campari tomatoes, Opal apples, Honeycrisp apples and many more.
Reynolds doesn't have plans to retire.
“I'm still enjoying myself doing what I do best, and working with some of the best people in the business,” he said in the release. “I'll just take it one year at a time, until my wife tells me it's time to quit.”