Celebrating 35 Years of Leadership by Women: An Interview with Founder Pam Montgomery
This spring, Chukar Cherries celebrates 35 years in business. Started in 1988 by founder and CEO Pam Montgomery, the company remains family-owned and firmly rooted in building a workplace where women thrive.
March 8th is International Women’s Day, an invitation to reflect on the achievements of women. For us at Chukar, these achievements are multi-fold.
From the beginning on her family cherry orchard, Founder Pam Montgomery’s pioneering spirit brought a new kind of dried cherry to the market using tree-ripened fruit without preservatives or sulfites. Thirty-five years later, Chukar Cherries has grown from a fledgling enterprise into an iconic Northwest cherry and chocolate gifting brand. Everything is still made at the original location in south central Washington. We dehydrate nearly 500,000 pounds of fresh Northwest cherries annually and employ 50+ team members at our factory headquarters in Prosser, WA and at the company’s store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. While most people know us for our no sugar added dried cherries (the original product), we now offer over 18 varieties of chocolate covered cherries, berries, and nuts as well as a host of sauces, baked goods, and Pacific Northwest gifts. We’re proud to say along the way we’ve notched top awards such as Small Business of the Year from the Washington State Small Business Association, Outstanding Product Line from the Specialty Food Association, and Food Processor of the Year Silver from the Washington Manufacturing Awards.
Chukar’s leadership over the past decades has included several other notable women. Chukar’s Director of Operations, Kathleen Young, has been with the company for 24 years. Sales Manager Teresa Garcia has been a team leader for 20 years. Recently, Montgomery’s daughter, Wynne Auld, joined the team as Marketing Manager. Founder Pam Montgomery emphasizes, “All of our team members at Chukar have an opportunity to succeed commensurate with their commitment and efforts. We are fortunate to have great leadership, and many of our executive leaders over the past decades have been women.”
Interview with Pam Montgomery
Q: How long have you been with Chukar?
A: Since conception! We moved from urban Seattle to a 100-acre Bing cherry orchard in north Prosser in the early 80s. In mid-June of each year our 8,000 cherry trees needed to be picked within a 2 weeks’ time. In the rush, entire trees were left unpicked after harvest. I discovered the increasing natural sweet fruity flavors of tree-ripened fruit!—and the concept of Chukar Cherries began to take form.
Q: What opportunities and successes have you had while at the company?
A: You’ve heard the saying “opportunities are like buses; one comes along every 20 minutes.” It’s somewhat true. The key to the evaluation process is determining what opportunities have the greatest return and are worth the investment of time and capital at your stage of growth. Sometimes saying ‘no’ is the best answer.
Q: What are you most proud of doing?
A: A few things. Professionally I’m satisfied with what Chukar Cherry Company and the Chukar® brand stands for: high quality, consistency, a unique reflection of the Pacific Northwest fruit lands in taste and style, freshly made, great customer service. In addition, I’m happy with the encouragement, mentoring, and opportunities we’re given people over the years.
Personally, I’m happy that over the years I’ve learned to stay emotionally on an even-keel as issues arise and ‘not shoot the messenger’. Also, I’ve grown to see the incredible value of individual input and teams.
Q: What is your favorite Chukar product and why?
A: That’s tough. It changes. Right now it’s no sugar added Dried Bing and Rainier cherries or the no sugar added Cherry Medley. I find them incredibly satisfying and energizing.
Q: What are Chukar’s upcoming goals for the year?
A: Our upcoming mission is first and foremost to engage our customers with who we are, what we do, and how we do it. Chukar Cherries is a unique company with unique products in a special place in the world. It's a story to be told!
This year we will continue to evolve Chukar's gifting options with improved unboxing and personalization. We plan to introduce our customers to the trusted regional growers who live here and grow our premium fruit. Finally, we will continue to innovate ways to reduce plastic use and offset environmental impact. We want customers to feel even better about sending a gift that’s good for our planet.
