WENATCHEE — The Washington State Apple Blossom Festival is a giant celebration of all things apples – but it has more serious aspects as well, like recognizing those who contribute to the community. People like West Mathison, CEO of Stemilt Orchards as the 2024 Apple Blossom Citizen of the Year. 

“During West’s tenure Stemilt has grown its footprint in apples, pears, cherries and organic tree fruits and solidified its position as a tree fruit leader focused on “cultivating people and delighting consumers through excellence” with World Famous Fruit. Stemilt celebrates its 60th year in business in 2024,” the Apple Blossom Festival organization announced a few weeks ago.

It isn’t necessarily just business acumen that lent itself to Mathison being chosen though. The statement said a great deal of his selection had to do with his dedication to his staff and to the tree fruit industry as a whole. 

Under Mathison’s leadership, Stemilt worked with Confluence Health to offer all employees and their dependents free, on-site health care through the Stemilt Family Clinic which has about 5,000 visits annually. Routine health care is free and prescription drugs are provided at no cost to staff.

Dedication to the industry comes in a variety of ways. Mathison is president of the Washington Horticulture Association and has served on the Eastern Washington Advisory Council; has been recognized by the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs – earning the Community Collaboration Award in the process. He’s also a member of the Washington Apple Commission, along with a laundry list of other community involvement activities. 

Mathison himself looks at his and Stemilt’s roles in the industry and associated community as just doing the right thing and being part of the community. He was actually surprised when he received the award. He’d gone to the ceremony expecting that a friend from high school, Ben Paine, would be getting an award, he said. 

Instead, Paine presented him with the Citizen of the Year title.

“Someone from Apple Blossom called my wife and said that Ben Paine, my friend from high school, was going to get an award, and I’m like, ‘Okay, great.’ And then, all of a sudden, I see Ben go up on stage and he starts talking and I go, ‘This night is going very differently than the way I expected,’” Mathison said. 

While he said he’s honored by the award, he said what led to it was simply doing the right thing for the tree fruit-growing community. 

“I’ve grown up in this industry and seen it evolve, and just understanding how companies interact with communities. … When you have a community culture, in the business environment, it creates this really neat chemistry where businesses really think about the bigger picture of not just when their team members are at work, but also being aware of their lives at home and their lives in the community,” he said. 

It’s also about things like bringing people into the community that help it thrive and taking care of them once they’re part of the community, he said. That’s why Stemilt is committed to recruiting carefully both locally and abroad. The company works with Cierto, an international staffing firm that helps Stemilt recruit from Mexico while ensuring all of the workers have proper H2A visas. 

Once those workers come on board, Mathison said it’s important that they’re taken care of. Many of the international workers are facing financial challenges and require access to health care. 

“(Cierto) teaches people about life plans and setting life goals. (They let them know), ‘You’re going to make $25,000 in a six-month period. This is more money than you’ve ever made in your life, and so you need to have a goal before you leave your home. So, that’s what’s going to inspire you to keep going because you’re going to miss your family,’” he said. 

Providing easily accessible and affordable health care is a must, Mathison said. The work staff do in orchards is vital but it’s also physical. Having access to free health care improves their quality of life and ensures they can return each year. 

Mathison said he’s seen the difference Stemilt’s approach makes. One example is a man who was living in a three-walled structure in Mexico with his family when he first started working for the company. After his first year working for Stemilt, he was able to buy a car for his family. Soon, his house was finished and he now lives in a multi-story, multigenerational home and other family members have come on board at Stemilt. 

“These are the types of things that sort of inspire me to say, ‘We’re in the business of growing fruit, but we can do it in a way that transforms the lives who touch the fruit to provide an economic opportunity for the growers that we work with and for the consumers who eat the fruit,” he said. 

His passion also lies in the fruit though. 

“I think there are two things that inspire me. One is the product, the fruit itself, and (the other) is the people who work with it. And so, at lunch, I had an organic cosmic crisp (apple), and you know, it was potentially one of the best apple eating experiences I’ve had in my life and it just brought me joy. I got excited about it, you know,” he said.

Being a part of the community in Wenatchee and the Columbia Basin is important to Mathison. It’s about fostering a culture of support and involvement. 

“The word culture comes from the root word of cultivate, and because the people are the ones who grow the fruit, we’re really growing people and giving them the experience and the tools and the right information for them to be successful at work. … I always tell people that when folks are cultivated in their jobs, that they’re given good information and good tools and good training, they’re going to make better decisions,” he said.