10 anniversary for Bart Minor: serving up mushrooms since 1998.

April 2008 marks Bart Minor's 10-year anniversary as the Mushroom Council president and chief executive officer. Over the past decade, Minor has led the Mushroom Council through both challenging and prosperous times by focusing on raising mushrooms' market share and value and advocating research to build awareness of mushrooms' health benefits.

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Last year, Minor was at the helm as the Mushroom Council completed its first full year of marketing following the five-year silence that stemmed from the Supreme Court ruling against the Council's check-off advertising program. With the ruling overturned, the Mushroom Council renewed its efforts to reach Americans with new messages about mushrooms' versatility, health benefits and proper saute method, encouraging consumers to use mushrooms "every day, every way."

As a result of invigorated efforts to reach consumers through the media and in-store promotions, as well as outreach to the foodservice and retail industry, total fresh mushroom shipments in 2007 exceeded any prior year reported to the Mushroom Council at higher than forecasted prices.

But long before the dark period came to a close, Minor was strategically planning for the future by turning the Council's focus to research rather than generic consumer messaging. Research with the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, CA. was one of the first opportunities Minor encouraged the Council to pursue in 2001.

"The findings of the City of Hope study and other research projects Bart urged us to support are the foundation of our successful efforts to promote the health benefits of mushrooms," says Curtis Jurgensmeyer, chairman of the Mushroom Council from 2006 through 2007. "If Bart wouldn't have shifted our attention to research back then, we wouldn't be where we are today."

Minor's ability to innovatively and productively approach obstacles was evident when he was chosen to lead the organization. Jim Angelucci, manager of Phillips Mushrooms and a board member who voted to hire Minor, remembers, "Bart clearly stood out as the superior candidate. It was evident that he had the ability to bring the contractors together behind one cohesive program."

Angelucci also admires Minor for his tenacity during a challenging season. "If I were in Bart's position when the Supreme Court ruling came down, I would have probably found a different job," said Angelucci. "There's tremendous pressure to make mushrooms the 300-pound gorilla. He looks outside of the box and seems to like mushrooms even more than those of us growing them."

Before joining the Mushroom Council, Minor worked with the California Prune Board and the California Tomato Commission. He was an active member of the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association (UFFVA) and Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and was a founding member of the 5-A-Day campaign. Minor holds undergraduate and MBA degrees from Santa Clara University.