The remarkable evolution from apprentice to visionary is a tale as old as time, a story often told to inspire those looking to enhance their career paths or reinvigorate their lives.
The recipient of this year’s Western Growers’ Award of Honor takes the myth and puts a human face on it. WG Board Member Sonny Rodriguez, the President and CEO of The Growers Company, has an inspiring legacy rooted in his family’s support and values, starting with his father, Joe L. Rodriguez, who – even with just an 8th grade education – profoundly influenced his son’s journey.
Understanding the value of hard work is best learned at a young age, and Rodriguez’s father made sure of that. Sonny’s first job was grueling and consisted of spending 12 to 14 hours a day picking up empty burlap sacks behind the onion grading crews—a task he describes as the “dirtiest and smelliest job” he’s ever had.
With his father’s wisdom and relentless drive influencing his path, Rodriguez achieved his goal of graduating from Arizona State University in 1975 with a degree in Business Administration. At the time, Rodriguez overlooked the significance of this accomplishment. “It didn’t dawn on me until later that I was a first-generation college graduate,” Rodriguez explained. “That’s a big deal.”
But that was only the beginning. After nearly 50 years of impacting and revolutionizing the fresh produce industry, Western Growers will honor Rodriguez at the 98th Annual Meeting in November. The Award of Honor is Western Growers’ highest recognition of achievement and is given to individuals who have contributed extensively to the agricultural community.
Rodriguez recalls the moment he found out he had been selected for this year’s Award of Honor at the Western Growers board meeting in Sacramento earlier this year.
“I was shocked. I looked up, and for the first time in my life, I was at a loss for words. I’m not a grower. This board is made
of growers and shippers, so never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I was going to get this award as a labor contractor,” Rodriguez said.
“The Western Growers Award of Honor is typically bestowed on the growers for whom this association was created in 1926,” said Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia. “This year, we break with that practice to honor Sonny Rodriguez. Sonny ensures that his customers – growers of fresh produce – can be confident that their crops will be expertly tended and harvested by skilled farm employees, and he does this with the highest commitment to integrity, ethical conduct and compassion for all.
“Sonny started working in the fields as a teenager and has never strayed from the values his father inculcated in him, none more important than treating every worker with dignity and respect.
Few in our industry have done as much to educate elected leaders and government officials about the many positive contributions – and the many challenges confronting – America’s fresh produce industry. He is a respected and well-known advocate for agricultural labor reform that would honor the work of our farm employees and bring rationality to the industry,” Puglia said.
With more than a half a century of experience in providing labor services to farmers in Arizona and California, Rodriguez is truly a man of the people, embodying integrity, fairness and opportunistic employment for all of his workers.
“There is a farm worker behind every piece of produce that we can buy at our convenience,” Rodriguez said. “I see what these workers go through, and I’ve gotten to know them on a personal level. I want everyone to appreciate what they do, and that’s why I became a champion of protecting the farmworkers.”
Founded by his father Joe to provide labor services to farmers in the Glendale, Ariz., region, The Growers Company offered custom produce harvesting since 1950 and is a third-generation family business. Rodriguez joined the company in 1975 and today serves as its President and CEO. Headquartered in Yuma, Ariz., with offices in Huron and Salinas, Calif., the company harvests lettuce, mix lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli and many other commodities.
The business has always been guided by principles that emphasize acknowledging the people who make everything possible, starting with its very name. “My father’s philosophy in picking the name The Growers Company was, ‘We are nothing without the people who do the work,’ and ‘We are nothing without the farmer to give us the work.’ He said our job is to create a balance that is mutually beneficial to both,” Rodriguez said.
The story of The Growers Company is one of tradition—a tradition that has demonstrated sustainability through perilous worker strikes, uncertain immigration policies and mounting regulations, explains Rodriguez. Throughout his career, Rodriguez has faced significant hurdles and challenges, which he regards as the most influential and impactful lessons he has learned.
“My first realization that there was more to just packing a box was when we failed our DOL housing inspection at our Casa Grande [Ariz.] housing site,” he said. But rather than become angry, Rodriguez went on to forge a valuable relationship with the representative from the U.S. Department of Labor who initially failed him.
“I’ll never forget that. We became good friends, and she guided me through regulations,” he said. “I learned not to fight the regulations, but to comply with them, and participate in changing them—and that takes getting involved.”
This served as the catalyst for Rodriguez to assist in creating a free Arizona/California Seminar to educate employers, a program that has continued for 17 years. “Western Growers has partnered with us since day one,” Rodriguez said.
“As I reflect, it has been a grind, but it has been fruitful, and the relationships we have made along the way are wonderful and unmatched.”
The Growers Company has been a member of Western Growers since 1978, and Rodriguez was first elected to serve on the board in 1998. The Award of Honor will be a distinguished addition to his extensive list of significant accomplishments. Rodriguez is a graduate of Project CENTRL Arizona Leadership Program’s Class XII and served on the Agricultural Employment Relations Board from 1995 to 2005. He was active in the Yuma Vegetable Shippers Association for 15 years.
In addition, Rodriguez is one of the founders of Yuma Catholic High School. “I have accomplished a lot of good things in my life, but being part of starting Yuma Catholic High School tops my list,” he said.
His numerous recognitions include Employer of the Year in 1998, 1999 and 2000 by Campesinos Sin Fronteras; Citizen of the Year 2000 by the Knights of Columbus; Philanthropist of the Year 2011 by the Yuma Community Foundation; Heart of Yuma 2020 by the Yuma Community Foundation; and the Sower Award 2023 by Campesinos Sin Fronteras.
Rodriguez served on the Diocese of Tucson Charity and Ministry Board for six years, was chairman of the St. Francis Parish Board for three years and Hospice of Yuma Board for two years of his six-year term. Rodriguez also set up funds with the Yuma Community Foundation to fund them in perpetuity for Yuma Catholic High School, St. Mary’s High School, Yuma Young Life, Yuma Food Bank and St. Vincent de Paul.
“You know, I have gotten a few awards from time to time, but serving is not about the awards. What’s near and dear to me is immigration reform. Let’s take care of those people who have been here, who have worked for us, who are in the shadows. It’s about making your community better,” Rodriguez said. “I am just a small grain in the sand.”