Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco : West Mathison Appointed to Seattle Branch Federal Reserve Board

January 14, 2016

Seattle, WA - The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has appointed West Mathison, president and CEO of Wenatchee-based Stemilt Growers LLC, to the Seattle Branch board of directors. The appointment was effective January 1, 2016. Mr. Mathison was appointed to provide insights on his respective business sector and offer observations on the economy.

Mr. Mathison is part of the fifth generation of Mathison family farmers and has led the family-owned company since 2005. Stemilt is one of nation's largest tree fruit companies and is a leading grower/packer/shipper of fresh apples, pears, cherries and summer fruits. The company is the nation's leading shipper of sweet cherries and a large supplier of organic tree fruit. Mr. Mathison oversees agricultural operations in Washington and some in California.

Under Mr. Mathison's leadership, Stemilt has released new proprietary apple varieties such as Piñata® and SweeTango® and acquired a large fruit company. Stemilt has also made land purchases to extend the company's seasonality on cherries and availability of up-and-coming apple varieties.

Mr. Mathison is on the boards of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, Washington Apple Commission, and the Keeping it in the Valley Foundation.

Other members of the Seattle Branch board include Scott L. Morris (Chair), Avista Corp.; Nicole W. Piasecki, Boeing Commercial Airplanes; Craig Dawson, Retail Lockbox; Greg C. Leeds, Wizards of the Coast; Sophie Minich, Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI); and Carol K. Nelson, KeyBank.

Matthew Schiffgens
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
[phone]

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, with branch offices in Los Angeles, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Portland, and a cash processing office in Phoenix, provides wholesale banking services to financial institutions throughout the nine western states. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates monetary policy, serves as a bank regulator, administers certain consumer protection laws, and is fiscal agent for the U.S. government. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/sffed.