It was personalities before policy to kick off the six-day 2023 National Potato Council Washington Summit — and one particular person whose calm, caring and thoughtful demeanor won him recognition he didn’t expect, as Amy Sowder reports for The Packer.
A fourth-generation potato grower from Van Buren, Maine, Dominic LaJoie’s way of handling tough issues and industry relationships earned him The Packer’s 2023 Potato Person of the Year.
As he accepted the award, LaJoie said how much he appreciated those who helped maintain his family business, LaJoie Growers, and his home while he traveled. He thanked his friends in the potato industry who supported him as well.
“I’m very humbled right now and kind of speechless,” LaJoie said at the NPC annual meeting of the voting delegates and awards dinner.
For more than 15 years, LaJoie has served on the Maine Potato Board — spending two years as president of that organization — as well as the Maine Seed Potato Board. Then he served on the National Potato Council for more than eight years.
Source: The Packer. Full story here
Photo:
Dominic LaJoie wins the The Packer’s 2023 Potato Person of the Year award at the National Potato Council’s Washington Summit. Photo credit: Amy Sowder
