Ormond growers reign supreme at Freshies

The Supreme Award winners in the annual Freshies grower awards were Ormond couple Charlie (second from left) and Vivienne Mills (right). They are pictured with First Fresh chief executive Ian Albers and awards emcee and TV personality Brodie Kane. Picture by Brennan Thomas, Strike Photography

Gisborne-based fruit marketer First Fresh hosted its annual Freshies grower awards night and the Supreme Award winners were Ormond couple Charlie and Vivienne Mills.

The awards acknowledge those who achieve the most outstanding performance across a range of citrus and persimmons over the past 12 months.

“We have an amazing bunch of dedicated loyal growers who we love working with,” First Fresh chief executive Ian Albers said. “This event is our way of saying thank you.”

As well as the Supreme Award, the Mills family also won category awards for navel oranges and Valencia oranges and were a finalist in the tangelo category.

They were presented with the trophy by emcee and guest speaker Brodie Kane, who entertained the crowd with some of her life experiences such as long-distance running, competing in  Dancing with the Stars NZ and a stint in the army in her late teens.

“Brodie has a great Gisborne connection, having worked as a lifeguard here for a couple of summers, and that resonated well with the Gisborne crowd,” Mr Albers said.

In his address on the night, he acknowledged the effort and tenacity shown by all growers given the weather conditions and challenges over the last year-and-a-half.

“Last year when I said this had been the toughest season ever, I lied,” he said. “2023 made the 2022 season look like a walk in the park.”

The focus of the night was about looking forward and being positive, he said.

Awards were handed out for nine varieties of citrus and there was also a persimmons category.

Jack Jefferd won Young Grower of the Year while Most Improved went to Grant and Linda Fussell.

Growers were resplendent in a range of citrus-themed clothing, having embraced the call to dress up.