Bruce Allen
Bruce is President of Columbia Reach Pack in Yakima.  He also owns, or is in partnerships, farming 1200 acres of apples, pears and cherries.  He has served on the Tree Top Board since 1994.  Bruce earned a B.A. degree in Economics from Whitman College and attended the State University of New York at Albany.  He is a past Chairman of both the Washington Horticultural Association and the Washington State Apple Commission and has served on the Tree Fruit research Commission.  Allen is a member and past President of the Yakima Pom Club and a graduate of the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Leadership Program.  Allen also serves on the Highland School District Board.

Tom Auvil
Tom is a research horticulturist with the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission and is also active in the management of the family’s 50-acre orchard.  He previously supervised Field Services for the Trout/Blue Chelan Cooperative for about 21 years.  He has served on the Tree Top Board since 1988 and served two years as Chairman.  Tom received a BS degree in Horticulture from Washington State University.

Auvil is a member of the North Central Washington Fieldmen’s Association, the Washington State Horticultural Association and the International Dwarf Fruit Tree Association.  Tom has also served on the Orondo School Board since 1986-2002. 

John Borton
John is an owner of Borton and Sons, Inc., near Yakima, where he teams with his cousin Bill Borton to farm 4,000 acres of apples and pears.  The operation packs and sells over four million boxes of apples and pears annually.  John is the majority owner in the Apple Tree Golf Course and Real Estate Development.  He has served on the Tree Top Board since 1986 including two years as Chairman.   He holds degrees in Business Administration and Chemistry from Seattle Pacific University.   Borton is active in the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association, the Washington State Horticultural Association and it’s Grade and Pack Committee, the Washington, Oregon, California Pear Bureau, and WAGMA (Washington Apple Growers Marketing Association).

George Chapman
George is the owner and operator of an apple and pear orchard located near Brewster.  He previously served for 34 years as the General Manager of MAGI, Inc., a cooperative located in Brewster.  George has been on the Tree Top Board since 1981 and served two years as Chairman.  He received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Central Washington University and also attended the University of Washington.   Chapman is a Director and past Chairman of Northwest Wholesale and is also a past Chairman of North Central Washington Bank.

Ray Colbert
Ray owns 325 acres of apple and pear orchard property near Tonasket and has been an active orchardist for 52 years.  He previously managed cooperative fruit packing firms for four years.  Ray also owned and managed his own packing firm for fourteen years.  He is the senior member of the Tree Top Board of Directors having served there since 1972.   For four of those years, Ray served as Board Chairman.   He is a former member of the North Valley Hospital Board of Commissioners and previously served twelve years as a Public Utility District Commissioner.  Colbert is also a 48-year member of Kiwanis.

Darrell Collins
Darrell is an orchardist who owns and operates 90 acres of apples and pears near Monitor.  He is also active, along with his wife Janet Collins, in the management of a fruit-packing operation in Monitor which resulted from the 1995 merger of the packing facilities of Collins Fruit Company and Bardin Farms.  Darrell is a Vietnam Veteran who served four years in the U.S. Navy as a radio-man.   Following his military service, Collins returned to school and received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Washington State University.  He is a current member of the Washington Horticultural Association.  A Tree Top Board member since 1990, Darrell is a Wenatchee native who was raised in the Cashmere area.

Dick Cowin
Dick is an owner in a 200 acre fruit growing, packing and storage operation located near Wapato.  The operation, which focuses on apples, pears and cherries was started by his grandfather, Earle Cowin in the early 1900’s.   He also owns, or is partner in, an additional 320 acres devoted to apple and pears.  Dick has served on the Tree Top Board of Directors since 1987 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from Washington State University.  Dick is a past President of the Washington State Horticultural Association, the Cherry Institute and the Yakima Pom Club. He is also a past Cherry King.

Ray Keller
Ray manages the family-owned Apple King LLC in Gleed.  This grower-packer-shipper operation raises apples, pears and cherries on 750 acres.  Ray has been a Tree Top director since 1987 and is a past Chairman of the Board.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Economics from Washington State University.  Ray is past chairman of the U.S. Apple Association.  He serves as President of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association.  Keller is a also past Director of United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association, the Washington Growers League and Farm Credit Services.

Dick Olsen
Dick is a partner, with his brother Larry, in Olsen Brothers Ranches which is located near Prosser and operates a diversified ranch of apples, hops and grapes.  Dick has been a Tree Top Director since 1988.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Washington.  Dick is a past President of the Washington State Horticultural Association and a past Chairman for both the Benton Conservation Commission and the Benton County Clean Water Authority.    He has previously served as a Washington State Wine Commissioner and formerly a Director of Appellation Yakima.  Olsen is also past Director of Prosser Memorial Hospital.

Doug Stockwell
Doug is a Partner and the General Manager of the Highland Partnership, a 1,000 acre fruit growing operation located near Bridgeport.  He also owns and manages Orondo Orchards which includes 100 acres of apple and cherry orchards near Orondo.   He has been a Tree Top Director since 1994 and served as Tree Top’s Chairman of the Board from 2000 - 2002.   Doug holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Washington State University.  He is on the Board of Trustees of the Washington Growers League and is President of the Cameo Apple Marketing Association.  

Roger Strand
Roger is President of Strand Apples, Inc., a family-owned corporation with several hundred acres in the Tieton-Cowiche area.  The warehousing portion of the operation handles fruit for approximately 40 additional growers.  Roger previously taught in the Seattle Public Schools for nine years.  Roger has served on the Tree Top Board since 1983 and is a past Chairman.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Washington.  Roger belongs to the Washington State Horticultural Association, the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association and is a Director of the Washington Apple Education Foundation.  Roger is also a member of the Yakima County Ag. Task Force, is a former member of the Washington State Apple Commission, and served 20 years on the Highland School Board.

Fred Valentine
Fred owns and operates 15 acres of apples and pears near Wenatchee.  He is also employed as a Field Man by Stemilt Growers.  Fred has previous experience as a Field Man for Dole Northwest for eight years, and as Production Manager for Blue Star Growers for 30 years.  He has served on the Tree Top Board since 1983.   Fred attended Wenatchee Valley College.  He is past President of the Washington State Horticultural Association and is also a past President of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission.  Fred is currently a member of the North Central Washington Fieldmen’s Association.