Packer Corp.

Tad Thompson has been writing about the produce industry since 1977, when he started a seven-year stint as Eastern editor of The Packer newspaper. He then worked on major produce industry accounts for Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations in New York City and Atlanta. He then launched Thompson Communications, which has been active since 1987. He's worked from the Philadelphia area since 1990. With Thompson Communications, he has reported for many national and international produce, foodservice and grocery publications, while also working with private industry to develop communications programs. Through the 1990s, in partnership with Champ Publishing in Los Angeles, he published International Produce Journal. IPJ reporting led to travel to five continents, with an emphasis on Central America. Tad also focused on terminal markets by publishing The Receiver magazine through the mid- 1990s. Tad, who has freelanced for The Produce News for many years, was named eastern editor in November 2003. He is the father to two teenagers, is a swimming official and is an avid sailor.