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Growing Our Future
Growing Our Future
Values Drive Behavior
Dr. Justin Terry, Superintendent of Forney ISD, shares how mentorship and innovative educational approaches are transforming students' futures through entrepreneurial mindsets and real-world experiences.
• Mentorship as a foundation for leadership development - having both internal and external mentors provides guidance and diverse perspectives
• The Opportunity Central (OC) - a 350,000 sq. ft. facility that's student-run, multifunctional, and serves as both educational space and community event center
• Creating a culture of innovation through consistent messaging and values like "people first" and "inspiring innovation"
• Helping students develop their competitive edge by identifying their strengths and cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset
• Competing for students' minds requires the same intensity as competing in athletics
• The future of education will require engaging not just students but entire families
• Leadership requires embracing change, maintaining an open mind to possibilities, and always treating others with kindness
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, Aaron Alejandro.
Speaker 2:Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast Number one, thank you. Thank you for stopping by. I mean you're sharing a little bit of your time with us and hopefully we're sharing something of value to kind of occupy that time. You know, in the world of agriculture, I always tell people if you want to know what the future is, grow it. If you want to know what the future is, you got to grow it. But to do that, you got to plant the right seeds, you got to take care of them, you got to harvest it and you got to share it.
Speaker 2:But we got to start by planting the right seeds, which is what this podcast is about. It's about bringing people on who share their experiences, their insights, their just things of life that they've experienced, that they say, hey, let me tell you about this, in hopes that it gives us a little seed of greatness that can make us better. Today we're honored. You're going to find out here in a second. You're going to see why I'm a fan. Y'all are about to meet Dr Justin Terry and I got to tell you he's an exciting individual, he's an innovator and his enthusiasm is contagious, and you're about to experience that. So, Dr Terry, thank you for being on the podcast today.
Speaker 3:Oh, thanks so much for having me, and, man, I'm a little worried about that buildup in the conversation we're about to have, but we'll do our best. How about that Not?
Speaker 2:worried at all. You're going to deliver. Trust me, you're going to deliver. So with that, I like to start every podcast, every podcast, Matter of fact. I think we should all start every day with this question, and that question is Dr Terry, what are you grateful for today?
Speaker 3:Oh, man, you know, ironically, we always start every classroom, every meeting, anything we do in our school district, with good things, and it is about appreciation. You know, and today I'll be honest with you, we just left a great Easter weekend and I am grateful for family today and the beautiful weather and the time that we had to spend together. So thank you for asking.
Speaker 2:By the way, I agree with you too. I told my kids not too long ago, this last Thanksgiving, I told them to look around. And we're sitting there getting ready to eat Thanksgiving dinner and they go what I said look around. And they're like what I said y'all, it just dawned on me. I said I'm 58 years old and it just dawned on me. I said I can't remember a single Thanksgiving as a kid growing up, because we were too poor, we never had it. My mom, we never traveled with other family.
Speaker 2:And I said I want y'all to look around and realize that there's good times and bad times in life. But if you'll just reflect, you got a family, that's right. You got something to be grateful for, we got food. We're not going to starve, just be grateful, be grateful. So thank you so much for sharing that. And you got a beautiful family and I appreciate you sharing that too. So thank you. Yes, sir, all right. So, dr Justin, terry, that just automatically lets us know that there's some credentials there. And I know for a fact, I know for a fact you did not just fall into that seat. So something tells me there was a journey, there was a path, something that led you to the superintendent role of the Forney ISD, just outside of Dallas, texas. So, dr Terry, kind of take us through that. How did you end up on this career path that landed you in that seat?
Speaker 3:You know, aaron, I get this question a lot and, to be honest with you, you know the one thing I would always tell you I don't think it's anything I ever did. One thing I would always tell you it's it's I don't think it's anything I ever did. I think it's it has to do with the people that I've been blessed and surrounded with along my journey. And I was a grew up in an educator's household. My father was a baseball coach and teacher and professor, and so I ended up as a baseball coach and teacher in a little small town, a little small town right outside of Corsicana called Mildred.
Speaker 3:And at that point in time, you know, I was blessed to have a superintendent that invested in me and he saw something in me as a, as a leader, and he, he kind of took me under his wing and grew me as not only an educator but just as a leader in general.
Speaker 3:And then one day he looked at me and he said you know, there's somebody I want you to meet, and he passed me off to another mentor you know, gene Burton down the road in Rockwall and a little larger district, and you know my path made it back up to the Metroplex at that time as an administration and assistant, principalships and principalships. And then I was blessed to have another mentor as a superintendent that took me under his wing, john Fuller, and then time after time again. What I would just always encourage others as you begin to explore your journey is to find a mentor, find a coach along the way, and find two, if you're really blessed one that's within the organization that you're working within, so that they understand your goals and aspirations and can help you achieve those, but also one that's outside of your organization that brings light into maybe a different perspective that they're seeing that may not be in a narrow field. So again, it's nothing that I've done, I've just been really blessed along the way to have good people that have guided my path.
Speaker 2:Well, I don't disagree with you that at all. As a matter of fact, I've always told people life's not a solo project. We were not created to be the Lone Rangers, and early on I had a mentor. Interestingly enough, early on, I had a mentor and he told me something very similar. He said I want you to always have 10 friends older than you and 10 friends younger than you. He goes the 10 friends older than you're going to tell you where we've been, 10 friends younger than you're going to tell you where we're headed. And I thought that was some pretty good advice, pretty good insight.
Speaker 2:No, then we are met we were talking before we started a good friend and board member, cleo Franklin. Uh, cleo always tells the kids. He said I want you to get your own personal board of directors. He said I want you to get a group of people around you that become your board of directors and make you better. And, uh, I just thought that was good, good wisdom as well. So so, yeah, there's a thing. What I appreciate about what you just said, though, already, is you've already given credit that life's not a solo project, that we're in this together and if we can find people that can make us better, find people that can build our networks, expose us to opportunities. But you've got to be paying attention. They're not just good. I don't think anything just fell in your lap. Something tells me you had to have a little want to.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, and they've got to see that you want to for sure, and because I don't know that others are going to invest in you if they don't see that their investment of their time and their effort will pay off.
Speaker 3:And so you know work ethic and you know is a pretty powerful and important thing, and I think others do see that they see talents in you, whether you know it or not. You know we talk a lot in our organization that you know there's a lot of opportunity for growth. We're a really fast-gr, fast growth district and career growth is pretty easy to see. We have 200 plus 300 new positions every year. And what I think especially young people sometimes don't realize is every time you walk down a hallway, every time you are on the job, you're in an interview and people are watching, whether you know it or not, and so you just hope that they see you on your best day, for sure, most of the time. But when it's consistent and you're having great, great, good days all the time, then they usually find you, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:See, this is where great minds think alike. So one of the things I always ask the FFA kids when we're talking about leadership is I always say tell me about your business. And they just look at me. They say I don't have a business. I said, yeah, you do, you're it. I said, what time do you open in the morning? I mean, what kind of customer service do you deliver? You know, are you on time? I mean, you are your business. By the way, that's why everybody that knows me knows I go by this. My handle is live your brand, because I believe that it's. It's how we live and what we share and what we do. That's how people get to know what our brand is and and just like a fingerprint that that how you live your brand, that's your fingerprint on this world. And, like you just said, I loved it. Even when you're walking down the hallway, somebody's watching.
Speaker 3:That's right. Those actions speak so much more powerful than words in many cases. And people are always watching and they notice some of the sometimes the smallest little things. And, man, I tell you what, with the audience here in the FFA and agriculture, your business starts early and and I tell you what, that's impressive. I watch a lot of our students here in our, you know, animal science program. We run a doggy daycare and just amazed I mean, they're creating you know little reels out there to kind of promote the business that we're running. And they're doing it at 6 am on their own. And you guys are some pretty special, pretty special group, so proud to be a part of this, thank you.
Speaker 2:That's awful, I agree with you. I learned it not by choice. I learned it when I went to Boy's Ranch and I'll never forget. My dorm parent, mr Chandler, brought me a sledgehammer one day and he told me I needed to drive to the other side of the ranch, which was five miles in a blizzard and bust the water trough for the horses. And I pitched a fit and I said, mr Chandler, I don't want to go. It's cold out there, it's a blizzard, the wind's whipping Feels like a razor, I could get lost. And I'll never forget it.
Speaker 2:Mr Chandler, in his old country wisdom he said, darling, do you get thirsty when it's cold? I said, yes, sir. He said, don't you think those horses get thirsty too? I said, aaron, what separates y'all's kids from everybody else? Doesn't UIL teach speech and debate? Doesn't band teach ensemble? Doesn't athletics teach teamwork? What is it that y'all think you do in ag? That nobody else does? And I always tell them. I said, because in the world of agriculture, if we don't do our job, something dies. When you can give that to a kid, that becomes something intrinsic, that, like you just said, it'll stand out. It'll stand out when something depends on you to do your job, so good catch on your part, by the way.
Speaker 3:So no, absolutely. Yeah, you know, and that is something that's great about this organization I never thought about. But what you just said is very powerful is you know? It's not many organizations, not many fields of study, are so focused on supporting others and living things and growing things, and it is just amazing that the whole, really the whole organization you're describing, is really about supporting others. And man, the golden rule in life will take you a long way, and so a lot of great lessons learned here, for sure.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm a man of faith and the one thing I can tell you there's a lot in the Bible about agriculture. So I just kind of followed that direction a little bit and it seems to work out okay. That's right. You know, for folks that aren't familiar with Dr Terry and his role at the Forney ISD, they have an incredible school district and one of the things that we want to point you to, and I want to tell you firsthand I've experienced it more than once is a place called the OC, and I got to tell you I don't know, Dr Terry, maybe one of these days you and I ought to compare notes. I might have you.
Speaker 2:I don't know of a lot of people that have been in more schools in the state of Texas than I have. I don't know how many people have probably seen more facilities nationwide than I have. I'm blessed, by the way. That's not bragging, I'm telling you I'm blessed. But I had seen this video about this Opportunity Central building in Forney. I saw a video and then we have a meeting there and all I can tell you is I stepped on my lip, I stepped on my jaw because it was hung down the whole time, because this place is phenomenal. I don't know I want to be careful how I say this I'm not so sure that I couldn't legitimately say that this facility could be the future of career technical education and I would challenge anybody to take a look at it and if there's something else out there, share it with me because I'd like to know about it. But, Dr Terry, y'all's vision and what y'all have done with that Opportunity Central building is phenomenal. Would you just take a moment and tell us a little bit about that?
Speaker 3:Sure and Aaron, thanks so much for the kind words. It's definitely something that we take a lot of pride in here in Forney and you know it's really a. It's a facility that's about 350,000 square feet and the goal is that every square foot of this facility is, you know, it's got some core tenets to it and that it's career, college and community focused, but it's also multipurposed and future proof, and so there's this entrepreneurial spirit that really runs throughout the entire building. And you know it doesn't really matter the career pathway that you're in. We have auto shop, we have cosmetology, we have, you know, a great horticultural program through our Blooms floral design students. You know we have bologna yards, but it doesn't really matter what the career pathway is.
Speaker 3:The goal is that we're bringing our community and our students together to learn together from three years old to 103 with these skills that we all need, 103 with these skills that we all need. Whether you know you're going to be a veterinarian or you're going to be a beautician one day, there's some commonalities that we all have and we continue to call them this entrepreneurial path. You know communication skills and collaboration and critical thinking, and you know how to shake somebody's hand and look them in the eye and have good customer service and serve others and not be afraid to pick up a piece of trash on the floor, whatever it may be that, no matter what business you're in, those are the skills that people are watching for and that'll help you succeed, and so that's what we try and accomplish within that facility. It's also the largest event center on the east side of the Metroplex, so our goal is that it's a completely student-run facility in every aspect.
Speaker 2:It's got a theater in it. I mean, y'all can disperse that thing into a theater. They do pickleball tournaments. This thing is phenomenal.
Speaker 3:You know, there's pro wrestling this weekend, I believe, in the theater as well. So yeah, it's very much multi-purposed. We've had Taekwondo National Championships and Pickleball, the graduations you name it Concerts. It's got a 79-yard-a-seat arena in the middle of it, so it's a lot of fun and brings community together, which is one of the most powerful things we do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I flipped through your social media on your Facebook one day and I'm just scrolling through, you know, and some pictures catch my eye and all of a sudden I see something very theatrical and I go, wow, that looks pretty good. It was the OC, y'all were having some theatrical presentation and the visual was stunning.
Speaker 3:It was the AV and I think there was a Shrek Junior House Shrek performance the other day that they brought in projection mapping and kids had a part to setting all the lights and staging and it's got a walkable grid and so, again, pretty much every aspect of every career you can imagine, there's the ability to somehow participate in that facility and really let our students be the leaders of the entire facility, no matter what's happening.
Speaker 2:Well, I hope everybody hears loud and clear. If you're a teacher and you want to be inspired, go check this out. If you're a student and you're wondering, one of the guests that have been on this podcast is Mike Rowe, and when Mike and I talked, we talked about what if, and so I hope that a student may watch this and they may go to the OC and say, wow, because one day they're going to be a taxpayer, they're going to live in a community, and wouldn't it be cool to see somebody that watches this partner with their local school district and say, what if we could do something like that? And it doesn't have to be the OC, but good ideas are scalable. Good ideas are scalable and they can be honed to fit an audience. But I just want to make sure everybody hears me loud and clear, and I think you did. Go check out the OC. But, dr Terry, there's something even bigger than your OC.
Speaker 2:So every summer, we take a group of teachers on a week-long leadership development experience. I take three teachers from each of the 12 areas of Texas. We'll travel over a thousand miles, they'll visit about 15 locations and they'll hear from over 70 speakers and one of the things that we do when we pull up to a location is I tell the teachers okay, here's your assignment. I want you to go inside and I want you to look around and see what's on the walls. What messages do you see? And then I want you to talk to the people and I want you to see if their messaging is consistent with what's on the walls. And then we all get back on the bus and I said now tell me what you saw, tell me what you heard.
Speaker 2:And then we talk about culture and you said that's what's called organizational culture. And the one thing that I commend you on and the district on and share with all your teachers is it is very. You walk around and you see messages of empowerment, of encouragement, and then you talk to the people and nobody's having a bad day. I mean everybody. If they are having a bad day, they're hiding it really good, because they're just very polite. And let me help you. And here's where you go and thank you for stopping by to see us. And this is teachers. Everybody that's in the facility. So I just want to say thank you for creating such an incredible culture, because I know that's important to you.
Speaker 3:Oh, man, that may be one of the biggest compliments you could have ever given. It really is. I wish we could all have a perfect day every day in Forney, trust me. But you know, you know we do.
Speaker 3:Uh, you know there's a couple of values that that that we really focus on here, and the first one is people first and taking care of others, and and we kind of talked about that early on, and so that's uh, we believe that our, our values should drive our behaviors.
Speaker 3:Um, and and so we, we have some conversations about this all the time, about really building relationships first with our, our, our people, whether it's our, our classroom that we're working with, or our peers or our community. So that's, that's a huge compliment, and you know, to your point about, just you know, the messaging that we try and get across too, is it, we hope, to inspire innovation and 40, and sometimes it's facilities. But, to your point, we actually named two roads after our vision statement, and I think branding your values and what you believe in hopefully also drives some of those behaviors. And so we you drive in on either innovation way or inspiration boulevard, because our vision statement here is inspiring students through innovative education, and we try and really dream big and make it happen, and that's a second value that we really hold dear. So I appreciate that that means a lot to me. I know it will to our community as well.
Speaker 2:Well, y'all have done it, Having traveled around the country it's something that you just said that really I'm going to share this with you. I remember my son. I took him on a 12-university tour to look at some universities when he was very young, as a freshman and sophomore, because I want him to start understanding the concept of college and what that looks like. And one of the places that we went was Clemson University. Oh, I've been there so you know when you're driving it's championship way. That's right. Oh, been there. They're in Forney.
Speaker 2:You said something a while ago. I want to just kind of jump back to this and we'll start kind of wrapping up, but I like to ask the kids. I said how many high schools are in the state of Texas? And they always chuckle and they'll say a lot, and I'm like, yeah, there's a lot. There's actually over 3000 high schools in the state of Texas. And I said how many of them are going to have a graduating class this year? Oh, I guess all of them. I said that's right. I said now, think about that. Everybody's going to get out. They're going to be looking for a job, a scholarship or an opportunity. And so I always ask them.
Speaker 2:I said what's your competitive edge, what separates you from everybody else that's going to be getting out looking for something, and so I guess that's kind of what my question to you is. If you were going to give kids some advice on honing a competitive edge, what would you tell them? Now, you kind of alluded to it by pay attention to what you show the world, because there are going to be people watching you. But what else would you say to a student to say here's how you hone the competitive edge.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, I really believe in man. I could probably talk about this all day Aaron and it's. I really believe we all have a gift and you know it's just many times that I think it's a lot of the adult's job, especially in education, to help students begin to unwrap what that gift is. They may not know what it is as they're going through school. And so I think, really looking at and we do strength finders here I'm sure you all are familiar with that but to help us try and find what strengths that you have that you really can succeed in, that uh that God blessed you with and and that um that you can take and run with. And so I think many times when you talk about a competitive edge, I think a lot of it is just understanding yourself. Uh, you know we talk about our strengths, but we also understand you know I'm limited on my constraints to um flip, flipping, um shares a lot about that and um that and a lot of his research that he's done, and so understanding who you are will help you portray, in my opinion, who you can be the best at and what you can be the best at, who you are as a person. I think there's a couple other things that go along with that, when it really talks about the future of work. I just, I think there's a couple other things that go along with that. When it really talks about the future of work, I just, I think there's a new.
Speaker 3:I'm reading a book right now called the Entrepreneurial Leader and I really think that there are a couple components to setting ourselves apart as leaders in the future, or workforce or whatever, and one is that we're going to all have to have a creative, entrepreneurial mindset. George Chiros behind me. He talks about the innovator's mindset and we argue all the time about whether or not that's the right name. You know, innovator's mindset or entrepreneurial mindset but it's. You know there's going to be a lot of rote, standard processes that are going to be natural and that technology will absorb, but the creativity of an innovator's mindset or an entrepreneurial mindset, I think is something that we've all got to embrace.
Speaker 3:And then I think we're going to have to understand and be able to change. The world is changing at such a rapid pace that, even if again, understanding who you are and what your constraints and strengths are, even if you know it's not natural for you to embrace change. You have to be adaptable to it, because it is going to be, it's inevitable, and if not, we're standing still. And then, finally, I would just tell you, you know, I think what cannot ever leave us, no matter what AI comes in or technology comes in is there's always a human side, and the relational component of who you are and how you portray yourself and how you communicate to me is what will always set you apart from others, and it is. It's something that I think is a skill set that we have to tackle and focus on, and, even though these screens are comfortable, humans are the thing that are going to really drive us forward.
Speaker 2:Well, I agree with that. Again, I don't think any of us were created to be the Lone Ranger and there's no doubt what you just said we were created to be in communion with one another and to recognize that and to tap into that kind of strength. I like to say none of us is as strong as all of us. That's true mentally, academically, physically, emotionally, spiritually. There's power in numbers. And I love what you said about creativity. See, great minds, think alike. I'm telling you creativity, see great minds, think alike. I'm telling you, dr Terry, great minds, think alike.
Speaker 2:I actually have an inkblot that I carry when I give presentations. I'll share this with you because you might want to use this. But I carry this inkblot and I hold it up and I ask the crowd to tell me what it is, and it never fails. Somebody will say what's an inkblot? I said great. I said let me tell you about this inkblot. I took this inkblot into a classroom of 25 kindergartners and I asked 25 kindergartners what is this? How many hands do you think went up? All of them, how many is?
Speaker 3:that 22,. Usually 50.
Speaker 2:How do kindergartners raise their hands? They're stomping their feet, saying call on me. 25 kindergartners gave me 76 responses. That's what that inkblot was. It was a cross-section of wood hole in the snow, spit on the street, bug on a windshield. One little boy looks under his desk. He goes, it's under here. 76 responses. And then I took the same inkblot into the largest civic club in my community.
Speaker 2:I tried and I said what is this? They said it's an eight blot. And there's an old saying that said we enter this world as question marks and we leave this world as exclamation points. And so to your point challenge people to have that competitive edge of creativity.
Speaker 2:That's right Of innovation To think outside of the box. Unless you're in Forney, then we're going to think inside Forney. So I love what you said. You know one more thing that I'd like to share with you, because I think you're creating this culture there, and I want to again compliment you.
Speaker 2:But I used the story of when I went to a Friday night football game and I love hearing people chuckle when I say that and I said, yeah, I went to one, it was really good. I said there were seven coaches on the side and I said at halftime three more came out of the press box. And then I found out there were three more out that were scouting other teams and I said, now do the math on that it's 13 coaches. For what? For one season and one sport on one field of that kid's life. Yet they've got their entire future ahead of them. They put all that effort in to compete, and so I challenge educators. I said what are you doing to compete for the minds of your kids when you walk into that classroom every day? It's not about checking a box so I can turn in an assignment, a classroom to show my principal that I did my assignments. It's about competing for the minds of those kids because they've got their whole field of life ahead of them. The whole game is still ahead of them and we need to compete for their attention, the same way we compete in sports, in band, in fine arts, in ag, it doesn't matter, I don't care what it is, it's not just about chasing the banner or the trophy.
Speaker 2:I tell people all the time we're not trying to race champion animals in ag and FFA, we're trying to race champion kids. Well, to race champion kids, I got to compete for their minds. I got to compete for their attention. I got to have them doing what you're doing and that's thinking what if? Compete for their attention? I got to have them doing what you're doing and that's thinking what if? Think about possibilities? And because of what you do with your district, you've inspired that in your teachers. So then, what are your teachers doing?
Speaker 3:They're doing that exact same thing and something tells me, if they're not, not, they may be moving to another school district, but it's because that's the culture that's trying to be created well, and I appreciate you saying that, aaron, and you know you hit on this concept of risk taking and I think it's something that we all have to do, especially moving forward in in the of education. It's a transforming beast that we're all going to have to figure out together and what that looks like and you know what you keep talking about it really comes down to one word to me, and it's called engagement. Whether it's a Friday night football game or whether you're, you know, in the barn in the mornings at 6 am shoveling manure, you know, I mean my gosh, my daughter did that and she raised a pig and she loved it right. She was thinking she would sit there and have more fun shoveling manure than I did hitting a baseball, I promise you.
Speaker 3:But it's finding what that engagement is in that connection for those kids and you hit on that and it's so important that we compete for that. But I'm going to broaden it a little wider. I think we're also now getting in the world of it's not just about the engagement of the student, but it's also going to be about the engagement of the family. That is something that, from a mindset standpoint, we're going to have to broaden our perspective and approach, because I think it's going to be more of a collective decision and engagement that we're going to have to really go tackle together. So just a thought.
Speaker 2:No, no, let me tell you something. Let me tell you how far ahead you are with what you just said, mr Walrath, dick Walrath, very, very we're very appreciative of his philanthropy. They made a movie about him. He's given over $30 million to 4-H and FFA kids just right here in the state of Texas. But I remember he and I were sitting and talking one day and he was telling me exactly what you just said he goes, aaron, he goes. Times have changed, he goes used to.
Speaker 2:You'd sit down with your grandparents and the older people and they'd tell you about life and things he said. Now, technology and information, the kids are sharing information with people older than them. They're showing their grandparents how to get on FaceTime and how to use an app, and I mean so. There's no question to your point that the dynamics of family and communication have changed, and you can stand in front of it. You can say stop, it's like a big millstone rolling downhill. Yeah, you're going to get squished, that's right. Maybe you can get on one side or the other To your point. Maybe help direct it to where we want it to go, dr Terry. So one last question here leadership. Real quick, give me three leadership tips If you were going to give somebody three leadership tips, what would you tell them?
Speaker 3:I think I hit on some of this earlier, probably. But you know, I would say, embrace and be adaptable to change and not be risk adverse. You've got. You've got to be ready for it. You know, have an open mind to the possibilities and be willing to tackle the future. And probably then, most important, the core component is always going to be you know, take care of others and build relationships with those around you and no matter what business that you're in, and no matter you know, what decision you're trying to tackle or tough conversation that you're trying to approach, you can always be kind. You can always be kind. That is something that I think will pay dividends in the long run, even when it's a challenging conversation that you're trying to tackle and you may not like that person as much as maybe somebody else that's sitting across from you, but we can always be kind and it sets a stage for them to return that favor. Sometimes that'll take you a long way.
Speaker 2:I'm going to have to send it to you. So you remember the great motivational speaker, zig Ziglar. So Zig's son, tom Ziglar, serves on our board of directors. I'm drinking my coffee one Saturday morning, the phone rings. It's Tom and he goes.
Speaker 2:Aaron, I've been watching the news and I've been watching and listening to social media. I've been following everything that's going on. He goes. I want you to know that I'm choosing to identify as a virtuist. And I said, okay, you got my attention. This is what he said. He said, aaron, he goes. If I were blind and if I were deaf, he goes.
Speaker 2:What difference would your politics make, or your color of your skin, or your religion, or your sexual orientation? He just goes through this whole list. He goes, aaron, I think if I were in that position, he goes. The only thing that would matter is the way that you treat me. That's right. And then he goes through his list of 10 virtues and I told him I said, tom, hang up, go call copyright copyright, that, because that's really good. And he did.
Speaker 2:But to your point, at the end of the day, it's really those virtues of kindness, of how we treat people I can still be progressive, but I can do it with patience, that's right, dignity. And I can be open-minded, by the way, y'all like the open-minded thing. Just don't be so open-minded, your brain falls out. So be open. You know, dr Terry, I've I've only gotten to know Dr Terry over the past couple of years and I just got to tell you, um, I like talking to him. He energizes me because of the way that he thinks. And um, talking to him, he energizes me because of the way that he thinks. And um, you know, we always and around our shop we always say the essence of leadership is to plant trees under whose shade we may never sit.
Speaker 2:And when we're we're in the work that we're in, by the way, dr Terry, I told Tom Ziegler one time he said tell me what you do. And I said I'm in the future business. And he said what do you mean? I said I'm in the kid business.
Speaker 2:And when I think about what a privilege it is to do that and to do it with some passion and to do it with some innovation, and do it because we want to make it better for those that are going to follow in our footsteps, to create trees under whose shade we may never sit, I just want you to know that I appreciate you in that vein. I appreciate what you do. I know it's not easy to be a campus administrator. It's a thankless job. It's probably like an elected official. People that don't know all the intricacies of what goes into that of managing personnels and facilities and parents and community standards. I mean, oh my gosh. I have no idea the politics that you deal with, but something tells me you do it because you want to give back and make it better for the people that are in your care.
Speaker 3:You know, there's no doubt you know school districts make great speed bumps. No doubt you know school districts make great speed bumps. We really do, and no matter what the topic of conversation. But, as you said, it's a. It's a challenging, thankless job that educators take on, but it's the most important. In my opinion, my humble opinion the most important career in the world, because every career starts in the teacher's classroom and those students that run through those classrooms they're worth it and even on the tough days they are worth it. So we appreciate you and appreciate what FFA and our agricultural programs do across Texas and our nation. It's amazing the skill sets that you guys are putting in and instilling in our students and staff. So thank you, guys.
Speaker 2:We appreciate that and we're not done. Keep working on, that's right. Yeah, and I echo what Dr Terry said Teachers, you're never going to be told thank you enough. But let me tell you something. There's a guy right there, dr Terry. There's a guy right there, aaron Alejandro. Y'all made a difference, so now we're trying to do that. So you never know how you touch the future. That's what Krista McCullough said. She said I touch the future, I teach. So anyway, all right, dr Terry. One last fun question. Oh no, I'm just curious, dr Terry, what is the best concert?
Speaker 3:you've ever been to. Oh man, this is one area that I am not real strong in. My wife makes fun of me constantly because I just make up the words to my own music and I never can tell you who sang it, but usually when I sing it in my head, it's always better than the way I heard it. So you know, uh. So I'm not very. I'm really don't attend many concerts, to be honest with you, never, never, really have. But I do remember, uh, george Strait, uh, especially, uh, you know with the audience that we got here who can't enjoy George Strait at um AT&T or Texas stadium, I think it was at the time. So, uh, george Strait at AT&T or Texas Stadium, I think it was at the time, so big, great venue and always an excellent performer.
Speaker 2:Thank you. I love asking that question, by the way. By the way, I got to give you hey, george is probably the top of the list of all the people the best concerts, but it ranges from Pitbull to Metallica to Michael Bublé to the greatest showman. And then I've got two. I don't know if you ever heard Coach Nate Hearn. Have you heard Coach Nate? I have not. Friday Night Lights no, sir. Yeah, I know, friday Night Lights. You should probably book him. Great speaker, matter of fact, tom Ziegler said next to his dad. He said that may be the best speaker I've ever heard.
Speaker 2:Oh well that's good to hear. I'll write that one down. Yeah, coach Nate's incredible Coach Nate. And then Dan Oulabi. Dan's another one that people don't know a lot about, but I strongly tell people you got to get to know Dan Oulabi too. I'm not going to tell their stories. Y'all go watch their podcast interviews and you will hear two of the most incredible answers to that question what is your best concert? Dr Terry, thank you for spending some time with us. Keep up the good work You're doing. You're just doing incredible work and it's I'm inspired to see what the future is going to be because of what y'all are doing. Y'all are leading an example, not just in facilities, but you're planting seeds of greatness in the minds of those kids, and I can't wait to see what they do and what they accomplish, and then, when they start giving back and they start innovating themselves, there's no telling what the future of the OC and your community looks like. So thank you for taking some time to join us today.
Speaker 3:Well, thanks for having me Always great to visit Aaron.
Speaker 2:Well, folks, thank you for stopping by again. You know time's the only thing. You can't save it, you can't hoard it. All you can do is spend it, and we appreciate you spending a little bit of your time with us today. Like we always say, if you want to know what the future is, grow it. But to grow it, you got to plant the right things, the right mindset, you got to get the right people around you to help you be your best, and I think Dr Terry and today's program was a great reminder of that. So thank you for stopping by and until we meet again, go out and do something great for somebody, do something to make their day better, encourage them, empower them, equip them. Trust me, you'll feel better about it and our world will be better because of it.
Speaker 1:Thank you, 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.
