1 00:00:02,786 --> 00:00:04,873 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. 2 00:00:04,873 --> 00:00:08,811 In this show, the Texas FFA Foundation will take on a 3 00:00:08,891 --> 00:00:12,663 journey of exploration into agricultural science, education, 4 00:00:12,663 --> 00:00:15,990 leadership development and insights from subject matter 5 00:00:16,071 --> 00:00:19,669 experts and sponsors who provide the fuel to make dreams come 6 00:00:19,708 --> 00:00:19,969 true. 7 00:00:19,969 --> 00:00:22,344 Here's your host, Erin Alejandro. 8 00:00:30,190 --> 00:00:33,652 Speaker 2: Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or 9 00:00:33,933 --> 00:00:38,718 whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast. 10 00:00:38,718 --> 00:00:43,051 Hey, number one, first and foremost, thank you for stopping 11 00:00:43,051 --> 00:00:43,250 by. 12 00:00:43,250 --> 00:00:44,182 I meant listen. 13 00:00:44,182 --> 00:00:46,590 Time is the only thing we get to spend. 14 00:00:46,590 --> 00:00:47,704 That's all we can do with it. 15 00:00:47,704 --> 00:00:50,347 We can't save it, we can't invest in it. 16 00:00:50,347 --> 00:00:51,826 Really, all we can do is spend it. 17 00:00:51,826 --> 00:00:53,926 So the fact that you're spending some of your time with 18 00:00:54,066 --> 00:00:55,731 us really means a lot. 19 00:00:55,731 --> 00:00:57,185 So, number one, thank you. 20 00:00:57,185 --> 00:01:00,911 Number two, know that we enjoy doing this podcast. 21 00:01:00,911 --> 00:01:05,308 I mean, it is a great way, it's a great platform to bring 22 00:01:05,510 --> 00:01:10,385 incredible guests, minds, experiences and expertise on and 23 00:01:10,385 --> 00:01:14,013 share them with other people, and today is no different. 24 00:01:14,013 --> 00:01:16,424 I'm excited about today's guest . 25 00:01:16,424 --> 00:01:17,929 I can't wait for y'all to meet her. 26 00:01:17,929 --> 00:01:21,224 Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jennifer Green to Public 27 00:01:21,263 --> 00:01:24,109 Relations and Events Manager with Cavenders. 28 00:01:24,109 --> 00:01:25,793 Jennifer, thank you for joining us. 29 00:01:26,540 --> 00:01:27,743 Speaker 3: Well, thank you for having me. 30 00:01:28,867 --> 00:01:30,210 Speaker 2: Are you ready for this, Jennifer? 31 00:01:31,620 --> 00:01:32,906 Speaker 3: That's ready as I'll ever be. 32 00:01:33,370 --> 00:01:33,771 Speaker 2: All right. 33 00:01:33,771 --> 00:01:35,218 Well, we're excited that you're here. 34 00:01:35,218 --> 00:01:36,143 We're going to have fun. 35 00:01:36,143 --> 00:01:38,575 We're going to talk a little bit about your life journey and 36 00:01:38,614 --> 00:01:41,563 what you do at Cavenders and maybe offer some words of 37 00:01:41,623 --> 00:01:46,250 encouragement for any members or teachers or even potential 38 00:01:46,290 --> 00:01:49,314 sponsors who may be listening to the show. 39 00:01:49,314 --> 00:01:52,087 So let's start off with this. 40 00:01:52,087 --> 00:01:55,120 I like to start every episode with the same question. 41 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,349 I just think it's a great place to start, and that question is 42 00:01:59,390 --> 00:02:04,281 this Jennifer, what are you grateful for today, jennifer? 43 00:02:04,281 --> 00:02:04,641 What are you? 44 00:02:04,682 --> 00:02:05,805 Speaker 3: grateful for today. 45 00:02:05,805 --> 00:02:07,248 Well, good morning Aaron. 46 00:02:07,248 --> 00:02:08,010 Thank you for having me. 47 00:02:08,010 --> 00:02:12,501 I am grateful for opportunities and paths. 48 00:02:12,501 --> 00:02:15,782 You know, life consists of a lot of different chapters and is 49 00:02:15,782 --> 00:02:19,264 always evolving, and I'm particularly grateful for the 50 00:02:19,324 --> 00:02:21,747 people that God puts in our lives at the right time. 51 00:02:21,747 --> 00:02:25,049 I'm blessed to have a lot of amazing family and friends in my 52 00:02:25,049 --> 00:02:29,532 life, including my 20-year-old son, who is not only my child 53 00:02:29,812 --> 00:02:33,534 but one of my favorite people, which is a super extra blessing, 54 00:02:33,534 --> 00:02:35,556 and I'm grateful for this opportunity. 55 00:02:35,556 --> 00:02:39,608 You know, I think a lot of you personally and I love the Texas 56 00:02:39,627 --> 00:02:42,161 FFA and the Texas FFA Foundation , and I'm really honored that 57 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:43,447 you want to visit with me. 58 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:47,324 Speaker 2: Well Foundation, and I'm really honored that you want 59 00:02:47,324 --> 00:02:47,667 to visit with me. 60 00:02:47,667 --> 00:02:47,867 Well, I do. 61 00:02:47,867 --> 00:02:48,572 I'm kind of a fan of yours as well. 62 00:02:48,572 --> 00:02:49,777 You're going to tell us about that and everybody's going to 63 00:02:49,818 --> 00:02:51,663 understand why I'm a fan, by the way, just so you know. 64 00:02:51,663 --> 00:02:58,961 I agree with you Everything that you said family, friends, 65 00:02:59,763 --> 00:03:02,008 mentors, all of those things. 66 00:03:02,068 --> 00:03:06,520 I think in those good times and even in those challenging times, 67 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:08,264 I'm really kind of glad we have them around. 68 00:03:08,264 --> 00:03:12,513 And as a parent too, I can also tell you I'm like you. 69 00:03:12,513 --> 00:03:13,681 It's, it's. 70 00:03:13,681 --> 00:03:18,110 You know, we're proud of all of our kids, proud of all of them. 71 00:03:18,110 --> 00:03:21,585 But you know, you love it when you see them do well, and you 72 00:03:21,625 --> 00:03:24,652 love it when they're there and they notice you as well. 73 00:03:24,652 --> 00:03:35,546 You love it when you see them do well and you love it when 74 00:03:35,567 --> 00:03:38,210 they're there and they notice you as well. 75 00:03:38,210 --> 00:03:39,531 And so I appreciate those words . 76 00:03:39,531 --> 00:03:40,131 That was good. 77 00:03:40,231 --> 00:03:44,276 Listening to this that are not familiar with Cavenders this is 78 00:03:44,316 --> 00:03:47,729 going to go nationwide is, interestingly enough, when we 79 00:03:47,748 --> 00:03:49,978 look at the analytics of this podcast, we have a lot of 80 00:03:50,038 --> 00:03:54,688 listeners over in Europe, so there's a lot of people that 81 00:03:54,769 --> 00:03:58,100 listen to this podcast, and so they may not be familiar with 82 00:03:58,140 --> 00:03:58,762 Cavenders. 83 00:03:58,762 --> 00:04:05,592 And so, anyway, what I would like is I'm guessing you did not 84 00:04:05,592 --> 00:04:08,156 just fall into that chair, that's I'm just guessing. 85 00:04:08,156 --> 00:04:14,230 Something tells me there is a story and a journey that led you 86 00:04:14,230 --> 00:04:17,622 into this job that you're in today at Cavendish, and I'm 87 00:04:17,682 --> 00:04:21,350 wondering if you'd be so kind as to take us back and take us 88 00:04:21,391 --> 00:04:22,233 through your journey. 89 00:04:22,233 --> 00:04:24,869 How did you end up in this role at Cavendish? 90 00:04:25,761 --> 00:04:27,625 Speaker 3: Well, I would love to share that journey with you. 91 00:04:27,625 --> 00:04:30,050 I did not just land in this chair. 92 00:04:30,050 --> 00:04:33,947 I do think that life is interesting and ironic. 93 00:04:33,947 --> 00:04:38,819 I probably started shopping at Cavenders, a Westernware 94 00:04:38,879 --> 00:04:43,750 retailer based in Texas, before I could even remember, and so to 95 00:04:43,750 --> 00:04:46,581 then come full circle and get to work for this company is a 96 00:04:47,163 --> 00:04:48,365 blessing for sure. 97 00:04:48,365 --> 00:04:52,293 And I guess, if you want to go back a little bit into college, 98 00:04:52,860 --> 00:04:53,862 career wise Erin. 99 00:04:54,002 --> 00:04:57,810 I graduated from Texas A&M in 1998, with a degree in ag 100 00:04:57,831 --> 00:05:01,805 journalism, and without a doubt, my time in Aggieland, as we 101 00:05:01,865 --> 00:05:05,913 affectionately call it, definitely shaped who I am today 102 00:05:05,913 --> 00:05:05,913 . 103 00:05:05,913 --> 00:05:09,767 I was able to get involved in the AgriLeader, which is a 104 00:05:09,827 --> 00:05:12,562 publication that is produced by the students in the College of 105 00:05:12,702 --> 00:05:18,379 Ag back in the 90s, and during that time it was a black and 106 00:05:18,418 --> 00:05:21,346 white newsletter, like a front and page, and then it evolved on 107 00:05:21,346 --> 00:05:24,569 the glossy paper and today it is a four-color, beautiful, 108 00:05:25,377 --> 00:05:28,466 produced, four times a year magazine, and it is very fun to 109 00:05:28,485 --> 00:05:32,161 go back and look at that in another life and to see what's 110 00:05:32,201 --> 00:05:32,661 come of it. 111 00:05:32,661 --> 00:05:36,790 I also, incidentally, met my two best friends of 27 years 112 00:05:36,891 --> 00:05:41,067 working on that, and so you know , I think that time in our life, 113 00:05:41,067 --> 00:05:41,567 our college. 114 00:05:41,567 --> 00:05:45,526 Our twenties are opportunities for us to figure out who we are 115 00:05:45,627 --> 00:05:49,149 and the path that we're going to be on, and I cannot say enough 116 00:05:49,189 --> 00:05:52,884 about that time in my life and how it felt for me and what it's 117 00:05:52,884 --> 00:05:53,807 done for my life. 118 00:05:53,807 --> 00:05:58,889 But after I graduated from A&M I kind of struggled a little bit 119 00:05:58,889 --> 00:05:58,889 . 120 00:05:58,889 --> 00:06:00,920 You know, sometimes we get out of school and we don't really 121 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,750 know what our path is and sometimes our paths find us. 122 00:06:05,531 --> 00:06:08,589 I did a short stint in Austin at the Capitol, working for a 123 00:06:08,649 --> 00:06:11,920 state representative, and then I worked in public relations and 124 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:17,132 advertising for about a year and then I moved to Tyler, texas, 125 00:06:17,211 --> 00:06:20,584 and I landed in a career in nonprofit and I worked for a 126 00:06:20,624 --> 00:06:25,653 children's advocacy center and Susan G Komen and that career, 127 00:06:25,692 --> 00:06:28,704 that time period for me, which was about 12 to 13 years in 128 00:06:28,764 --> 00:06:33,934 nonprofit and charitable work, really shaped the rest of my 129 00:06:34,341 --> 00:06:35,142 career. 130 00:06:35,142 --> 00:06:38,612 I didn't know that at the time, but when you're leading 131 00:06:38,732 --> 00:06:42,601 organizations, lords and volunteers, you really 132 00:06:42,661 --> 00:06:46,271 understand what it takes to make an organization go around. 133 00:06:46,271 --> 00:06:49,927 Nonprofits are great places to start careers because you really 134 00:06:49,927 --> 00:06:51,451 wear a lot of hats. 135 00:06:51,451 --> 00:06:53,824 You know you have to do a lot of different things and you work 136 00:06:53,824 --> 00:06:57,641 with the very beginning of an event or a fundraising program 137 00:06:57,680 --> 00:06:58,562 to the very end of it. 138 00:06:58,562 --> 00:07:06,572 And you know I was able to learn that relationships are 139 00:07:06,612 --> 00:07:09,076 kind of the thing that makes the world go around. 140 00:07:12,002 --> 00:07:13,687 That was a great opportunity for me. 141 00:07:13,687 --> 00:07:15,846 I loved my time with that. 142 00:07:15,846 --> 00:07:19,442 It was predominantly in fundraising and development and 143 00:07:19,521 --> 00:07:21,728 I was sort of approached by somebody to take this job at 144 00:07:21,749 --> 00:07:25,125 Cavendish and I was kind of at that place in life where I 145 00:07:25,144 --> 00:07:29,692 needed a new opportunity and I had not been in the Western 146 00:07:29,831 --> 00:07:31,860 agriculture space in a long time . 147 00:07:31,860 --> 00:07:34,247 I had grown up in it, it was home for me, it was very 148 00:07:34,288 --> 00:07:36,442 familiar, but I had not been in it in a little bit. 149 00:07:36,442 --> 00:07:40,555 And when I started the interview process for Cavendish 150 00:07:40,596 --> 00:07:42,502 took a little bit of time. 151 00:07:43,346 --> 00:07:46,261 And you know that thing that happens when you get excited 152 00:07:46,300 --> 00:07:48,146 about something you know you think you want it and then 153 00:07:48,165 --> 00:07:52,730 you're not sure you're debating and then the closer you get to 154 00:07:52,771 --> 00:07:54,076 it the more excited you get about it. 155 00:07:54,076 --> 00:07:55,622 And that was definitely happening to me. 156 00:07:55,622 --> 00:07:59,278 During that time period I dug into the company a little more 157 00:07:59,298 --> 00:08:01,302 other than just being a consumer and a customer. 158 00:08:01,302 --> 00:08:05,473 And then I dug into the family and who they were and what they 159 00:08:05,512 --> 00:08:07,584 do and it just got me more and more excited. 160 00:08:07,584 --> 00:08:10,182 So I was thrilled when I was actually given the opportunity 161 00:08:10,201 --> 00:08:13,170 to come on board and I have been with the company for 10 years 162 00:08:14,319 --> 00:08:14,781 10 years. 163 00:08:15,021 --> 00:08:16,446 Speaker 2: Can we dive into this a little bit more? 164 00:08:16,446 --> 00:08:18,250 Because you said something that got my attention. 165 00:08:18,250 --> 00:08:22,627 One of the things I like about this podcast and having guests 166 00:08:22,786 --> 00:08:26,254 on and just letting y'all share your journey is if people will 167 00:08:26,274 --> 00:08:26,533 listen. 168 00:08:26,533 --> 00:08:29,567 And I tell people all the time listen with your eyes and ears, 169 00:08:30,148 --> 00:08:33,245 because if you'll listen, you're going to find clues, you're 170 00:08:33,264 --> 00:08:34,972 going to find these little nuggets of wisdom. 171 00:08:34,972 --> 00:08:38,225 You said something just a second ago that got my attention 172 00:08:38,225 --> 00:08:38,225 . 173 00:08:38,225 --> 00:08:38,785 I think it's a. 174 00:08:38,785 --> 00:08:42,043 It's a great opportunity here to share you talk. 175 00:08:42,143 --> 00:08:45,711 You said something a second ago about the interview process and 176 00:08:45,750 --> 00:08:47,822 it was more than you expected. 177 00:08:47,822 --> 00:08:52,611 Give us a little more insight into that, because there's a 178 00:08:52,652 --> 00:08:54,501 couple of things that you said that I thought was really 179 00:08:54,522 --> 00:08:54,962 important. 180 00:08:54,962 --> 00:08:57,950 Number one this isn't a contest . 181 00:08:57,950 --> 00:09:00,861 By the way, I know that in the FFA, we have a job interview 182 00:09:00,902 --> 00:09:02,985 contest In the real world. 183 00:09:02,985 --> 00:09:05,388 You're actually going after a job job interview contest In the 184 00:09:05,388 --> 00:09:05,607 real world. 185 00:09:05,607 --> 00:09:06,308 You're actually going after a job. 186 00:09:06,308 --> 00:09:08,331 It's competitive, Bottom line. 187 00:09:08,331 --> 00:09:10,674 It's competitive, so you're looking for a competitive edge. 188 00:09:10,674 --> 00:09:16,480 So it is a process. 189 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:18,384 And then you talked about how you looked more into the company 190 00:09:18,384 --> 00:09:20,168 and you looked more into the family. 191 00:09:20,168 --> 00:09:22,634 So really, I don't know if you realize that you just gave us 192 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:24,961 three really good things to talk about. 193 00:09:24,961 --> 00:09:28,304 So tell us a little bit more about what that interview 194 00:09:28,345 --> 00:09:31,067 process looked like Maybe somebody out there is getting 195 00:09:31,086 --> 00:09:31,846 ready to go through it. 196 00:09:31,846 --> 00:09:35,350 Why it was important for you to look into the company and to 197 00:09:35,389 --> 00:09:36,991 know more about the Cavenders family. 198 00:09:38,011 --> 00:09:41,274 Speaker 3: Okay, well, like I said, you know, the opportunity 199 00:09:41,414 --> 00:09:42,375 was presented to me. 200 00:09:42,375 --> 00:09:47,501 I had some time we don't particularly move all that fast 201 00:09:47,522 --> 00:09:49,346 here and specifically when you're working for a family 202 00:09:49,407 --> 00:09:51,631 owned company, there was just it was. 203 00:09:51,631 --> 00:09:54,326 It was also it happened to be the end of the year, which for 204 00:09:54,407 --> 00:09:57,663 us is is holiday, and it's very busy, and I didn't know that at 205 00:09:57,683 --> 00:09:58,066 the time. 206 00:09:58,066 --> 00:10:02,159 But what I would say is, you know, a, I had immediate 207 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:07,480 interest in job and then, b, I did started doing some digging 208 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,850 into what I could find out about the company and the family, 209 00:10:10,909 --> 00:10:14,044 which is important when you're looking into a career, and I 210 00:10:14,184 --> 00:10:17,312 have always been extremely cautious with my own career to 211 00:10:17,780 --> 00:10:18,743 make sure that I was. 212 00:10:19,745 --> 00:10:22,610 I like the longevity of staying somewhere a long time and 213 00:10:23,173 --> 00:10:26,125 knowing what you're getting into and that your values line up 214 00:10:26,184 --> 00:10:30,572 with what that company or that industry is and for sure it did 215 00:10:30,634 --> 00:10:34,288 for me with Cavendish and so I spent some time digging into 216 00:10:34,548 --> 00:10:37,162 what I could find out about what the company was involved in and 217 00:10:37,162 --> 00:10:40,629 what they aligned with, and then specifically, the family 218 00:10:41,129 --> 00:10:45,427 involvement and what their values and causes were that were 219 00:10:45,427 --> 00:10:49,288 important to them, and, interestingly enough, they have 220 00:10:49,408 --> 00:10:52,065 a very generous heart, and so I knew that there was an 221 00:10:52,166 --> 00:10:55,779 opportunity potentially for me to bring my nonprofit career 222 00:10:56,081 --> 00:10:58,765 into the company as well, and I have been able to do that. 223 00:10:58,765 --> 00:11:03,927 So anytime anyone's looking to make a change, you know I think, 224 00:11:03,927 --> 00:11:08,634 don't try to fit a square peg into a round hole for your own 225 00:11:08,674 --> 00:11:08,934 self. 226 00:11:08,934 --> 00:11:12,990 You need to be completely comfortable and happy with what 227 00:11:13,070 --> 00:11:15,524 you're going into, and that's, to me, what makes us. 228 00:11:15,524 --> 00:11:16,166 What is the saying? 229 00:11:16,166 --> 00:11:17,971 You don't actually work for a living? 230 00:11:17,971 --> 00:11:20,905 It's you know, it's a blessing, it's your career, it's your 231 00:11:20,926 --> 00:11:21,788 calling, it's your path. 232 00:11:23,652 --> 00:11:24,273 Speaker 2: Well, that's good. 233 00:11:24,273 --> 00:11:27,823 Yeah, I just think there's so much wisdom there in what you 234 00:11:27,844 --> 00:11:28,325 just shared. 235 00:11:28,325 --> 00:11:34,003 We like to tell the kids go do internships, and the reason why 236 00:11:34,043 --> 00:11:36,629 is because you may go to an internship of something you 237 00:11:36,649 --> 00:11:39,585 think you might want to do and you may find out that's really 238 00:11:39,644 --> 00:11:40,726 not what you want to do. 239 00:11:40,726 --> 00:11:44,570 But I say the same thing about sponsors, by the way. 240 00:11:44,570 --> 00:11:48,004 When we've got companies like Cavenders and McCoys and 241 00:11:48,024 --> 00:11:51,751 Prefords, when we've got companies who I know their core 242 00:11:51,792 --> 00:11:55,846 values and I know our core values, it sure makes it a lot 243 00:11:55,947 --> 00:11:59,861 easier to work together than if we were trying, as you said, try 244 00:11:59,861 --> 00:12:01,966 to put a square peg in a round hole. 245 00:12:01,966 --> 00:12:05,941 So the good thing is is because our core values align, it makes 246 00:12:05,941 --> 00:12:11,150 the relationships a lot easier to become win-win opportunities. 247 00:12:12,494 --> 00:12:13,034 Speaker 3: Absolutely. 248 00:12:13,340 --> 00:12:15,125 Speaker 2: I think that's kind of what you were sharing is, 249 00:12:15,245 --> 00:12:17,787 when you're pursuing a job and you're going through that 250 00:12:17,827 --> 00:12:19,960 interview process and you're looking at the company and 251 00:12:19,980 --> 00:12:23,028 you're looking at the people that are involved, find out if 252 00:12:23,129 --> 00:12:32,423 it's an alignment and if it's not aligned, then maybe there 253 00:12:32,442 --> 00:12:33,625 might be another opportunity that fits better. 254 00:12:33,865 --> 00:12:35,206 Speaker 3: I think that what I have seen is we have definitely 255 00:12:35,246 --> 00:12:38,230 been in a growth period at Cavendish and we work in a 256 00:12:38,350 --> 00:12:41,553 unique industry that's a little bit of a niche, I would say 257 00:12:41,573 --> 00:12:44,056 environment and it is not for everybody. 258 00:12:44,056 --> 00:12:48,748 And so, you know, whatever that may be for you as an individual 259 00:12:48,748 --> 00:12:50,416 , you definitely want to make sure that it's something that 260 00:12:50,495 --> 00:12:52,562 you like and want to be involved in every day. 261 00:12:52,562 --> 00:12:56,351 I'm also the kind of person, erin, that, for better or worse 262 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,346 I will say for better or worse I tend to throw my whole self 263 00:13:00,426 --> 00:13:04,152 into whatever my job is, and then it's not a job, it's a 264 00:13:04,172 --> 00:13:07,682 career, and it's what makes it fun and it's what makes it 265 00:13:07,783 --> 00:13:11,731 passionate for you and you're able to enjoy what you do every 266 00:13:11,772 --> 00:13:11,952 day. 267 00:13:11,952 --> 00:13:12,922 Do I love it every day? 268 00:13:12,922 --> 00:13:13,683 Are there challenges? 269 00:13:13,683 --> 00:13:17,900 Of course, we all know that, but I think that's been a huge 270 00:13:17,942 --> 00:13:20,370 part of my professional career as well. 271 00:13:21,053 --> 00:13:21,495 Speaker 2: That's good. 272 00:13:21,495 --> 00:13:24,663 I was visiting with one of my colleagues yesterday and she was 273 00:13:24,663 --> 00:13:27,789 sharing with me some of the wisdom of her father and he is, 274 00:13:27,850 --> 00:13:30,780 you know, passing on these little tidbits of things to 275 00:13:30,841 --> 00:13:35,636 think about in life and she said that he told her that you know 276 00:13:35,657 --> 00:13:38,485 that it's the things that you wake up thinking about and the 277 00:13:38,525 --> 00:13:40,269 things that you go to bed thinking about. 278 00:13:40,269 --> 00:13:43,222 Those are typically the things that you're passionate toward. 279 00:13:43,222 --> 00:13:47,529 And I thought, man, there's a lot of wisdom in that 280 00:13:47,710 --> 00:13:48,370 observation. 281 00:13:48,370 --> 00:13:51,860 That that's, you know, when you're really sold out on your 282 00:13:51,899 --> 00:13:54,386 job, when you're really assimilated into your job, 283 00:13:54,967 --> 00:13:56,980 that's what you're thinking about is how do I make this 284 00:13:57,061 --> 00:13:57,361 better? 285 00:13:57,361 --> 00:14:00,028 You know, what are we doing right? 286 00:14:00,028 --> 00:14:01,250 What can we improve on? 287 00:14:01,250 --> 00:14:03,042 And it does kind of consume you . 288 00:14:03,764 --> 00:14:05,409 And, by the way, jennifer, here's the other thing. 289 00:14:05,409 --> 00:14:07,705 You know, I ask the kids all the time. 290 00:14:07,705 --> 00:14:08,145 I tell them. 291 00:14:08,145 --> 00:14:10,292 I say tell me about your business. 292 00:14:10,292 --> 00:14:12,884 And they look at me, they start laughing. 293 00:14:12,884 --> 00:14:14,027 They say I don't have a business. 294 00:14:14,027 --> 00:14:18,082 I said, yeah, you do, you're it , but what time do you open? 295 00:14:18,082 --> 00:14:20,629 What kind of customer service do you deliver? 296 00:14:20,629 --> 00:14:21,652 You think about it. 297 00:14:21,652 --> 00:14:29,620 We, you know. 298 00:14:29,620 --> 00:14:30,903 You know, everybody that knows me knows I go by the live, your 299 00:14:30,923 --> 00:14:31,125 brand logo. 300 00:14:31,125 --> 00:14:32,048 That's kind of my thing is live your brand. 301 00:14:32,048 --> 00:14:33,130 Well, what you just shared is exactly the same thing. 302 00:14:33,130 --> 00:14:34,433 You're living your brand alongside of the brand of 303 00:14:34,474 --> 00:14:39,225 Cavenders and you're living the Cavenders brand as a result of 304 00:14:39,264 --> 00:14:40,969 your brand, right? 305 00:14:40,969 --> 00:14:44,014 So I just wanted to share with you. 306 00:14:44,100 --> 00:14:45,725 Speaker 3: I think that's really good what you wouldn't. 307 00:14:45,725 --> 00:14:48,167 You say thank you, so I know it's. 308 00:14:48,167 --> 00:14:50,254 I think it makes you happy, go back. 309 00:14:50,313 --> 00:14:52,419 Speaker 2: And let's go a little further back because, if I 310 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:58,070 recall in a conversation that we had, you're a former ffa member 311 00:14:58,070 --> 00:14:59,712 too I was. 312 00:15:00,254 --> 00:15:02,181 Speaker 3: I was um. 313 00:15:02,181 --> 00:15:06,683 My time with the ffa in my school was one of the most 314 00:15:06,744 --> 00:15:10,427 impactful parts of my early years, without a doubt. 315 00:15:10,427 --> 00:15:13,248 I mean, I've been out of high school let's not say how long 316 00:15:13,268 --> 00:15:16,311 Erin a long time I that affected me tremendously in life to this 317 00:15:16,311 --> 00:15:31,164 day, and FFA was one of them, and my high school ag teacher, 318 00:15:31,245 --> 00:15:36,480 who still teaches today, was such a patient and encouraging 319 00:15:36,539 --> 00:15:41,399 man and he got me out of my comfort zone to do things that I 320 00:15:41,399 --> 00:15:43,263 wouldn't have probably otherwise done. 321 00:15:43,263 --> 00:15:46,965 I definitely had grown up in the lifestyle and around 322 00:15:47,668 --> 00:15:50,239 agriculture and we had a small cow-calf operation. 323 00:15:50,239 --> 00:15:55,116 I'd showed horses, but I was a little bit probably shy in high 324 00:15:55,157 --> 00:15:57,643 school and had to, I'm going to say, come into my own a little 325 00:15:57,682 --> 00:16:01,197 bit, probably lacked some confidence that I needed other 326 00:16:01,256 --> 00:16:05,494 people to bring out in me, and so I think, looking back, one of 327 00:16:05,494 --> 00:16:10,903 the biggest aspects of FFA for me was the leaders that were 328 00:16:10,964 --> 00:16:15,839 around that encouraged me to push myself, and whether that is 329 00:16:15,839 --> 00:16:21,390 showing cattle, which I did, or judging competitions, which I 330 00:16:21,431 --> 00:16:25,360 judged meat and I judged dairy, those are things that you don't 331 00:16:25,380 --> 00:16:25,961 know how to do. 332 00:16:25,961 --> 00:16:28,937 I mean, maybe some kids have grown up in that environment and 333 00:16:28,937 --> 00:16:30,761 you know that's very familiar to them. 334 00:16:30,761 --> 00:16:33,679 But I also believe and you are nodding your head at this, I 335 00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:39,856 believe that a lot of what your ag teachers want you to do is to 336 00:16:39,856 --> 00:16:42,462 push you into an area that you don't know, to learn something 337 00:16:42,562 --> 00:16:44,076 new, and so I learned new skills . 338 00:16:44,269 --> 00:16:47,236 You know halter breaking a calf is not easy and it's physically 339 00:16:47,277 --> 00:16:49,602 challenging and can be extremely frustrating. 340 00:16:49,602 --> 00:16:52,653 Learning you know what you're looking for. 341 00:16:52,653 --> 00:16:55,639 If you go in a freezing meat locker to determine what side of 342 00:16:55,639 --> 00:16:59,585 beef you know averages out best . 343 00:16:59,585 --> 00:17:02,618 It's been a long time with those words, but those are 344 00:17:02,678 --> 00:17:06,309 things that are not necessarily easy and challenging. 345 00:17:06,309 --> 00:17:09,759 And you learn through those challenges that you're able to 346 00:17:09,858 --> 00:17:11,343 meet and rise to those occasions . 347 00:17:11,343 --> 00:17:13,455 And you, most of the time you're not doing that in the 348 00:17:13,516 --> 00:17:14,819 silo, you're doing it with. 349 00:17:15,530 --> 00:17:17,998 You know a lot of support around you, whether that are your 350 00:17:18,077 --> 00:17:20,945 peers if you're doing a judging competition and you're getting 351 00:17:20,986 --> 00:17:23,612 to know students that you might not have otherwise been friends 352 00:17:23,653 --> 00:17:27,740 with or known and for me that was part of that or you're 353 00:17:28,663 --> 00:17:32,657 learning how to show cattle and you have an ag teacher or 354 00:17:32,858 --> 00:17:33,599 colleagues around. 355 00:17:33,599 --> 00:17:35,711 You know friends around you who are helping you learn to do 356 00:17:35,771 --> 00:17:36,394 those things. 357 00:17:36,394 --> 00:17:41,192 It just helped shape me and give me confidence. 358 00:17:41,192 --> 00:17:44,739 And the other thing that I would add that you may not 359 00:17:44,940 --> 00:17:48,717 remember or realize, erin, is that I had some pretty good 360 00:17:48,856 --> 00:17:52,108 friends and family members who went on to become Texas FFA 361 00:17:52,148 --> 00:17:54,955 state officers shortly after. 362 00:17:54,955 --> 00:17:57,541 One of them was a little older than me and then some were my 363 00:17:57,561 --> 00:17:58,163 same age. 364 00:17:58,163 --> 00:18:00,680 I have a cousin that I'm very close with that was a Texas FFA 365 00:18:00,700 --> 00:18:09,002 officer, and watching my peers do something that seemed so big 366 00:18:09,624 --> 00:18:10,625 was encouraging to me. 367 00:18:10,625 --> 00:18:15,219 Hey, if they can go do this, what can I do with my life? 368 00:18:16,903 --> 00:18:21,794 Speaker 2: Wow, we've talked several times and I guess if you 369 00:18:21,794 --> 00:18:23,461 shared it with me before and I missed it, I just want to 370 00:18:23,500 --> 00:18:27,173 apologize, but I did not realize that we were both meets judges, 371 00:18:27,173 --> 00:18:28,798 because I was a meets judge as well. 372 00:18:28,798 --> 00:18:32,428 Yes, yes, we did too. 373 00:18:32,428 --> 00:18:35,122 As a matter of fact, I've got a fun story about that. 374 00:18:35,122 --> 00:18:36,911 I'm not going to share it today because this interview is about 375 00:18:36,911 --> 00:18:38,538 you, but I do have a fun story about that. 376 00:18:38,538 --> 00:18:39,982 I'm not going to share it today because this interview is about 377 00:18:39,982 --> 00:18:40,846 you, but I do have a fun story about that. 378 00:18:40,846 --> 00:18:43,614 But my wife, my kids, they get a kick out of it because they 379 00:18:43,693 --> 00:18:46,599 know if we go eat at a steakhouse, it better be what I 380 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:46,980 ordered. 381 00:18:46,980 --> 00:18:52,575 And I've been amazed at nice steakhouses too, by the way, 382 00:18:52,615 --> 00:18:55,357 that I've been to that have served me something that was not 383 00:18:55,357 --> 00:18:56,019 what I ordered. 384 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:56,920 Speaker 3: Oh, wow. 385 00:18:57,260 --> 00:18:59,903 Speaker 2: And they'll bring it to me and I'll say I think y'all 386 00:18:59,903 --> 00:19:01,465 got this messed up a little bit . 387 00:19:01,465 --> 00:19:03,217 And they'll say, no, no, no, that's what you ordered. 388 00:19:03,217 --> 00:19:05,397 And I said, no, see this, this muscle right here. 389 00:19:05,397 --> 00:19:07,698 There's no way this muscle right here came from what I 390 00:19:07,778 --> 00:19:08,058 ordered. 391 00:19:08,058 --> 00:19:12,713 You know, I would have never known that had I not been a 392 00:19:12,753 --> 00:19:17,701 meats judger, and I think how many consumers may be taken 393 00:19:17,721 --> 00:19:19,825 advantage of a little bit because they don't know. 394 00:19:19,825 --> 00:19:26,231 And it's a steak, Is it the right steak, the right Cooked, 395 00:19:26,313 --> 00:19:26,996 the right way? 396 00:19:37,503 --> 00:19:40,231 You know, there's a one of the things that I like to share with 397 00:19:40,231 --> 00:19:44,520 kids, and I think the podcast is a good place to do this, and 398 00:19:44,582 --> 00:19:46,011 I can't speak for every other state. 399 00:19:46,011 --> 00:19:47,013 Let's just take Texas. 400 00:19:47,013 --> 00:19:50,883 There are over 3,000 high schools in the state of Texas. 401 00:19:50,883 --> 00:19:52,692 Now think about that. 402 00:19:52,692 --> 00:19:56,000 3,000 high schools, they're all going to have a graduating 403 00:19:56,020 --> 00:19:56,382 class. 404 00:19:56,382 --> 00:19:57,859 That means all these kids are going to be graduating, they're 405 00:19:57,795 --> 00:19:57,919 going to get out. 406 00:19:57,919 --> 00:19:58,140 They're all going to have a graduating class. 407 00:19:58,140 --> 00:19:59,157 That means all these kids are going to be graduating, they're 408 00:19:59,178 --> 00:20:00,990 going to get out and they're going to be looking for a job, a 409 00:20:00,990 --> 00:20:02,614 scholarship or an opportunity. 410 00:20:03,375 --> 00:20:06,570 And so I always ask them what's your competitive edge, what 411 00:20:06,671 --> 00:20:08,496 separates you from the other person? 412 00:20:08,496 --> 00:20:10,922 It could be as simple as a firm handshake. 413 00:20:10,922 --> 00:20:14,513 It could be something as simple as saying yes, sir, no sir, yes 414 00:20:14,513 --> 00:20:16,476 ma'am, no ma'am. 415 00:20:16,476 --> 00:20:18,439 It could be an example of I showed up on time. 416 00:20:18,439 --> 00:20:22,943 But the bottom line is something gave you that 417 00:20:22,983 --> 00:20:30,919 competitive edge to get the job and something's going to give 418 00:20:30,939 --> 00:20:33,089 these kids a competitive edge to capitalize on an opportunity. 419 00:20:33,089 --> 00:20:42,034 How important is it for young people to develop a competitive 420 00:20:42,055 --> 00:20:42,134 edge? 421 00:20:42,134 --> 00:20:43,578 You've already said it, but tell us more about why you 422 00:20:43,598 --> 00:20:45,705 believe FFA can give you some skill sets that give you a 423 00:20:45,726 --> 00:20:46,106 competitive edge. 424 00:20:46,126 --> 00:20:47,792 Speaker 3: well, you know I don't want to be cynical when I 425 00:20:47,833 --> 00:20:51,047 say this, but we live in a competitive world and that's 426 00:20:51,067 --> 00:20:51,228 just. 427 00:20:51,228 --> 00:20:54,075 The reality is that everything is a little bit of a competition 428 00:20:54,075 --> 00:20:58,303 and somebody is always vying for something and you've got to 429 00:20:58,403 --> 00:21:02,602 figure out what part of you makes you individualized and 430 00:21:02,701 --> 00:21:04,448 what part of you makes you special. 431 00:21:04,448 --> 00:21:07,579 And everybody has that in them and you have to figure that out 432 00:21:07,619 --> 00:21:10,351 and foster it, pull it out and and if you're lucky to be 433 00:21:10,391 --> 00:21:14,479 surrounded by people in your life who will guide you with 434 00:21:14,499 --> 00:21:18,773 that, I do, I made I may go on a tangent for a minute, aaron. 435 00:21:18,773 --> 00:21:22,420 I think young people, people, all of us, not not even young 436 00:21:22,441 --> 00:21:26,574 people all of us need to remember that sometimes there 437 00:21:26,614 --> 00:21:29,760 are people in our life, whether we're younger or middle-aged, 438 00:21:30,181 --> 00:21:34,317 who see things in us that we may not see for ourselves, and 439 00:21:34,357 --> 00:21:35,480 sometimes it's not apparent. 440 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:37,815 Somebody, sometimes it's somebody that's maybe not quite 441 00:21:37,855 --> 00:21:41,203 so close to you, and if they are seeing that in you and they are 442 00:21:41,203 --> 00:21:44,613 trying to foster you or encourage you or bring things 443 00:21:44,772 --> 00:21:46,195 out in you, listen to them. 444 00:21:46,195 --> 00:21:49,730 Listen to them because they're doing it for a reason. 445 00:21:49,730 --> 00:21:51,257 People don't waste their time. 446 00:21:51,257 --> 00:21:53,666 That way, people are not that selfless. 447 00:21:53,666 --> 00:21:55,731 If they see something in you that they are trying to 448 00:21:55,791 --> 00:21:58,517 encourage you, whether it's hey, you really have great 449 00:21:58,537 --> 00:22:02,263 leadership skills, look into that, or can I help you with 450 00:22:02,284 --> 00:22:05,957 this, listen, because those people are well-meaning and they 451 00:22:05,957 --> 00:22:08,762 can help you see things that you don't see in yourself. 452 00:22:10,371 --> 00:22:11,493 Back to the competitive edge. 453 00:22:11,493 --> 00:22:13,480 I think that's something that it takes all of us. 454 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,416 You know, some people learn it easier than others and 455 00:22:16,557 --> 00:22:18,000 definitely comes with experience . 456 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:22,374 But listen to other people. 457 00:22:22,374 --> 00:22:25,380 I think making sure what we talked about before, that you 458 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,304 have a passion for whatever it is that you're doing. 459 00:22:27,430 --> 00:22:30,623 I think if you don't have that, you're lacking a lot because you 460 00:22:30,623 --> 00:22:33,252 are trying to force yourself into something that maybe 461 00:22:33,272 --> 00:22:36,890 doesn't fit with your skill set, your personality, who you are 462 00:22:36,951 --> 00:22:39,114 as an individual doesn't fit with your skill set, your 463 00:22:39,153 --> 00:22:40,816 personality, who you are as an individual. 464 00:22:40,816 --> 00:22:44,080 And then you will start to figure out what it is about you 465 00:22:44,501 --> 00:22:46,945 that makes you unique and competitive. 466 00:22:46,945 --> 00:22:48,455 And again, we all have that. 467 00:22:48,455 --> 00:22:52,240 For example, I try very hard to do what I say I'm going to do, 468 00:22:52,750 --> 00:22:55,061 and I'm the kind of person that if I don't follow through with 469 00:22:55,083 --> 00:22:57,535 something, it niggles at the back of my brain. 470 00:22:57,535 --> 00:23:00,998 I didn't do that thing that I said I was going to do because 471 00:23:01,057 --> 00:23:02,402 it's just important. 472 00:23:02,402 --> 00:23:03,332 You know, it's that whole. 473 00:23:03,332 --> 00:23:04,435 Your handshake is your word. 474 00:23:04,435 --> 00:23:09,593 Competition is incredibly important, whether it's a young 475 00:23:09,633 --> 00:23:12,098 person starting out in their career or a middle-aged person 476 00:23:12,220 --> 00:23:13,082 in their life. 477 00:23:15,391 --> 00:23:16,717 Speaker 2: Well, that's good stuff right there. 478 00:23:16,717 --> 00:23:20,176 Well, that's good stuff right there. 479 00:23:20,176 --> 00:23:22,300 Well, we could almost do a whole episode on that. 480 00:23:22,300 --> 00:23:25,232 What you just said about passion is a competitive edge. 481 00:23:26,075 --> 00:23:31,805 It's an internal driver right it makes you want and you know you 482 00:23:31,805 --> 00:23:34,217 also you're kind of alluding to something else here too, we 483 00:23:34,237 --> 00:23:37,355 could probably dive into, but it's a core value too. 484 00:23:37,355 --> 00:23:40,694 I mean, when you, when you, make those comments, that tells 485 00:23:40,734 --> 00:23:43,162 me you're the kind of person that's driven by something 486 00:23:43,590 --> 00:23:44,092 internal. 487 00:23:44,092 --> 00:23:45,954 It's not an external. 488 00:23:45,954 --> 00:23:48,500 Let me tell you what you need to be doing. 489 00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:52,412 It's an internal compass that says I'm going to set a standard 490 00:23:52,412 --> 00:23:56,936 so high that I want everybody to be proud of the standard, 491 00:23:56,977 --> 00:24:00,842 because that's my brand and my brand does what it says it's 492 00:24:00,862 --> 00:24:08,191 going to do and my brand is going to get the job done and, 493 00:24:08,230 --> 00:24:10,116 as a result, the company's brand looks good. 494 00:24:10,136 --> 00:24:13,789 So that's why I'm a big believer in Live your Brand, because 495 00:24:13,810 --> 00:24:15,416 it's exactly what you just said, and everybody that works for an 496 00:24:15,416 --> 00:24:19,853 organization they sometimes maybe not realizing it, but they 497 00:24:19,853 --> 00:24:22,719 are an extension of that company because that's how 498 00:24:22,778 --> 00:24:26,596 people know them and so they're like well, if Jennifer's that 499 00:24:26,636 --> 00:24:29,530 way, I guess Cavendish is that way, so that must be pretty good 500 00:24:29,530 --> 00:24:29,530 . 501 00:24:29,530 --> 00:24:33,320 So, anyway, talk about leadership real quick. 502 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:34,505 Let's talk about leadership. 503 00:24:34,505 --> 00:24:38,818 I know you see leadership in the Cavend brand, in the company 504 00:24:38,818 --> 00:24:38,818 . 505 00:24:38,818 --> 00:24:42,564 You see leadership in all these other organizations that you 506 00:24:42,604 --> 00:24:44,852 work with, people that you've been exposed to. 507 00:24:44,852 --> 00:24:50,126 How important is it for us to see good leaders and then also 508 00:24:50,607 --> 00:24:51,871 give us some leadership tips? 509 00:24:51,871 --> 00:24:55,378 If you could sit down right now in front of every high school 510 00:24:55,479 --> 00:24:59,035 ag student in the United States, say here are three leadership 511 00:24:59,095 --> 00:25:00,138 tips, what would you tell them? 512 00:25:02,151 --> 00:25:05,442 Speaker 3: I think I would tell them the following are the 513 00:25:05,482 --> 00:25:09,432 biggest skills that I think are most important Communication, 514 00:25:10,894 --> 00:25:13,857 positivity and resiliency. 515 00:25:13,857 --> 00:25:21,391 The thing about communication is, if you don't know how to 516 00:25:21,411 --> 00:25:25,464 convey what you're thinking, what you want, how you want to 517 00:25:25,484 --> 00:25:28,752 get there, maybe you're confused about how to get there. 518 00:25:28,752 --> 00:25:31,690 If you can't convey that to the people that you're working with 519 00:25:31,690 --> 00:25:35,028 and I say with, not who worked for you. 520 00:25:35,028 --> 00:25:35,810 It's a partnership. 521 00:25:35,810 --> 00:25:41,670 You're unable to all get on the same page and we're all on 522 00:25:41,690 --> 00:25:43,981 different pages and we all think differently and we work 523 00:25:44,021 --> 00:25:44,462 differently. 524 00:25:44,462 --> 00:25:48,913 So, learning how to verbalize, whatever that may be, you know, 525 00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:51,054 some people are better at communicating verbally, some are 526 00:25:51,054 --> 00:25:55,086 better at communicating written , and I'm not just saying that 527 00:25:55,105 --> 00:25:56,670 because I have a degree in it. 528 00:25:56,670 --> 00:25:58,232 Obviously it can. 529 00:25:58,232 --> 00:26:01,429 Maybe comes a little easy for me, but I really do believe in 530 00:26:01,449 --> 00:26:03,766 my own experience when I've worked with people who are not 531 00:26:03,806 --> 00:26:04,548 good communicators. 532 00:26:04,548 --> 00:26:05,310 It's a challenge. 533 00:26:05,310 --> 00:26:08,328 If you can know where somebody's coming from, then you 534 00:26:08,328 --> 00:26:10,074 can know how to meet them where they are. 535 00:26:11,498 --> 00:26:18,588 Positivity you know there are always going to be challenges 536 00:26:18,608 --> 00:26:24,076 that we deal with and life itself brings its own set of 537 00:26:25,323 --> 00:26:27,509 hurdles that we all are going to face and have to jump, 538 00:26:28,372 --> 00:26:32,403 maintaining the ability to be positive and look forward and 539 00:26:32,484 --> 00:26:36,458 not look in the rearview mirror is just, it's a life skill, it's 540 00:26:36,458 --> 00:26:37,501 a career skill. 541 00:26:37,501 --> 00:26:41,798 It's to me it the leaders that I most appreciate that are 542 00:26:41,838 --> 00:26:45,729 around me are positive people, Even when things are difficult, 543 00:26:45,788 --> 00:26:47,031 even when they're relaying bad news. 544 00:26:47,031 --> 00:26:48,968 I had something relayed to me yesterday. 545 00:26:48,968 --> 00:26:51,980 That was not something I wanted to hear from a perspective of 546 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:57,771 something we were working on, but it was relayed sincerely and 547 00:26:57,771 --> 00:27:00,746 with positivity at the very end of the day and it made it a lot 548 00:27:00,746 --> 00:27:02,431 easier to accept and swallow. 549 00:27:03,039 --> 00:27:09,766 And then resiliency Our careers are going to be filled with 550 00:27:09,806 --> 00:27:12,132 change and challenges. 551 00:27:12,132 --> 00:27:15,268 And what is this? 552 00:27:15,268 --> 00:27:16,030 What is the saying? 553 00:27:16,030 --> 00:27:16,662 There's a saying. 554 00:27:16,662 --> 00:27:18,890 You know, nothing ever stays. 555 00:27:18,890 --> 00:27:20,164 I mean, there's a lot of stuff out there. 556 00:27:20,164 --> 00:27:21,269 Nothing ever stays the same. 557 00:27:21,269 --> 00:27:22,311 Change is just inevitable. 558 00:27:22,311 --> 00:27:25,343 You can't deal with that if you're not resilient and just 559 00:27:25,423 --> 00:27:28,310 able to cope and shift and become a windmill that just 560 00:27:29,053 --> 00:27:34,375 keeps like I've never heard anybody use the windmill analogy 561 00:27:34,375 --> 00:27:34,375 . 562 00:27:34,415 --> 00:27:35,420 Speaker 2: That's a good analogy . 563 00:27:35,420 --> 00:27:38,044 Listen to that. 564 00:27:38,044 --> 00:27:41,009 Think about a windmill, you boy , that was a good one. 565 00:27:41,009 --> 00:27:44,161 Resiliency, kind of like a windmill. 566 00:27:44,161 --> 00:27:45,064 Yeah, you got a shift. 567 00:27:45,064 --> 00:27:48,516 It does move with the wind, but guess what it does? 568 00:27:48,516 --> 00:27:49,660 It keeps moving. 569 00:27:49,660 --> 00:27:58,451 Wow, that's good stuff communication, positivity and 570 00:27:58,471 --> 00:27:59,172 resiliency. 571 00:27:59,992 --> 00:28:02,215 I like something that you said about communication too. 572 00:28:02,215 --> 00:28:06,634 You know, we know that in the world of work you have both the 573 00:28:06,713 --> 00:28:08,662 internal customer and the external customer. 574 00:28:08,662 --> 00:28:11,535 So we've got the people that we work with that we got to 575 00:28:11,575 --> 00:28:13,682 deliver the same exceptional customer service. 576 00:28:13,682 --> 00:28:17,971 You know, I know that sounds crazy, but it's the reality. 577 00:28:17,971 --> 00:28:21,205 You know, if it's an external customer, we're Johnny on the 578 00:28:21,246 --> 00:28:22,490 spot, you know. 579 00:28:22,490 --> 00:28:24,982 But we've also got to remember that internal customer. 580 00:28:24,982 --> 00:28:29,209 If we can act that same way with them, then they have 581 00:28:29,269 --> 00:28:32,093 exceptional customer service as well as our external customers 582 00:28:32,393 --> 00:28:33,976 have an exceptional customer service. 583 00:28:33,976 --> 00:28:37,969 But if you can't communicate with one another, then how can 584 00:28:38,009 --> 00:28:39,732 you deliver that exceptional service? 585 00:28:39,732 --> 00:28:42,505 Communicate with one another, then how can you deliver that 586 00:28:42,546 --> 00:28:42,967 exceptional service. 587 00:28:42,967 --> 00:28:44,452 So that was a really good point , that it's not just what we 588 00:28:44,472 --> 00:28:46,922 convey and communicate outside of our offices, our 589 00:28:47,021 --> 00:28:51,314 organizations, it's also how we communicate internally with our 590 00:28:51,734 --> 00:28:54,221 colleagues in our internal organization. 591 00:28:54,221 --> 00:28:56,507 That was good. 592 00:28:56,567 --> 00:28:58,311 And also I love the fact that you know resiliency. 593 00:28:58,311 --> 00:28:58,873 Not everybody gets a trophy. 594 00:28:58,873 --> 00:28:59,513 I meant we got to be resilient. 595 00:28:59,513 --> 00:29:00,115 I tell people and you showed. 596 00:29:00,115 --> 00:29:01,238 Also, I love the fact that you know resiliency. 597 00:29:01,238 --> 00:29:01,859 Not everybody gets a trophy. 598 00:29:01,859 --> 00:29:03,684 I meant we got to be resilient. 599 00:29:03,684 --> 00:29:05,009 I tell people and you showed cattle. 600 00:29:05,009 --> 00:29:05,450 I did, too. 601 00:29:05,450 --> 00:29:09,288 Tell people, I learned just as much getting the gate as I did 602 00:29:09,390 --> 00:29:10,152 getting the blue ribbon. 603 00:29:10,152 --> 00:29:14,488 You know, I learned that when I got the gate, what could I have 604 00:29:14,488 --> 00:29:14,970 done better? 605 00:29:14,970 --> 00:29:16,821 You know where did I mess up? 606 00:29:16,821 --> 00:29:18,023 How did it not feed right? 607 00:29:18,023 --> 00:29:18,263 What? 608 00:29:18,263 --> 00:29:20,407 What is it that I missed in the genetics? 609 00:29:20,407 --> 00:29:23,153 I mean, there's all kinds of questions, if I'm smart enough 610 00:29:23,173 --> 00:29:24,015 to evaluate it. 611 00:29:24,015 --> 00:29:26,828 John Maxwell even talks about success. 612 00:29:26,828 --> 00:29:29,107 He says you should do an autopsy on every success. 613 00:29:29,107 --> 00:29:31,267 I doubt why it was a success. 614 00:29:31,267 --> 00:29:34,048 But move on to the next thing. 615 00:29:34,048 --> 00:29:35,579 You got to always be looking forward. 616 00:29:35,579 --> 00:29:38,446 I think resiliency is about looking forward. 617 00:29:40,290 --> 00:29:40,833 Speaker 3: I like that. 618 00:29:40,833 --> 00:29:42,586 I'm taking that one with me when I leave. 619 00:29:45,906 --> 00:29:48,747 Speaker 2: All right, let's see what else did we cover? 620 00:29:48,747 --> 00:29:51,189 Everything that I wanted to cover this was good stuff. 621 00:29:51,189 --> 00:29:53,398 I love your career path. 622 00:29:53,398 --> 00:29:55,888 I love the fact that you came from the ranks of the FFA. 623 00:29:55,888 --> 00:29:59,709 I learned that you found your way into a college profession 624 00:29:59,808 --> 00:30:04,147 and a degree plan, and it sounds like it's kind of led itself to 625 00:30:04,147 --> 00:30:05,612 the opportunity that you're in today. 626 00:30:05,612 --> 00:30:10,363 Not everybody's career path leads that way, so the fact that 627 00:30:10,363 --> 00:30:12,646 yours did and I think that's also. 628 00:30:13,229 --> 00:30:16,780 I also like what you said about nonprofit work too, because I 629 00:30:16,820 --> 00:30:19,226 think for a lot of times, for a lot of people, they may not 630 00:30:19,307 --> 00:30:22,212 understand that is exactly what you said. 631 00:30:22,212 --> 00:30:26,109 People they say well, aaron, y'all are a nonprofit. 632 00:30:26,109 --> 00:30:27,463 You got to run like a business. 633 00:30:27,463 --> 00:30:32,303 Yes and no, there's really. 634 00:30:32,303 --> 00:30:35,651 To me it's a mission, because I don't think anybody can stretch 635 00:30:35,651 --> 00:30:37,200 a dollar as far as a nonprofit. 636 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,741 I think nonprofits that are really efficient, they know how 637 00:30:40,761 --> 00:30:46,252 to stretch a dollar because they operate on such small margins 638 00:30:46,393 --> 00:30:47,134 that they have to. 639 00:30:47,836 --> 00:30:50,423 But I also think there's a lot of wisdom that we can learn from 640 00:30:50,423 --> 00:30:53,991 our for-profit colleagues in terms of best practices and 641 00:30:54,059 --> 00:30:57,106 management, data collection, evaluation. 642 00:30:57,106 --> 00:31:00,982 You know Eddie Preford over at Preford tells us that you know 643 00:31:01,002 --> 00:31:03,263 there's nothing that leaves their shop that they don't 644 00:31:03,364 --> 00:31:03,664 measure. 645 00:31:03,664 --> 00:31:06,980 They measure everything, they want to measure the performance 646 00:31:07,041 --> 00:31:10,650 of everything, and I think, even as a nonprofit guy, I want to 647 00:31:10,690 --> 00:31:11,030 know that. 648 00:31:11,030 --> 00:31:15,469 I want to know who's opening my emails, what social media 649 00:31:15,509 --> 00:31:17,532 platform is getting the most traction when we're trying to 650 00:31:17,559 --> 00:31:20,971 communicate a message or an event or an activity. 651 00:31:20,971 --> 00:31:25,028 So I think we've all got to be willing to pivot, like you said, 652 00:31:25,028 --> 00:31:28,424 be resilient to move with the wind if necessary, but keep 653 00:31:28,464 --> 00:31:28,986 spinning. 654 00:31:28,986 --> 00:31:31,451 That was a really good analogy. 655 00:31:31,451 --> 00:31:36,624 All right, jennifer. 656 00:31:36,624 --> 00:31:43,244 So you know, everybody gets a fun question at the end, and for 657 00:31:43,244 --> 00:31:45,230 you, I'm about to launch something brand new. 658 00:31:45,230 --> 00:31:48,621 You're going to be the first guest on this podcast, so 659 00:31:48,641 --> 00:31:50,598 actually you'll get two questions, okay. 660 00:31:50,598 --> 00:31:54,730 So the first question is I like to ask guests because I'm 661 00:31:54,789 --> 00:31:57,827 always curious what's the best concert you've ever been to? 662 00:31:59,961 --> 00:32:02,627 Speaker 3: The best concert I've ever been to was also the first 663 00:32:02,627 --> 00:32:06,686 concert I ever went to, but I've seen this artist I don't 664 00:32:06,727 --> 00:32:07,830 know how many times. 665 00:32:07,830 --> 00:32:12,386 It was George Strait, and I know that may be a cliche answer 666 00:32:12,386 --> 00:32:13,490 , but it is honest. 667 00:32:13,490 --> 00:32:16,269 I was my very first time to see him. 668 00:32:16,269 --> 00:32:19,249 I was 14 years old and my mom took me to see him. 669 00:32:19,249 --> 00:32:24,365 It was a birthday gift and he put on such an amazing show and 670 00:32:24,444 --> 00:32:28,057 I have had the privilege to not only kind of work alongside his 671 00:32:28,098 --> 00:32:32,229 career with my job through vendor partners like Justin and 672 00:32:32,269 --> 00:32:37,501 Wrangler, but every time I see him he puts on a consistently 673 00:32:37,582 --> 00:32:42,230 wonderful show that just leaves you, you know, enjoying and 674 00:32:42,271 --> 00:32:43,374 happy and singing along. 675 00:32:44,819 --> 00:32:46,346 Speaker 2: Where'd you see him at 14 years old? 676 00:32:48,601 --> 00:32:50,885 Speaker 3: In Nacogdoches, texas , at the Coliseum. 677 00:32:51,287 --> 00:32:52,008 Speaker 2: Nacogdoches. 678 00:32:52,589 --> 00:32:53,250 Speaker 3: Nacogdoches. 679 00:32:53,692 --> 00:32:56,521 Speaker 2: Wow, yeah, I got to tell you. 680 00:32:56,521 --> 00:32:59,268 So, of all the guests, of all the when I asked that question, 681 00:33:00,309 --> 00:33:02,193 king George is number one, just so you know. 682 00:33:02,193 --> 00:33:07,142 Consistently across and I'm talking spectrum, I've got 683 00:33:07,563 --> 00:33:10,623 everything from musicals I've got some guests that have said 684 00:33:10,643 --> 00:33:14,873 musicals all the way to Pitbull, to heavy metal. 685 00:33:14,873 --> 00:33:17,944 I mean the spectrum is incredible. 686 00:33:17,944 --> 00:33:20,892 But I do like the fact that King George is number one. 687 00:33:20,892 --> 00:33:25,550 He seems to be the most admired concert from our guest on the 688 00:33:25,592 --> 00:33:26,133 podcast. 689 00:33:26,133 --> 00:33:27,912 All right, here's the new question. 690 00:33:27,912 --> 00:33:39,532 Okay, if they were to make a movie about Jennifer Green, who 691 00:33:39,573 --> 00:33:41,194 would play Jennifer Green? 692 00:33:42,516 --> 00:33:44,259 Speaker 3: green. 693 00:33:44,259 --> 00:33:45,420 Wow, oh, aaron, okay. 694 00:33:45,420 --> 00:33:53,551 So before I answer this, I'm gonna say, aaron, I do not take 695 00:33:53,592 --> 00:33:54,973 myself very seriously. 696 00:33:54,973 --> 00:33:58,404 I mean, I try to have it together, I try to come across 697 00:33:59,586 --> 00:34:03,253 um, poised and articulate and all the things, and I am that 698 00:34:03,319 --> 00:34:07,428 person, but I am also the person that just does the most 699 00:34:07,488 --> 00:34:12,184 ridiculous silly things, and I think did somebody see that 700 00:34:12,306 --> 00:34:12,766 happen? 701 00:34:12,766 --> 00:34:15,898 Surely they didn't, because that's just life, I don't know. 702 00:34:15,898 --> 00:34:18,786 I just don't think you can take yourself so seriously and also 703 00:34:18,907 --> 00:34:21,152 I simply cannot take myself that seriously. 704 00:34:21,152 --> 00:34:30,362 So probably somebody who has some comedic talent for sure, I 705 00:34:30,483 --> 00:34:32,007 love Sarah Jessica Parker. 706 00:34:32,007 --> 00:34:34,969 I always have See that. 707 00:34:34,969 --> 00:34:38,282 I think she's pretty self-deprecating, so probably 708 00:34:38,561 --> 00:34:40,166 she would play there you go, I like it. 709 00:34:40,586 --> 00:34:42,510 Speaker 2: There you go, I like it. 710 00:34:42,510 --> 00:34:46,527 I like it and I like the fact that you have a sense of humor 711 00:34:46,588 --> 00:34:46,748 too. 712 00:34:46,748 --> 00:34:50,567 I watched, I had the opportunity to work with Wayne 713 00:34:50,586 --> 00:34:54,726 Goldberg when Wayne was the CEO of La Quinta, and here was a 714 00:34:54,788 --> 00:34:56,400 company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. 715 00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:58,427 I didn't know that when we first started working with them 716 00:34:58,539 --> 00:35:01,230 and Wayne was the leader that helped turn that company around. 717 00:35:01,230 --> 00:35:05,503 But it's funny because we would be in meetings and he had that 718 00:35:05,664 --> 00:35:09,010 knack of bringing a sense of humor into a moment. 719 00:35:09,090 --> 00:35:12,244 That might have been tense, that might have been getting a 720 00:35:12,284 --> 00:35:16,432 little deep, but it provided that sense of relaxation to 721 00:35:16,492 --> 00:35:18,465 allow everybody to open back up again. 722 00:35:18,465 --> 00:35:22,342 So I do like the fact that you said don't take yourself too 723 00:35:22,402 --> 00:35:23,025 seriously. 724 00:35:23,025 --> 00:35:26,275 And I laugh at myself all the time. 725 00:35:26,275 --> 00:35:29,403 I, you know, I tell people like I was in the movie with Dick 726 00:35:29,443 --> 00:35:32,291 Walrath, you know the deep in the heart movie, and with Val 727 00:35:32,420 --> 00:35:33,661 Kilmer and uncle Rico. 728 00:35:33,661 --> 00:35:34,983 And they asked me. 729 00:35:34,983 --> 00:35:36,547 They said well, aaron, how'd you get that part? 730 00:35:36,547 --> 00:35:39,771 And I said cause they needed a Texas Danny DeVito lookalike. 731 00:35:39,771 --> 00:35:42,681 That's how I got it. 732 00:35:42,681 --> 00:35:44,005 So, yeah, I'm like you. 733 00:35:44,005 --> 00:35:46,672 It's like come on, don't take yourself so seriously. 734 00:35:47,739 --> 00:35:50,166 Speaker 3: Well, we just all are flawed individuals, and if we 735 00:35:50,206 --> 00:35:56,985 can't recognize that, then Amen, jennifer, thank you for taking 736 00:35:57,025 --> 00:35:57,746 some time today. 737 00:35:58,168 --> 00:36:00,632 Speaker 2: Really do appreciate you taking a moment and coming 738 00:36:00,771 --> 00:36:04,159 on the Growing Our Future podcast, we're excited. 739 00:36:04,159 --> 00:36:09,050 We've partnered with ICEV and ICEV will eventually this 740 00:36:09,110 --> 00:36:13,123 podcast will go on a platform nationwide and teachers can 741 00:36:13,224 --> 00:36:14,568 actually use this podcast. 742 00:36:14,568 --> 00:36:17,509 It'll come with a lesson plan where they can actually teach 743 00:36:17,628 --> 00:36:18,490 off of this podcast. 744 00:36:18,490 --> 00:36:21,443 So that's why, when you dove into your interview and the 745 00:36:21,503 --> 00:36:24,846 importance of that and the skills and the competitive edge, 746 00:36:24,846 --> 00:36:28,335 all of those things, I just want you to know how much we 747 00:36:28,376 --> 00:36:32,346 value your sharing your journey, because there's probably 748 00:36:32,425 --> 00:36:34,784 somebody out there right now that's gonna say you know, if 749 00:36:34,864 --> 00:36:38,483 Jennifer can do that, maybe I can do that, maybe I can find my 750 00:36:38,483 --> 00:36:43,349 way to one day be the public relations and events manager for 751 00:36:43,349 --> 00:36:44,731 a major company. 752 00:36:44,731 --> 00:36:46,547 So thank you for sharing that. 753 00:36:47,739 --> 00:36:49,527 Speaker 3: Well, thank you for allowing me the opportunity. 754 00:36:50,820 --> 00:36:52,885 Speaker 2: All right, folks, and until we meet again. 755 00:36:52,885 --> 00:36:56,485 Remember we like to say it all the time Listen, if agriculture 756 00:36:56,505 --> 00:36:59,224 has taught us anything, it's taught us this If you want to 757 00:36:59,264 --> 00:37:00,353 know what the future is, grow it . 758 00:37:00,353 --> 00:37:01,400 If you want to know what the future is, grow it. 759 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:04,407 If you want to know what the future is, grow it. 760 00:37:04,407 --> 00:37:05,570 Well, how do you grow it? 761 00:37:05,570 --> 00:37:08,827 You've got to plant the right seeds, and then you've got to 762 00:37:08,867 --> 00:37:09,871 take care of them. 763 00:37:09,871 --> 00:37:13,603 You've got to keep the weeds out and then, when the time 764 00:37:13,663 --> 00:37:16,210 comes, you've got to harvest it and you've got to share it with 765 00:37:16,291 --> 00:37:16,510 others. 766 00:37:16,510 --> 00:37:18,784 That's what this podcast is about. 767 00:37:18,784 --> 00:37:26,681 Jennifer shared some incredible seeds today, seeds that, if 768 00:37:26,701 --> 00:37:27,963 we'll plant them in our lives, they're going to produce great 769 00:37:27,983 --> 00:37:28,565 things, great opportunities. 770 00:37:28,565 --> 00:37:30,929 So until we meet again, everybody, be safe and go out 771 00:37:30,971 --> 00:37:32,782 and do something great for somebody else. 772 00:37:32,782 --> 00:37:35,148 You'll feel better about it and guess what? 773 00:37:35,148 --> 00:37:37,101 Our world will be a better place because you did it. 774 00:37:37,101 --> 00:37:38,664 Thank y'all for stopping by. 775 00:37:45,239 --> 00:37:46,172 Speaker 1: We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the 776 00:37:46,192 --> 00:37:46,840 Growing Our Future podcast. 777 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:51,467 This show is sponsored by the Texas FFA Foundation, whose 778 00:37:51,568 --> 00:37:54,420 mission is to strengthen agricultural science education 779 00:37:54,963 --> 00:37:57,844 so students can develop their potential for personal growth, 780 00:37:58,204 --> 00:38:01,425 career success and leadership in a global marketplace. 781 00:38:01,425 --> 00:38:03,789 Learn more at mytexasffaorg.