Hard work pays off for young growers

Regan Judd has been awarded the Hawke's Bay Young Fruit Grower of the Year. Photo / Supplied

Hard work and perseverance has earned two young growers regional titles at the 2021 Young Grower of the Year competition.

Heather Feetham, production manager at T&G Fresh, and Regan Judd, orchard foreman at T&G Global, were respectively awarded Pukekohe Young Grower of the Year and Hawke's Bay Young Fruit Grower of the Year.

T&G global chief executive, Gareth Edgecombe, says the winning results reflect their commitment, hard work and perseverance.

"We're incredibly proud of Heather and Regan for their determination and drive to lead Aotearoa's horticulture industry forward. They are the future leaders of our industry and we're honoured to have them in our team," Edgecombe said.

"At T&G we believe that success is all about our people, so to see Heather and Regan flourishing at these competitions across the country brings great pride to everyone within our business."

Edgecombe says in early 2019, T&G Global introduced a well-researched performance framework to create a high-performance environment that enables people and teams to perform at their best.

Heather Feetham was awarded Pukekohe Young Grower of the Year. Photo / Supplied

"We're focused on creating a workplace where our people can grow and reach the greatest of their potential. That's why we've invested in initiatives to develop our people throughout our company. This has included our Emerging Leaders Programme, which Heather and Regan have completed.

"This programme is developing our frontline and future leaders, growing their confidence and leadership capabilities. As shown by Heather and Regan, the programme has created incredible value for our people and T&G."

Throughout the Young Grower of the Year competition, contestants were assessed on numerous modules and had to give a speech on a range of topics covering the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.

"The horticulture industry holds great talent, and to see T&G's young leaders pave the way forward throughout the competition makes our whole team very proud. They're absolutely a credit to T&G," he said.

Feetham and Judd will compete in the national Young Grower of the Year competition in Wellington on September 22-23 with five other regional finalists