%20-%20Podcast%20Cover%20(1)-min.jpg)
Growing Our Future
Growing Our Future
Passion is a Competitive Edge
On this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast, we meet Jennifer Green, the Public Relations and Events Manager at Cavender's. We discuss Jennifer's journey from her early days shopping at Cavender's to her current role, emphasizing the importance of relationships, research in job interviews, and finding a competitive edge. Jennifer shares valuable insights on leadership skills, the impact of FFA on personal development, and the significance of resilience and adaptability in careers. The conversation concludes with fun questions about concerts and personal reflections.
Story Notes:
- Jennifer Green's Journey to Cavender's
- Importance of Research in Job Interviews
- Finding Your Competitive Edge
- Leadership Skills for Young People
- The Impact of FFA on Personal Development
- Resilience and Adaptability in Careers
Communication and Positivity in Leadership
Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. In this show, the Texas FFA Foundation will take on a journey of exploration into agricultural science, education, leadership development and insights from subject matter experts and sponsors who provide the fuel to make dreams come true. Here's your host, Erin Alejandro.
Speaker 2:Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast. Hey, number one, first and foremost, thank you for stopping by. I meant listen. Time is the only thing we get to spend. That's all we can do with it. We can't save it, we can't invest in it. Really, all we can do is spend it. So the fact that you're spending some of your time with us really means a lot. So, number one, thank you. Number two, know that we enjoy doing this podcast. I mean, it is a great way, it's a great platform to bring incredible guests, minds, experiences and expertise on and share them with other people, and today is no different. I'm excited about today's guest. I can't wait for y'all to meet her. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jennifer Green to Public Relations and Events Manager with Cavenders. Jennifer, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Are you ready for this, Jennifer?
Speaker 3:That's ready as I'll ever be.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, we're excited that you're here. We're going to have fun. We're going to talk a little bit about your life journey and what you do at Cavenders and maybe offer some words of encouragement for any members or teachers or even potential sponsors who may be listening to the show. So let's start off with this. I like to start every episode with the same question. I just think it's a great place to start, and that question is this Jennifer, what are you grateful for today, jennifer? What are you?
Speaker 3:grateful for today. Well, good morning Aaron. Thank you for having me. I am grateful for opportunities and paths. You know, life consists of a lot of different chapters and is always evolving, and I'm particularly grateful for the people that God puts in our lives at the right time. I'm blessed to have a lot of amazing family and friends in my life, including my 20-year-old son, who is not only my child but one of my favorite people, which is a super extra blessing, and I'm grateful for this opportunity. You know, I think a lot of you personally and I love the Texas FFA and the Texas FFA Foundation, and I'm really honored that you want to visit with me.
Speaker 2:Well Foundation, and I'm really honored that you want to visit with me. Well, I do. I'm kind of a fan of yours as well. You're going to tell us about that and everybody's going to understand why I'm a fan, by the way, just so you know. I agree with you Everything that you said family, friends, mentors, all of those things.
Speaker 2:I think in those good times and even in those challenging times, I'm really kind of glad we have them around. And as a parent too, I can also tell you I'm like you. It's, it's. You know, we're proud of all of our kids, proud of all of them. But you know, you love it when you see them do well, and you love it when they're there and they notice you as well. You love it when you see them do well and you love it when they're there and they notice you as well. And so I appreciate those words. That was good.
Speaker 2:Listening to this that are not familiar with Cavenders this is going to go nationwide is, interestingly enough, when we look at the analytics of this podcast, we have a lot of listeners over in Europe, so there's a lot of people that listen to this podcast, and so they may not be familiar with Cavenders. And so, anyway, what I would like is I'm guessing you did not just fall into that chair, that's I'm just guessing. Something tells me there is a story and a journey that led you into this job that you're in today at Cavendish, and I'm wondering if you'd be so kind as to take us back and take us through your journey. How did you end up in this role at Cavendish?
Speaker 3:Well, I would love to share that journey with you. I did not just land in this chair. I do think that life is interesting and ironic. I probably started shopping at Cavenders, a Westernware retailer based in Texas, before I could even remember, and so to then come full circle and get to work for this company is a blessing for sure. And I guess, if you want to go back a little bit into college, career wise Erin.
Speaker 3:I graduated from Texas A&M in 1998, with a degree in ag journalism, and without a doubt, my time in Aggieland, as we affectionately call it, definitely shaped who I am today. I was able to get involved in the AgriLeader, which is a publication that is produced by the students in the College of Ag back in the 90s, and during that time it was a black and white newsletter, like a front and page, and then it evolved on the glossy paper and today it is a four-color, beautiful, produced, four times a year magazine, and it is very fun to go back and look at that in another life and to see what's come of it. I also, incidentally, met my two best friends of 27 years working on that, and so you know, I think that time in our life, our college. Our twenties are opportunities for us to figure out who we are and the path that we're going to be on, and I cannot say enough about that time in my life and how it felt for me and what it's done for my life. But after I graduated from A&M I kind of struggled a little bit. You know, sometimes we get out of school and we don't really know what our path is and sometimes our paths find us.
Speaker 3:I did a short stint in Austin at the Capitol, working for a state representative, and then I worked in public relations and advertising for about a year and then I moved to Tyler, texas, and I landed in a career in nonprofit and I worked for a children's advocacy center and Susan G Komen and that career, that time period for me, which was about 12 to 13 years in nonprofit and charitable work, really shaped the rest of my career. I didn't know that at the time, but when you're leading organizations, lords and volunteers, you really understand what it takes to make an organization go around. Nonprofits are great places to start careers because you really wear a lot of hats. You know you have to do a lot of different things and you work with the very beginning of an event or a fundraising program to the very end of it. And you know I was able to learn that relationships are kind of the thing that makes the world go around.
Speaker 3:That was a great opportunity for me. I loved my time with that. It was predominantly in fundraising and development and I was sort of approached by somebody to take this job at Cavendish and I was kind of at that place in life where I needed a new opportunity and I had not been in the Western agriculture space in a long time. I had grown up in it, it was home for me, it was very familiar, but I had not been in it in a little bit. And when I started the interview process for Cavendish took a little bit of time.
Speaker 3:And you know that thing that happens when you get excited about something you know you think you want it and then you're not sure you're debating and then the closer you get to it the more excited you get about it. And that was definitely happening to me. During that time period I dug into the company a little more other than just being a consumer and a customer. And then I dug into the family and who they were and what they do and it just got me more and more excited. So I was thrilled when I was actually given the opportunity to come on board and I have been with the company for 10 years 10 years.
Speaker 2:Can we dive into this a little bit more? Because you said something that got my attention. One of the things I like about this podcast and having guests on and just letting y'all share your journey is if people will listen. And I tell people all the time listen with your eyes and ears, because if you'll listen, you're going to find clues, you're going to find these little nuggets of wisdom. You said something just a second ago that got my attention. I think it's a. It's a great opportunity here to share you talk.
Speaker 2:You said something a second ago about the interview process and it was more than you expected. Give us a little more insight into that, because there's a couple of things that you said that I thought was really important. Number one this isn't a contest. By the way, I know that in the FFA, we have a job interview contest In the real world. You're actually going after a job job interview contest In the real world. You're actually going after a job. It's competitive, Bottom line. It's competitive, so you're looking for a competitive edge. So it is a process. And then you talked about how you looked more into the company and you looked more into the family. So really, I don't know if you realize that you just gave us three really good things to talk about. So tell us a little bit more about what that interview process looked like Maybe somebody out there is getting ready to go through it. Why it was important for you to look into the company and to know more about the Cavenders family.
Speaker 3:Okay, well, like I said, you know, the opportunity was presented to me. I had some time we don't particularly move all that fast here and specifically when you're working for a family owned company, there was just it was. It was also it happened to be the end of the year, which for us is is holiday, and it's very busy, and I didn't know that at the time. But what I would say is, you know, a, I had immediate interest in job and then, b, I did started doing some digging into what I could find out about the company and the family, which is important when you're looking into a career, and I have always been extremely cautious with my own career to make sure that I was.
Speaker 3:I like the longevity of staying somewhere a long time and knowing what you're getting into and that your values line up with what that company or that industry is and for sure it did for me with Cavendish and so I spent some time digging into what I could find out about what the company was involved in and what they aligned with, and then specifically, the family involvement and what their values and causes were that were important to them, and, interestingly enough, they have a very generous heart, and so I knew that there was an opportunity potentially for me to bring my nonprofit career into the company as well, and I have been able to do that. So anytime anyone's looking to make a change, you know I think, don't try to fit a square peg into a round hole for your own self. You need to be completely comfortable and happy with what you're going into, and that's, to me, what makes us. What is the saying? You don't actually work for a living? It's you know, it's a blessing, it's your career, it's your calling, it's your path.
Speaker 2:Well, that's good. Yeah, I just think there's so much wisdom there in what you just shared. We like to tell the kids go do internships, and the reason why is because you may go to an internship of something you think you might want to do and you may find out that's really not what you want to do. But I say the same thing about sponsors, by the way. When we've got companies like Cavenders and McCoys and Prefords, when we've got companies who I know their core values and I know our core values, it sure makes it a lot easier to work together than if we were trying, as you said, try to put a square peg in a round hole. So the good thing is is because our core values align, it makes the relationships a lot easier to become win-win opportunities.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:I think that's kind of what you were sharing is, when you're pursuing a job and you're going through that interview process and you're looking at the company and you're looking at the people that are involved, find out if it's an alignment and if it's not aligned, then maybe there might be another opportunity that fits better.
Speaker 3:I think that what I have seen is we have definitely been in a growth period at Cavendish and we work in a unique industry that's a little bit of a niche, I would say environment and it is not for everybody. And so, you know, whatever that may be for you as an individual, you definitely want to make sure that it's something that you like and want to be involved in every day. I'm also the kind of person, erin, that, for better or worse I will say for better or worse I tend to throw my whole self into whatever my job is, and then it's not a job, it's a career, and it's what makes it fun and it's what makes it passionate for you and you're able to enjoy what you do every day. Do I love it every day? Are there challenges? Of course, we all know that, but I think that's been a huge part of my professional career as well.
Speaker 2:That's good. I was visiting with one of my colleagues yesterday and she was sharing with me some of the wisdom of her father and he is, you know, passing on these little tidbits of things to think about in life and she said that he told her that you know that it's the things that you wake up thinking about and the things that you go to bed thinking about. Those are typically the things that you're passionate toward. And I thought, man, there's a lot of wisdom in that observation. That that's, you know, when you're really sold out on your job, when you're really assimilated into your job, that's what you're thinking about is how do I make this better? You know, what are we doing right? What can we improve on? And it does kind of consume you.
Speaker 2:And, by the way, jennifer, here's the other thing. You know, I ask the kids all the time. I tell them. I say tell me about your business. And they look at me, they start laughing. They say I don't have a business. I said, yeah, you do, you're it, but what time do you open? What kind of customer service do you deliver? You think about it. We, you know. You know, everybody that knows me knows I go by the live, your brand logo. That's kind of my thing is live your brand. Well, what you just shared is exactly the same thing. You're living your brand alongside of the brand of Cavenders and you're living the Cavenders brand as a result of your brand, right? So I just wanted to share with you.
Speaker 3:I think that's really good what you wouldn't. You say thank you, so I know it's. I think it makes you happy, go back.
Speaker 2:And let's go a little further back because, if I recall in a conversation that we had, you're a former ffa member too I was.
Speaker 3:I was um. My time with the ffa in my school was one of the most impactful parts of my early years, without a doubt. I mean, I've been out of high school let's not say how long Erin a long time I that affected me tremendously in life to this day, and FFA was one of them, and my high school ag teacher, who still teaches today, was such a patient and encouraging man and he got me out of my comfort zone to do things that I wouldn't have probably otherwise done. I definitely had grown up in the lifestyle and around agriculture and we had a small cow-calf operation. I'd showed horses, but I was a little bit probably shy in high school and had to, I'm going to say, come into my own a little bit, probably lacked some confidence that I needed other people to bring out in me, and so I think, looking back, one of the biggest aspects of FFA for me was the leaders that were around that encouraged me to push myself, and whether that is showing cattle, which I did, or judging competitions, which I judged meat and I judged dairy, those are things that you don't know how to do. I mean, maybe some kids have grown up in that environment and you know that's very familiar to them. But I also believe and you are nodding your head at this, I believe that a lot of what your ag teachers want you to do is to push you into an area that you don't know, to learn something new, and so I learned new skills.
Speaker 3:You know halter breaking a calf is not easy and it's physically challenging and can be extremely frustrating. Learning you know what you're looking for. If you go in a freezing meat locker to determine what side of beef you know averages out best. It's been a long time with those words, but those are things that are not necessarily easy and challenging. And you learn through those challenges that you're able to meet and rise to those occasions. And you, most of the time you're not doing that in the silo, you're doing it with.
Speaker 3:You know a lot of support around you, whether that are your peers if you're doing a judging competition and you're getting to know students that you might not have otherwise been friends with or known and for me that was part of that or you're learning how to show cattle and you have an ag teacher or colleagues around. You know friends around you who are helping you learn to do those things. It just helped shape me and give me confidence. And the other thing that I would add that you may not remember or realize, erin, is that I had some pretty good friends and family members who went on to become Texas FFA state officers shortly after. One of them was a little older than me and then some were my same age. I have a cousin that I'm very close with that was a Texas FFA officer, and watching my peers do something that seemed so big was encouraging to me. Hey, if they can go do this, what can I do with my life?
Speaker 2:Wow, we've talked several times and I guess if you shared it with me before and I missed it, I just want to apologize, but I did not realize that we were both meets judges, because I was a meets judge as well. Yes, yes, we did too. As a matter of fact, I've got a fun story about that. I'm not going to share it today because this interview is about you, but I do have a fun story about that. I'm not going to share it today because this interview is about you, but I do have a fun story about that. But my wife, my kids, they get a kick out of it because they know if we go eat at a steakhouse, it better be what I ordered. And I've been amazed at nice steakhouses too, by the way, that I've been to that have served me something that was not what I ordered.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And they'll bring it to me and I'll say I think y'all got this messed up a little bit. And they'll say, no, no, no, that's what you ordered. And I said, no, see this, this muscle right here. There's no way this muscle right here came from what I ordered. You know, I would have never known that had I not been a meats judger, and I think how many consumers may be taken advantage of a little bit because they don't know. And it's a steak, Is it the right steak, the right Cooked, the right way?
Speaker 2:You know, there's a one of the things that I like to share with kids, and I think the podcast is a good place to do this, and I can't speak for every other state. Let's just take Texas. There are over 3,000 high schools in the state of Texas. Now think about that. 3,000 high schools, they're all going to have a graduating class. That means all these kids are going to be graduating, they're going to get out. They're all going to have a graduating class. That means all these kids are going to be graduating, they're going to get out and they're going to be looking for a job, a scholarship or an opportunity.
Speaker 2:And so I always ask them what's your competitive edge, what separates you from the other person? It could be as simple as a firm handshake. It could be something as simple as saying yes, sir, no sir, yes ma'am, no ma'am. It could be an example of I showed up on time. But the bottom line is something gave you that competitive edge to get the job and something's going to give these kids a competitive edge to capitalize on an opportunity. How important is it for young people to develop a competitive edge? You've already said it, but tell us more about why you believe FFA can give you some skill sets that give you a competitive edge.
Speaker 3:well, you know I don't want to be cynical when I say this, but we live in a competitive world and that's just. The reality is that everything is a little bit of a competition and somebody is always vying for something and you've got to figure out what part of you makes you individualized and what part of you makes you special. And everybody has that in them and you have to figure that out and foster it, pull it out and and if you're lucky to be surrounded by people in your life who will guide you with that, I do, I made I may go on a tangent for a minute, aaron. I think young people, people, all of us, not not even young people all of us need to remember that sometimes there are people in our life, whether we're younger or middle-aged, who see things in us that we may not see for ourselves, and sometimes it's not apparent. Somebody, sometimes it's somebody that's maybe not quite so close to you, and if they are seeing that in you and they are trying to foster you or encourage you or bring things out in you, listen to them. Listen to them because they're doing it for a reason. People don't waste their time. That way, people are not that selfless. If they see something in you that they are trying to encourage you, whether it's hey, you really have great leadership skills, look into that, or can I help you with this, listen, because those people are well-meaning and they can help you see things that you don't see in yourself.
Speaker 3:Back to the competitive edge. I think that's something that it takes all of us. You know, some people learn it easier than others and definitely comes with experience. But listen to other people. I think making sure what we talked about before, that you have a passion for whatever it is that you're doing.
Speaker 3:I think if you don't have that, you're lacking a lot because you are trying to force yourself into something that maybe doesn't fit with your skill set, your personality, who you are as an individual doesn't fit with your skill set, your personality, who you are as an individual. And then you will start to figure out what it is about you that makes you unique and competitive. And again, we all have that. For example, I try very hard to do what I say I'm going to do, and I'm the kind of person that if I don't follow through with something, it niggles at the back of my brain. I didn't do that thing that I said I was going to do because it's just important. You know, it's that whole. Your handshake is your word. Competition is incredibly important, whether it's a young person starting out in their career or a middle-aged person in their life.
Speaker 2:Well, that's good stuff right there. Well, that's good stuff right there. Well, we could almost do a whole episode on that. What you just said about passion is a competitive edge.
Speaker 2:It's an internal driver right it makes you want and you know you also you're kind of alluding to something else here too, we could probably dive into, but it's a core value too. I mean, when you, when you, make those comments, that tells me you're the kind of person that's driven by something internal. It's not an external. Let me tell you what you need to be doing. It's an internal compass that says I'm going to set a standard so high that I want everybody to be proud of the standard, because that's my brand and my brand does what it says it's going to do and my brand is going to get the job done and, as a result, the company's brand looks good.
Speaker 2:So that's why I'm a big believer in Live your Brand, because it's exactly what you just said, and everybody that works for an organization they sometimes maybe not realizing it, but they are an extension of that company because that's how people know them and so they're like well, if Jennifer's that way, I guess Cavendish is that way, so that must be pretty good. So, anyway, talk about leadership real quick. Let's talk about leadership. I know you see leadership in the Cavend brand, in the company. You see leadership in all these other organizations that you work with, people that you've been exposed to. How important is it for us to see good leaders and then also give us some leadership tips? If you could sit down right now in front of every high school ag student in the United States, say here are three leadership tips, what would you tell them?
Speaker 3:I think I would tell them the following are the biggest skills that I think are most important Communication, positivity and resiliency. The thing about communication is, if you don't know how to convey what you're thinking, what you want, how you want to get there, maybe you're confused about how to get there. If you can't convey that to the people that you're working with and I say with, not who worked for you. It's a partnership. You're unable to all get on the same page and we're all on different pages and we all think differently and we work differently. So, learning how to verbalize, whatever that may be, you know, some people are better at communicating verbally, some are better at communicating written, and I'm not just saying that because I have a degree in it. Obviously it can. Maybe comes a little easy for me, but I really do believe in my own experience when I've worked with people who are not good communicators. It's a challenge. If you can know where somebody's coming from, then you can know how to meet them where they are.
Speaker 3:Positivity you know there are always going to be challenges that we deal with and life itself brings its own set of hurdles that we all are going to face and have to jump, maintaining the ability to be positive and look forward and not look in the rearview mirror is just, it's a life skill, it's a career skill. It's to me it the leaders that I most appreciate that are around me are positive people, Even when things are difficult, even when they're relaying bad news. I had something relayed to me yesterday. That was not something I wanted to hear from a perspective of something we were working on, but it was relayed sincerely and with positivity at the very end of the day and it made it a lot easier to accept and swallow.
Speaker 3:And then resiliency Our careers are going to be filled with change and challenges. And what is this? What is the saying? There's a saying. You know, nothing ever stays. I mean, there's a lot of stuff out there. Nothing ever stays the same. Change is just inevitable. You can't deal with that if you're not resilient and just able to cope and shift and become a windmill that just keeps like I've never heard anybody use the windmill analogy.
Speaker 2:That's a good analogy. Listen to that. Think about a windmill, you boy, that was a good one. Resiliency, kind of like a windmill. Yeah, you got a shift. It does move with the wind, but guess what it does? It keeps moving. Wow, that's good stuff communication, positivity and resiliency.
Speaker 2:I like something that you said about communication too. You know, we know that in the world of work you have both the internal customer and the external customer. So we've got the people that we work with that we got to deliver the same exceptional customer service. You know, I know that sounds crazy, but it's the reality. You know, if it's an external customer, we're Johnny on the spot, you know. But we've also got to remember that internal customer. If we can act that same way with them, then they have exceptional customer service as well as our external customers have an exceptional customer service. But if you can't communicate with one another, then how can you deliver that exceptional service? Communicate with one another, then how can you deliver that exceptional service. So that was a really good point, that it's not just what we convey and communicate outside of our offices, our organizations, it's also how we communicate internally with our colleagues in our internal organization. That was good.
Speaker 2:And also I love the fact that you know resiliency. Not everybody gets a trophy. I meant we got to be resilient. I tell people and you showed. Also, I love the fact that you know resiliency. Not everybody gets a trophy. I meant we got to be resilient. I tell people and you showed cattle. I did, too. Tell people, I learned just as much getting the gate as I did getting the blue ribbon. You know, I learned that when I got the gate, what could I have done better? You know where did I mess up? How did it not feed right? What? What is it that I missed in the genetics? I mean, there's all kinds of questions, if I'm smart enough to evaluate it. John Maxwell even talks about success. He says you should do an autopsy on every success. I doubt why it was a success. But move on to the next thing. You got to always be looking forward. I think resiliency is about looking forward.
Speaker 3:I like that. I'm taking that one with me when I leave.
Speaker 2:All right, let's see what else did we cover? Everything that I wanted to cover this was good stuff. I love your career path. I love the fact that you came from the ranks of the FFA. I learned that you found your way into a college profession and a degree plan, and it sounds like it's kind of led itself to the opportunity that you're in today. Not everybody's career path leads that way, so the fact that yours did and I think that's also.
Speaker 2:I also like what you said about nonprofit work too, because I think for a lot of times, for a lot of people, they may not understand that is exactly what you said. People they say well, aaron, y'all are a nonprofit. You got to run like a business. Yes and no, there's really. To me it's a mission, because I don't think anybody can stretch a dollar as far as a nonprofit. I think nonprofits that are really efficient, they know how to stretch a dollar because they operate on such small margins that they have to.
Speaker 2:But I also think there's a lot of wisdom that we can learn from our for-profit colleagues in terms of best practices and management, data collection, evaluation. You know Eddie Preford over at Preford tells us that you know there's nothing that leaves their shop that they don't measure. They measure everything, they want to measure the performance of everything, and I think, even as a nonprofit guy, I want to know that. I want to know who's opening my emails, what social media platform is getting the most traction when we're trying to communicate a message or an event or an activity. So I think we've all got to be willing to pivot, like you said, be resilient to move with the wind if necessary, but keep spinning. That was a really good analogy. All right, jennifer. So you know, everybody gets a fun question at the end, and for you, I'm about to launch something brand new. You're going to be the first guest on this podcast, so actually you'll get two questions, okay. So the first question is I like to ask guests because I'm always curious what's the best concert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3:The best concert I've ever been to was also the first concert I ever went to, but I've seen this artist I don't know how many times. It was George Strait, and I know that may be a cliche answer, but it is honest. I was my very first time to see him. I was 14 years old and my mom took me to see him. It was a birthday gift and he put on such an amazing show and I have had the privilege to not only kind of work alongside his career with my job through vendor partners like Justin and Wrangler, but every time I see him he puts on a consistently wonderful show that just leaves you, you know, enjoying and happy and singing along.
Speaker 2:Where'd you see him at 14 years old?
Speaker 3:In Nacogdoches, texas, at the Coliseum.
Speaker 2:Nacogdoches.
Speaker 3:Nacogdoches.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, I got to tell you. So, of all the guests, of all the when I asked that question, king George is number one, just so you know. Consistently across and I'm talking spectrum, I've got everything from musicals I've got some guests that have said musicals all the way to Pitbull, to heavy metal. I mean the spectrum is incredible. But I do like the fact that King George is number one. He seems to be the most admired concert from our guest on the podcast. All right, here's the new question. Okay, if they were to make a movie about Jennifer Green, who would play Jennifer Green?
Speaker 3:green. Wow, oh, aaron, okay. So before I answer this, I'm gonna say, aaron, I do not take myself very seriously. I mean, I try to have it together, I try to come across um, poised and articulate and all the things, and I am that person, but I am also the person that just does the most ridiculous silly things, and I think did somebody see that happen? Surely they didn't, because that's just life, I don't know. I just don't think you can take yourself so seriously and also I simply cannot take myself that seriously. So probably somebody who has some comedic talent for sure, I love Sarah Jessica Parker. I always have See that. I think she's pretty self-deprecating, so probably she would play there you go, I like it.
Speaker 2:There you go, I like it. I like it and I like the fact that you have a sense of humor too. I watched, I had the opportunity to work with Wayne Goldberg when Wayne was the CEO of La Quinta, and here was a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. I didn't know that when we first started working with them and Wayne was the leader that helped turn that company around. But it's funny because we would be in meetings and he had that knack of bringing a sense of humor into a moment.
Speaker 2:That might have been tense, that might have been getting a little deep, but it provided that sense of relaxation to allow everybody to open back up again. So I do like the fact that you said don't take yourself too seriously. And I laugh at myself all the time. I, you know, I tell people like I was in the movie with Dick Walrath, you know the deep in the heart movie, and with Val Kilmer and uncle Rico. And they asked me. They said well, aaron, how'd you get that part? And I said cause they needed a Texas Danny DeVito lookalike. That's how I got it. So, yeah, I'm like you. It's like come on, don't take yourself so seriously.
Speaker 3:Well, we just all are flawed individuals, and if we can't recognize that, then Amen, jennifer, thank you for taking some time today.
Speaker 2:Really do appreciate you taking a moment and coming on the Growing Our Future podcast, we're excited. We've partnered with ICEV and ICEV will eventually this podcast will go on a platform nationwide and teachers can actually use this podcast. It'll come with a lesson plan where they can actually teach off of this podcast. So that's why, when you dove into your interview and the importance of that and the skills and the competitive edge, all of those things, I just want you to know how much we value your sharing your journey, because there's probably somebody out there right now that's gonna say you know, if Jennifer can do that, maybe I can do that, maybe I can find my way to one day be the public relations and events manager for a major company. So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you for allowing me the opportunity.
Speaker 2:All right, folks, and until we meet again. Remember we like to say it all the time Listen, if agriculture has taught us anything, it's taught us this If you want to know what the future is, grow it. If you want to know what the future is, grow it. If you want to know what the future is, grow it. Well, how do you grow it? You've got to plant the right seeds, and then you've got to take care of them. You've got to keep the weeds out and then, when the time comes, you've got to harvest it and you've got to share it with others. That's what this podcast is about. Jennifer shared some incredible seeds today, seeds that, if we'll plant them in our lives, they're going to produce great things, great opportunities. So until we meet again, everybody, be safe and go out and do something great for somebody else. You'll feel better about it and guess what? Our world will be a better place because you did it. Thank y'all for stopping by.
Speaker 1:We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast. This show is sponsored by the Texas FFA Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen agricultural science education so students can develop their potential for personal growth, career success and leadership in a global marketplace. Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
