On this Memorial Day….

Thanks to the efforts of some of our country’s historians and storytellers, the all too real exploits of our war veterans have come to light recently in book and film, and other media venues.

These extraordinary tales of sacrifice and courage to preserve freedom for the peoples of the world are at once humbling and soul searing.

So as we mark Memorial Day 2010 with our families and friends, let us all pause to acknowledge veterans and their families.

We all are indebted to those who have fought for our freedom.

With Gratitude,

The FruitFast Family

With the weather warming in Northern Michigan and the prospect of a busy growing season ahead, I’m again reminded of the importance of using U.S.A. grown fruit in all our FruitFast product lines.

There’s an old saying:  “Junk in, junk out.”  And that holds true in a lot of life’s endeavors, but never more so than in the production of our family of nutraceuticals.

We use only the best and only American grown fruits.  And what we can’t access in this region, we purchase from our country’s finest and most reputable fruit growers.

Regular customers and readers of our website and blog know by now that using the whole fruit in our proprietary manufacturing process is key to capturing the fruit’s goodness.  This includes the pulp and skin that’s processed in a chemical-free exchange with no added sugars, preservatives or fillers.  High temperatures are the bane of conventional fruit manufacturing, destroying important phytonutrients.  FruitFast’s way leaves valuable compounds intact, while not turning the fruit into a less potent powder.

It is this process that gives the company a product line unmatched in the world market.  In short, our research has found that you don’t argue with Mother Nature.  Treating fruit naturally is the best way to leverage and benefit from its inherent properties.

Preserving these healthful benefits of whole fruit has led to the development of our growing family of fruit supplements we’re so proud of, including fruits like Michigan’s Montmorency red tart cherries, wild blueberries from Maine, red and black raspberries from Oregon and Wonderful pomegranates from the San Joaquin Valley in California.

Ongoing research, development and testing will assure this standard of product quality while assuring access year round to the goodness of whole fruit — grown in the U.S.A, of course.

It’s not too late — there’s still time to enter to win an iPad from FruitFast.

Brownwood Acres/ FruitFast is giving away one Apple iPad in June to some lucky person and it’s simple to enter.   May 31st is the deadline.

Here are the EASY steps to enter the FruitFast iPad Contest:

1. Become a FruitFast Fan on Facebook.  Go to www.facebook.com/fruitfast.
2. Click on the Promotions tab in the menu bar: http://www.facebook.com/fruitfast?v=app_48008362724 and follow directions.
3. Name the bus.  This is your chance to be creative and witty as we look for just the right name for FruitFast owner Bob Underwood’s 40-foot motor coach.  Suggest as many names as you like.
4. Pass this opportunity along to family and friends!
5. Voting ends on May 31st, with the winner being announced June 7th.

In the event that we chose a name that has been entered multiple times, the first entry will be the winner.

It’s that simple.  And the winner will receive an awesome 16 GB I-Pad from Apple, worth $500!  FruitFast will find a cool name for the CherryFlex Bus, while spreading the word about the health benefits of our premium super fruit products.

Don’t wait!   Join the fun and enter the FruitFast iPad Contest today!

FruitFast is all about USA-grown, healthy, nutritious products with a commitment to quality and high standards.

We also know a thing about beauty, as anyone who has ever witnessed a hillside of cherry trees in full spring bloom can attest.

That’s why we’re thrilled that the new Miss USA 2010 reflects these tenets and more – and best of all—she’s from Michigan!

AP Photo

Rima Fakih, 24-years-old, and from Dearborn near Detroit, won the crown in Las Vegas over the weekend from a field of 50 other women.   The dark eyed beauty participated in the swimsuit, evening grown and interview segments of the yearly pageant, and will represent the United States in the upcoming Miss Universe competition.

Rima is the contest’s first Arab-American winner.  She’s also a recent graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in economics and business management.

Although we have yet to determine if she is a cherry juice drinker or familiar with our CherryFlex brand, Brownwood Acres/ FruitFast salutes Rima and her family and supporters.  We wish her the best during her upcoming reign, and good fortune in the Miss Universe pageant.

The time honored Greyhound travel slogan goes something like “take a bus, and leave the driving to us…..”

Well, that’s kind of what we’ve been doing, though we did the driving.

Having just returned from a motor home/coach journey of the Central U.S., we’re struck, as always, by the enormity and diversity of this great country of ours.

Mindful of song writer Woody Guthrie’s classic “This Land Is Your Land,” we covered 3,000 miles on a round trip cross-country junket that led from the Great Lakes to the terminus of the mighty Mississippi in New Orleans—-or as the natives say:  “Naw’lins….”

How awesome this big slice of the mid-section of our country is!  From farmlands, seaports and mountains to the birthplaces of Jazz and the Motown Sound.

Our coach tour began the end of April when we set off in our newly-skinned bus – yet to be named as you may know -  destination: Louisiana.  Stopping along the way on our drive south, Janet and I were quite the spectacle with plenty of waves, honks and stares wherever we went…talking about the health benefits of red tart cherries.

After attending the National Animal Supplement Council annual convention on behalf of our popular CherryFlex for Dogs product, we headed back the other direction landing in Branson, Missouri.  Nestled in the Ozarks, this musical mecca attracts thousands of country music fans from all over – and yes, we saw some terrific shows.  We met lots of interesting people, told them all about our quality FruitFast products, and introduced them to our innovative CherryFlex ProSport Shots.

Then it was on to Kokomo and Shipshewana, Indiana – better known as Amish territory – a beautiful farming area we particularly enjoy that’s not far from the Michigan border.  After visiting with family nearby, we rolled on to Detroit before returning home to our trailhead—Traverse City.

As always, it’s good to be home again.

Memorable road icons?  Who can forget Oscar Mayer’s traveling Weinermobile, Greyhound’s scenic cruisers or the brown/gold delivery fleet of UPS?

And now there’s a new entry to this parade of recognizable roadies.  Brownwood Acres/ FruitFast cherry-covered motor coach….

The CherryFlex.com motor coach, which at this point is nameless, is on its “shake down cruise” around the central U.S. with owners Bob and Janet Underwood.

Leaving its homeport of Traverse City, Michigan, the cherry-red bus – with Bob at the wheel – followed Interstate 55 and 57, stopping at Flying J Truck Stops on their journey to New Orleans.  Needless to say, the bus gets plenty of stares and double-takes wherever it goes.

After three days in “The Big Easy” to attend the National Animal Supplement Council Annual Convention representing FruitFast’s CherryFlex for Dogs softgels, the Underwoods headed north – destination Branson, Missouri.

“We are having fun meeting new people, talking about CherryFlex and our new ProSport Shots while handing out information and samples,” said Bob from the road.  “If you see us as we crisscross the country, honk, wave or stop and say Hello!”

And be sure to enter the “Name the Bus” contest on Facebook during May.  You could win a brand new Apple iPad from FruitFast !

The Bus - Before, During & After