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McTeer, Three Other Florida Citrus Leaders Honored
Lakeland Ledger – March 6, 2010
LAKELAND | Harold McTeer was so successful selling agricultural chemicals he is one of only 15 people in the worldwide DuPont Crop Production Sales and Marketing Hall of Fame.
But more than 300 Florida citrus industry people on Friday honored McTeer, 77, not for sales made but for contributions to the industry for which he received not a dime.
McTeer of Winter Haven joined the late Earl “Duke” Crittenden of Orlando, the late Bernard Egan of Fort Pierce and Howard Sorrells, 83, of Arcadia in the 2010 class for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame at Florida Southern College in Lakeland.
Quentin Roe of Wm. G. Roe & Sons Inc., a Winter Haven citrus grower and packinghouse operator, recalled being introduced to McTeer as “one of the most mild-mannered, kindest, gentle people you’ll ever meet in this industry. Not only that, he’s one of the finest thinkers.”
A lifelong citrus grower who was born and raised in Haines City, McTeer worked for DuPont for 27 years, not just selling herbicides and other chemicals, but advising growers on the best methods to use them.
He earned a reputation as the “go-to guy” on grove caretaking issues and would not hesitate to recommend a competitor’s product if that would best address the problems, according to his hall biography.
Perhaps McTeer’s greatest contribution has been his willingness to donate dozens of acres of his groves to scientists at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, where he studied and was briefly employed as a young man.
Researchers used the acreage primarily to test whether new citrus tree varieties they developed could be used in Florida for commercial production. It was also used for citrus canker research.
One Lake Alfred researcher, geneticist Jude Grosser, said McTeer was one of a handful of family growers willing to donate land while expecting nothing in return.
No longer able to speak because of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” son-in-law John Walker read McTeer’s acceptance speech.
“I am grateful I was able to contribute to our industry and that I was able to donate land and resources to assist in research projects,” he said. “I would challenge the upcoming generations of citrus growers to give back to our industry as well.”
As a grower and packinghouse owner, Egan pioneered the marketing of fresh citrus in the U.S. and abroad.
Known as the “godfather of grapefruit,” Bernard Egan & Company in Fort Pierce led the way in opening markets in Europe and Japan. The latter is now the world’s largest consumer of Florida grapefruit.
Egan created DNE World Fruit Sales, which has become the largest U.S. marketer of fresh citrus products and a leading exporter.
“He had a lot of passion for the product,” said his stepson, Greg Nelson, now the DNE president.
Crittenden was involved in all aspects of Florida citrus from growing, harvesting, packing, juice processing and trucking operations for more than 50 years, according to his hall biography.
As a member of many citrus organizations, including the Florida Citrus Commission, and as chairman of the Florida Republican Party beginning in 1969, he played a major role in protecting the industry’s interests before state and federal government agencies.
Crittenden was known for colorful language, much of which cannot be printed in a family newspaper, his hall biography noted. One that can: “You can shear a sheep many times, but you can only skin it once.”
Sorrells, an Arcadia grower who once ran one of the 10 largest packinghouses in Florida, was recognized for his eight years on the Citrus Commission that ended in 1998, the last four years as its chairman.
He is credited with leading the way on new marketing programs that increased per-capita U.S. orange juice production by 20 percent. That included the health-and-wellness theme the Florida Department of Citrus still uses in its advertising.
[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-422-6800. ]
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