Mission, Texas – The holiday season seems the perfect time for the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) BB #:162361 to talk about the dabbing Santa sweater guy with the announcement of their 2023 Viva Fresh Expo keynote speaker; Charlie Jabaley.
You’ve seen the sweaters; you’ve heard the music and you’ve maybe seen his videos. You might not know his name, but over eight million followers on social media do. Charlie Jabaley, aka Charlie Rocket, will be raising the roof as headliner of Viva Fresh being held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas on March 30 – April 1, 2023.
Charlie Rocket is pure energy and will awaken Viva Fresh attendees with his truth telling story of success, money and fame interrupted by a health crisis turned second chance.
Dante Galeazzi, CEO and president of TIPA commented, “We want inspiring stories that raise the bar on healthy living and motivate us all to do better. Some may not see the natural connection between a rap music executive turned philanthropist and Viva Fresh, but I can assure you the gateway to the success Charlie is living today began by translating his love of life into leading a healthier lifestyle that included fruits and vegetables.” Galeazzi continued.
Initially billed as CEO Charlie, he’s the multimillionaire founder of Street Execs, a wildly successful music label representing talents like 2 Chainz and Travis Porter and was the brainchild that sold over $2 million of dabbing Santa sweaters. The result was a client-focused workaholic who was more than 100 pounds overweight and his health trending downward. But it was a brain tumor diagnosis that forced Charlie to reevaluate his life choices.
Today, Charlie still lives with a benign brain tumor, but CEO Charlie has transformed into Charlie Rocket; health advocate, inspirational leader, athlete, and philanthropist. He’s chosen a path of healthy living that includes fruits and vegetables and regular exercise that has helped him lose over 120 pounds, complete an Iron Man race, and even work with Nike as a featured athlete in, their “Dream Crazy” campaign.
Charlie’s life accomplishments are a laundry list of wins, but none greater than having raised over $5 million to help make more than 1,000 dreams come true through his Dream Machine Foundation as he travels worldwide delivering knowledge, inspiration, and people’s dreams straight to their doorsteps.
Galeazzi finished by saying “Everything Charlie touches has irresistible energy and I can’t think of a better person to hype the importance of healthy eating and get our audience excited than Charlie Rocket, who knows how to entertain and shows us how to achieve big dreams when passion and purpose collide.”
Viva Fresh serves to shine a light on the Rio Grande Valley as a vital trade corridor and production zone for fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as to promote healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. The three-day event focuses on networking, education, and building relationships in a relaxed and intimate setting.
About the Viva Fresh Produce Expo
The Viva Fresh Produce Expo was established in 2015 by the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) in order to create meaningful networking and educational opportunities for its members while shining a light on the importance of the Rio Grande Valley as a critical trade corridor and production zone for healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables available all year long. For more information, please visit www.vivafreshexpo.com.
About the Texas International Produce Association
Founded in 1942, the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) promotes, advocates, educates and represents the nearly $10 billion in fresh produce that is either grown in the state or calls Texas the first point of US-arrival for North American distribution. For more information about TIPA, visit www.texipa.org or call 956-581-8632.
McGillivray might not be a household name to the average American, but if you know anything about the Boston Marathon, you know Dave’s work even if you don’t know his name. Serving since 1988 as the Technical and Race Director of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, Dave McGillivray is an athlete, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, philanthropist, and author. He’s also a survivor of triple bypass heart surgery.
Since its earliest concept as an idea, the Viva Fresh steering committee committed to sharing the message of healthy eating and the power of fresh fruits and vegetables. There is no better person to champion those messages than a world class athlete, who by his own account did not commit to eating healthy until he was faced with a major health crisis and recovery that was a product of both his genetics and poor eating habits.
As an athlete, McGillivray has logged more than 150,000 miles, completed 164 marathons, is a nine-time competitor in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship and has been inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame, not to mention has completed a coast to coast run for charity. But his proudest accomplishment might be the fact that he and his company, DMSE, have raised more than $200 million for various charities over the past 40 years.
McGillivray’s experience extends far beyond his athletic achievements, with unique skills in business, logistics and problem solving that he shares in stories about the moments, hours and days in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing the challenges of pivoting to new business models during a pandemic.
“Inspiration comes in many forms, including that of cautionary tales and Dave’s story is just that,” remarked Dante Galeazzi, CEO and president of TIPA. “To hear firsthand from a dedicated athlete how he found his way to health eating and had to change his lifestyle to include more fruits and vegetables is a reminder to us all that no one is immune, and we all need to find the clean eating balance in a stressful life.”
Galeazzi concluded, “Dave will share his triumphs and defeats and there is no doubt his stories, sage advice and the motivation that he bestows as he recounts his journey through terrorism, COVID and a life-saving surgery is something that will ring clear and be a highlight of our keynote luncheon while inspiring everyone to dream big and finish strong.”
Viva Fresh serves to shine a light on the Lower Rio Grande Valley as an emerging trade corridor and production zone for fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as to promote healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. The three-day event focuses on networking, education, and building relationships in a relaxed and intimate setting.
About the Viva Fresh Produce Expo
The Viva Fresh Produce Expo was established in 2015 by the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) in order to create meaningful networking and educational opportunities for its members while shining a light on the importance of the Rio Grande Valley as an emerging trade corridor and production zone for healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables available all year long. For more information, please visit www.vivafreshexpo.com.
About the Texas International Produce Association
Founded in 1942, the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) promotes, advocates, educates and represents the nearly $8 billion in fresh produce that is either grown in the state or calls Texas the first point of US-arrival for North American distribution. For more information about TIPA, visit www.texipa.org or call 956-581-8632.
[post_title] => Viva Fresh keynote speaker to take on clean eating at expo
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => viva-fresh-keynote-speaker-to-take-on-clean-eating-at-expo
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2022-02-08 08:46:00.000
[post_modified_gmt] => 2022-02-08 14:46:00.000
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.producebluebook.com/?p=38994
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)