To celebrate the incredible past 2025 winner, Rafael Teréran Melchor, one more time and provide inspiration for the Farmworker of the Year Award 2026 (FWOY) nominations, the complete text submitted by the nominator, Adrian Pantaleon Sandoval, is being shared.
This truly amazing and detailed nomination perfectly illustrates the level of dedication and impact the award seeks to honor. Read on to see exactly what made this nomination a winning one, and use it as a guide when crafting a submission for a deserving farmworker in 2026:
Tell us about your nominee:
“It is with great pleasure that I write to you today to nominate Rafael Teran Melchor for the EFI Farmworker of the Year. Rafael is an outstanding individual and a perfect choice for the EFI Farmworker of the Year due to his multiple attributes as a worker and as a person. I work with Rafael in the Sanitation crew for Stemilt Growers, and he is a prime nominee based on the EFI criteria for this award.
I have worked with Rafael here at Stemilt for a total of 6 years, he has been here [at Stemilt] for 16 years, but in those 6 years that I have collaborated with him, he has shown to always been a key element to our team. In those 6 years, I have collaborated with him as a coworker, at a time we were both in charge of chemical preparations, but different facilities, and now I am supervisor for the crew where he is the lead for our chemical program.
First, I want to identify all the Farmworker of the Year values and criteria and explain how Rafael fits into them. One of the principal values is having a great attitude toward their work and team. Rafael is demonstrating a positive, initiative-taking approach to his job. He always comes to work with a big smile and is ready to start performing his duties. Currently, he oversees chemical preparation for sanitation and completes digital sanitation record keeping for sanitation. What I find very inspiring about Rafael is that he always expresses a genuine interest in his work. If he sees something wrong, he makes a significant effort to find ideas to fix it. As an example, sometimes our prepared chemical finishes and he is already working in his area, he is always happy to make more for his team members that way they do not get behind. He never gets bothered if he must stop what he is doing to assist his team.
Another requirement is to be motivated in learning new skills. At the Euclid facility here at Stemilt, there are approximately twenty-five main work areas for sanitation, not including special work areas and projects we do weekly or monthly. On average, each team member knows from 1 to 5 areas. Rafael can complete all twenty-five and any other special project we do. He is one of the most experienced team members in our crew. This shows not only his great capacity to learn new things and remember the procedures of each area, since they are not the same. This also proves the interest he has in gradually learning as time passes by. If we asked our crew who they would go for help if the supervisor and support were not available, everyone would refer to Rafael. Not only is Rafa motivated to learn new things, but accepts change with an optimistic point of view. This past year, we transferred from paper record-keeping for our cleaning logs to digital record-keeping of our logs. Everyone was hesitant and a bit doubtful of the new idea. Not everyone was happy with this change, but Rafa, even though he had never used a computer much before, and with limited English reading and writing skills, took the challenge with no hesitation. Currently, he uses our digital record-keeping without trouble; he has even trained others in this. Additionally, Rafael always participates in most of the main trainings and certifications for our crew. For example, First AID, CPR, Forklift, chemical handling, safety response training, and previously attended the Food Safety & Sanitation Conference. In general, Rafael is well knowledgeable of what encompasses Sanitation and is well-trained to respond to various scenarios.
Finally, taking an active role in their organization or community is particularly important. As mentioned before, Rafa is continually active here at Stemilt. He is a regular attendee of main trainings here at Stemilt and during cherry season, he always goes and assists other Stemilt facilities with their sanitation process. Production is aware of who Rafa is due to his great reputation as a worker and excellent communication that he has with them in a professional way and always being friendly with everyone. In the community, Rafael is well-liked as well and is very enthusiastic for track and field, road running, cross country running, marathons, and soccer. He has excellent discipline in his sports training as well. This year, he was able to reach the qualifications needed for the 2025 Boston Marathon and applied to assist. In addition, he enjoys soccer. Here, some members of production and sanitation play soccer together outside of work, and Rafa is always present. He enjoys not only collaborating with his coworkers, but also practicing a sport with them to connect even further.”
How has this person grown and thrived in their role?
“Rafael began working for Stemilt back in September of 2008. As most of us who enter sanitation, we start doing things like sweeping, mopping, and having an assigned area to clean every day. Rafa began doing just that, but as time went by, his previous supervisors saw enormous potential in him.
Many people, in general, go to work and perform their duties only at the bare minimum or only what is asked. Rafa has always been different. He does what he is expected to do and goes even more above and beyond. I know this from personal experience working with him and by talking with previous supervisors and our manager regarding Rafa.
Over time, Rafa began learning more work areas, asking questions because his curiosity was to learn more, showing interest in bettering himself and making this company, Stemilt, a place for a long-term job. After 16 years, Rafa has made a record of himself that speaks well of him, and that has led to great trust. Now he oversees our chemical preparation and record keeping for Sanitation.
He has earned that place not because he has been here for 16 years, but because he has the personal qualities and the professional qualities. Seniority does matter in many cases, but I know people who have been in a company for 5, 10, 20 years and have not had an interest in learning new things.
The key is to have interest and enjoy what you do. Rafa enjoys what he does, and he enjoys being part of Stemilt Growers. Rafa enjoys and finds a sense of accomplishment knowing that he is doing his best work to have a production line clean and sanitized to produce fruit that will be in many homes.”
What makes you proud to nominate this individual?
“Without doubt, when I read about the award and the requisitions needed, Rafael was the person who immediately came to mind. As a supervisor, I am proud to have Rafa in my team. Not only am I proud, but I am lucky to have such a skilled and talented person. I trust that Rafa will always do his best work even without supervision.
Rafael deserves this recognition and a million more because I have never collaborated with a person who gives as much attention to detail as he does. His willingness to take on difficult projects like cleaning delicate areas and see them to successful completion has repeatedly impressed me over the years I have worked here. Even though I am Rafa’s supervisor, I have learned many things from him that have been helpful.
It is my pleasure to nominate Rafael Teran Melchor for this high honor of receiving the EFI Farmworker of the Year award. He has experience both in the orchard and in the production warehouse. He has worked in agriculture for 23 years.
He has picked apples, cherries, pears, pruned trees and performed other duties. He is a man of vast knowledge related to agricultural work. Now he is a key person who helps us make sure that all the fruit at Stemilt Growers runs through a production line that is free of bacteria and residues. Again, with magnificent pleasure and enthusiasm, I nominate Rafel for this award that he deserves for his great work ethic and outstanding moral character.”