YERINGTON, NV - When I send an edit suggestion to Teri Gibson, she makes me feel as though I sent her a greeting card.

“I have a collaborative nature. I love working with a lot of people and pulling a lot of energy together,” Teri shares with me when I express my gratitude for this aspect of her marketing style. It is one of many factors highlighted in her being named AndNowUKnow’s 2025 Best Marketer to Work With. “I like having not an in-house team, but instead finding those who fit the project. I get to work with a lot of people that way, which is always interesting. Even working with AndNowUKnow’s team, I get to tap into different people’s creativities and visions.”

Before bringing her craft and energy to fresh produce as Director of Marketing and Customer Relations for Peri & Sons Farms®, Teri cultivated skills in messaging, branding, premium markets, and storytelling through a weaving resume that includes tourism, hotels and casinos, sportswear, and much more.

“I started in graphic design and advertising fresh out of high school and worked for a large advertising agency for a while,” Teri tells me. When she met the Peris, the company was taking off on business alone with little in the way of active marketing. “I put together a plan, thinking that was all I was doing, and they said they wanted to hire me.”

In 2009, Teri was hired remotely—a move she points to as a testament to Pam Peri’s being a visionary in business, and that aligns with Teri’s cardinal rule in creativity.

“Stay open,” she advises. “Do not come to people and ask them to execute your idea exactly. Leave space for interpretation so they can bring their unique talents to it. If something doesn’t make sense or needs clarification, you need different perspectives to do that for you. You never know what will come up. If your mind is not set, you keep yourself open to the forks in the road.”

This advice resonates with me not just in marketing and creativity, but in life as well, as does what Teri would like to see for our industry’s storytellers on a grander scale.

“I find people often look for inspiration too close to home. For myself, I read things that have nothing at all to do with produce. In fact, the design we took for our packaging a few years ago came from something Jessica Peri saw in a whimsical character that was unrelated to our industry, sparking us to bring it into our realm,” she shares.

In these words, I hear the very philosophy of the Besties—the celebration of those who see not just where fresh produce is but where it belongs, and are actively working to get it there.

For her critical role in this, we share a deep gratitude to Teri and congratulate her on an accolade she has more than earned through the work she continues to do for Peri & Sons and all it inspires.

A heartfelt thank you, too, to our Besties Committee for your time, dedication, and insight. Your contributions are deeply valued. Each year, our team compiles the Besties ballot with nominations across all award categories, and our committee votes to determine the winners.

This year, the committee voted on every category except Retailer of the Year, Best Marketer to Work With, and the Lifetime Achievement Award—three honors selected by our leadership team due to their special significance.

As we continue to raise the curtain on each of these wave-makers, keep an eye on AndNowUKnow.