October 24, 2024 • 38 mins
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
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, ErinAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast.
Hey, number one, first andforemost, thank you for stopping
by.
I meant listen.
Time is the only thing we getto spend.
That's all we can do with it.
We can't save it, we can'tinvest in it.
(00:50):
Really, all we can do is spendit.
So the fact that you'respending some of your time with
us really means a lot.
So, number one, thank you.
Number two, know that we enjoydoing this podcast.
I mean, it is a great way, it'sa great platform to bring
incredible guests, minds,experiences and expertise on and
(01:10):
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 meether.
Ladies and gentlemen, this isJennifer Green to Public
Relations and Events Managerwith Cavenders.
Jennifer, thank you for joiningus.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Are you ready for this, Jennifer?
Speaker 3 (01:31):
That's ready as I'll ever be.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
All right.
Well, we're excited that you'rehere.
We're going to have fun.
We're going to talk a littlebit about your life journey and
what you do at Cavenders andmaybe offer some words of
encouragement for any members orteachers or even potential
sponsors who may be listening tothe show.
So let's start off with this.
I like to start every episodewith the same question.
(01:55):
I just think it's a great placeto start, and that question is
this Jennifer, what are yougrateful for today, jennifer?
What are you?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
grateful for today.
Well, good morning Aaron.
Thank you for having me.
I am grateful for opportunitiesand paths.
You know, life consists of alot of different chapters and is
always evolving, and I'mparticularly grateful for the
people that God puts in ourlives at the right time.
I'm blessed to have a lot ofamazing family and friends in my
(02:25):
life, including my 20-year-oldson, who is not only my child
but one of my favorite people,which is a super extra blessing,
and I'm grateful for thisopportunity.
You know, I think a lot of youpersonally 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 (02:46):
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 aswell.
You're going to tell us aboutthat and everybody's going to
understand why I'm a fan, by theway, just so you know.
I agree with you Everythingthat you said family, friends,
mentors, all of those things.
I think in those good times andeven in those challenging times,
(03:06):
I'm really kind of glad we havethem around.
And as a parent too, I can alsotell you I'm like you.
It's, it's.
You know, we're proud of all ofour kids, proud of all of them.
But you know, you love it whenyou see them do well, and you
love it when they're there andthey notice you as well.
You love it when you see themdo well and you love it when
(03:35):
they're there and they noticeyou as well.
And so I appreciate those words.
That was good.
Listening to this that are notfamiliar with Cavenders this is
going to go nationwide is,interestingly enough, when we
look at the analytics of thispodcast, we have a lot of
listeners over in Europe, sothere's a lot of people that
listen to this podcast, and sothey may not be familiar with
(03:58):
Cavenders.
And so, anyway, what I wouldlike is I'm guessing you did not
just fall into that chair,that's I'm just guessing.
Something tells me there is astory and a journey that led you
into this job that you're intoday at Cavendish, and I'm
wondering if you'd be so kind asto take us back and take us
(04:21):
through your journey.
How did you end up in this roleat Cavendish?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Well, I would love to share that journey with you.
I did not just land in thischair.
I do think that life isinteresting and ironic.
I probably started shopping atCavenders, a Westernware
retailer based in Texas, beforeI could even remember, and so to
then come full circle and getto work for this company is a
(04:47):
blessing for sure.
And I guess, if you want to goback a little bit into college,
career wise Erin.
I graduated from Texas A&M in1998, 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 inthe AgriLeader, which is a
(05:09):
publication that is produced bythe students in the College of
Ag back in the 90s, and duringthat time it was a black and
white newsletter, like a frontand page, and then it evolved on
the glossy paper and today itis a four-color, beautiful,
produced, four times a yearmagazine, and it is very fun to
go back and look at that inanother life and to see what's
(05:32):
come of it.
I also, incidentally, met mytwo best friends of 27 years
working on that, and so you know, I think that time in our life,
our college.
Our twenties are opportunitiesfor us to figure out who we are
and the path that we're going tobe on, and I cannot say enough
about that time in my life andhow it felt for me and what it's
(05:52):
done for my life.
But after I graduated from A&MI kind of struggled a little bit
.
You know, sometimes we get outof school and we don't really
know what our path is andsometimes our paths find us.
I did a short stint in Austin atthe Capitol, working for a
state representative, and then Iworked in public relations and
advertising for about a year andthen I moved to Tyler, texas,
(06:17):
and I landed in a career innonprofit and I worked for a
children's advocacy center andSusan G Komen and that career,
that time period for me, whichwas 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
(06:38):
organizations, lords andvolunteers, you really
understand what it takes to makean organization go around.
Nonprofits are great places tostart careers because you really
wear a lot of hats.
You know you have to do a lotof different things and you work
with the very beginning of anevent or a fundraising program
to the very end of it.
And you know I was able tolearn that relationships are
(07:06):
kind of the thing that makes theworld go around.
That was a great opportunity forme.
I loved my time with that.
It was predominantly infundraising and development and
I was sort of approached bysomebody to take this job at
Cavendish and I was kind of atthat place in life where I
needed a new opportunity and Ihad not been in the Western
(07:29):
agriculture space in a long time.
I had grown up in it, it washome for me, it was very
familiar, but I had not been init in a little bit.
And when I started theinterview process for Cavendish
took a little bit of time.
And you know that thing thathappens when you get excited
about something you know youthink you want it and then
you're not sure you're debatingand then the closer you get to
(07:52):
it the more excited you getabout it.
And that was definitelyhappening to me.
During that time period I duginto the company a little more
other than just being a consumerand a customer.
And then I dug into the familyand who they were and what they
do and it just got me more andmore excited.
So I was thrilled when I wasactually given the opportunity
to come on board and I have beenwith the company for 10 years
(08:14):
10 years.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Can we dive into this a little bit more?
Because you said something thatgot my attention.
One of the things I like aboutthis podcast and having guests
on and just letting y'all shareyour journey is if people will
listen.
And I tell people all the timelisten with your eyes and ears,
because if you'll listen, you'regoing to find clues, you're
going to find these littlenuggets of wisdom.
You said something just asecond ago that got my attention
(08:38):
.
I think it's a.
It's a great opportunity hereto share you talk.
You said something a second agoabout the interview process and
it was more than you expected.
Give us a little more insightinto that, because there's a
couple of things that you saidthat I thought was really
important.
Number one this isn't a contest.
By the way, I know that in theFFA, we have a job interview
(09:00):
contest In the real world.
You're actually going after ajob job interview contest In the
real world.
You're actually going after ajob.
It's competitive, Bottom line.
It's competitive, so you'relooking for a competitive edge.
So it is a process.
And then you talked about howyou looked more into the company
and you looked more into thefamily.
So really, I don't know if yourealize that you just gave us
(09:22):
three really good things to talkabout.
So tell us a little bit moreabout what that interview
process looked like Maybesomebody out there is getting
ready to go through it.
Why it was important for you tolook into the company and to
know more about the Cavendersfamily.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Okay, well, like I said, you know, the opportunity
was presented to me.
I had some time we don'tparticularly move all that fast
here and specifically whenyou're working for a family
owned company, there was just itwas.
It was also it happened to bethe end of the year, which for
us is is holiday, and it's verybusy, and I didn't know that at
the time.
(09:58):
But what I would say is, youknow, a, I had immediate
interest in job and then, b, Idid started doing some digging
into what I could find out aboutthe company and the family,
which is important when you'relooking into a career, and I
have always been extremelycautious with my own career to
make sure that I was.
(10:19):
I like the longevity of stayingsomewhere a long time and
knowing what you're getting intoand that your values line up
with what that company or thatindustry is and for sure it did
for me with Cavendish and so Ispent some time digging into
what I could find out about whatthe company was involved in and
what they aligned with, andthen specifically, the family
(10:41):
involvement and what theirvalues and causes were that were
important to them, and,interestingly enough, they have
a very generous heart, and so Iknew that there was an
opportunity potentially for meto bring my nonprofit career
into the company as well, and Ihave been able to do that.
So anytime anyone's looking tomake a change, you know I think,
(11:03):
don't try to fit a square peginto a round hole for your own
self.
You need to be completelycomfortable 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 aliving?
It's you know, it's a blessing,it's your career, it's your
calling, it's your path.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Well, that's good.
Yeah, I just think there's somuch wisdom there in what you
just shared.
We like to tell the kids go dointernships, and the reason why
is because you may go to aninternship of something you
think you might want to do andyou may find out that's really
not what you want to do.
But I say the same thing aboutsponsors, by the way.
(11:44):
When we've got companies likeCavenders and McCoys and
Prefords, when we've gotcompanies who I know their core
values and I know our corevalues, it sure makes it a lot
easier to work together than ifwe were trying, as you said, try
to put a square peg in a roundhole.
So the good thing is is becauseour core values align, it makes
(12:05):
the relationships a lot easierto become win-win opportunities.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I think that's kind of what you were sharing is,
when you're pursuing a job andyou're going through that
interview process and you'relooking at the company and
you're looking at the peoplethat are involved, find out if
it's an alignment and if it'snot aligned, then maybe there
might be another opportunitythat fits better.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
I think that what I have seen is we have definitely
been in a growth period atCavendish and we work in a
unique industry that's a littlebit of a niche, I would say
environment and it is not foreverybody.
And so, you know, whatever thatmay be for you as an individual
, you definitely want to makesure that it's something that
you like and want to be involvedin every day.
I'm also the kind of person,erin, that, for better or worse
(12:56):
I will say for better or worse Itend to throw my whole self
into whatever my job is, andthen it's not a job, it's a
career, and it's what makes itfun and it's what makes it
passionate for you and you'reable 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
(13:17):
part of my professional careeras well.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
That's good.
I was visiting with one of mycolleagues yesterday and she was
sharing with me some of thewisdom of her father and he is,
you know, passing on theselittle tidbits of things to
think about in life and she saidthat he told her that you know
that it's the things that youwake up thinking about and the
things that you go to bedthinking about.
Those are typically the thingsthat you're passionate toward.
(13:43):
And I thought, man, there's alot of wisdom in that
observation.
That that's, you know, whenyou're really sold out on your
job, when you're reallyassimilated into your job,
that's what you're thinkingabout is how do I make this
better?
You know, what are we doingright?
What can we improve on?
And it does kind of consume you.
(14:03):
And, by the way, jennifer,here's the other thing.
You know, I ask the kids allthe time.
I tell them.
I say tell me about yourbusiness.
And they look at me, they startlaughing.
They say I don't have abusiness.
I said, yeah, you do, you're it, but what time do you open?
What kind of customer servicedo you deliver?
You think about it.
We, you know.
(14:29):
You know, everybody that knowsme knows I go by the live, your
brand logo.
That's kind of my thing is liveyour brand.
Well, what you just shared isexactly the same thing.
You're living your brandalongside of the brand of
Cavenders and you're living theCavenders brand as a result of
your brand, right?
So I just wanted to share withyou.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I think that's really good what you wouldn't.
You say thank you, so I knowit's.
I think it makes you happy, goback.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
And let's go a little further back because, if I
recall in a conversation that wehad, you're a former ffa member
too I was.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I was um.
My time with the ffa in myschool was one of the most
impactful parts of my earlyyears, without a doubt.
I mean, I've been out of highschool let's not say how long
Erin a long time I that affectedme tremendously in life to this
day, and FFA was one of them,and my high school ag teacher,
(15:31):
who still teaches today, wassuch a patient and encouraging
man and he got me out of mycomfort zone to do things that I
wouldn't have probablyotherwise done.
I definitely had grown up inthe lifestyle and around
agriculture and we had a smallcow-calf operation.
I'd showed horses, but I was alittle bit probably shy in high
(15:55):
school and had to, I'm going tosay, come into my own a little
bit, probably lacked someconfidence that I needed other
people to bring out in me, andso I think, looking back, one of
the biggest aspects of FFA forme was the leaders that were
around that encouraged me topush myself, and whether that is
(16:15):
showing cattle, which I did, orjudging 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 havegrown up in that environment and
you know that's very familiarto them.
But I also believe and you arenodding your head at this, I
believe that a lot of what yourag teachers want you to do is to
(16:39):
push you into an area that youdon't know, to learn something
new, and so I learned new skills.
You know halter breaking a calfis not easy and it's physically
challenging and can be extremelyfrustrating.
Learning you know what you'relooking for.
If you go in a freezing meatlocker to determine what side of
beef you know averages out best.
It's been a long time withthose words, but those are
(17:02):
things that are not necessarilyeasy and challenging.
And you learn through thosechallenges that you're able to
meet and rise to those occasions.
And you, most of the timeyou're not doing that in the
silo, you're doing it with.
You know a lot of support aroundyou, whether that are your
peers if you're doing a judgingcompetition and you're getting
to know students that you mightnot have otherwise been friends
(17:23):
with or known and for me thatwas part of that or you're
learning how to show cattle andyou have an ag teacher or
colleagues around.
You know friends around you whoare helping you learn to do
those things.
It just helped shape me andgive me confidence.
And the other thing that Iwould add that you may not
(17:44):
remember or realize, erin, isthat I had some pretty good
friends and family members whowent on to become Texas FFA
state officers shortly after.
One of them was a little olderthan me and then some were my
same age.
I have a cousin that I'm veryclose with that was a Texas FFA
officer, and watching my peersdo something that seemed so big
(18:09):
was encouraging to me.
Hey, if they can go do this,what can I do with my life?
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Wow, we've talked several times and I guess if you
shared it with me before and Imissed it, I just want to
apologize, but I did not realizethat we were both meets judges,
because I was a meets judge aswell.
Yes, yes, we did too.
As a matter of fact, I've got afun story about that.
I'm not going to share it todaybecause this interview is about
(18:36):
you, but I do have a fun storyabout that.
I'm not going to share it todaybecause this interview is about
you, but I do have a fun storyabout that.
But my wife, my kids, they geta kick out of it because they
know if we go eat at asteakhouse, it better be what I
ordered.
And I've been amazed at nicesteakhouses too, by the way,
that I've been to that haveserved me something that was not
what I ordered.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
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, thismuscle right here.
There's no way this muscleright here came from what I
ordered.
You know, I would have neverknown that had I not been a
meats judger, and I think howmany consumers may be taken
(19:17):
advantage of a little bitbecause they don't know.
And it's a steak, Is it theright steak, the right Cooked,
the right way?
You know, there's a one of thethings that I like to share with
(19:40):
kids, and I think the podcastis a good place to do this, and
I can't speak for every otherstate.
Let's just take Texas.
There are over 3,000 highschools in the state of Texas.
Now think about that.
3,000 high schools, they're allgoing to have a graduating
class.
That means all these kids aregoing to be graduating, they're
going to get out.
They're all going to have agraduating class.
That means all these kids aregoing to be graduating, they're
going to get out and they'regoing to be looking for a job, a
(20:00):
scholarship or an opportunity.
And so I always ask them what'syour competitive edge, what
separates you from the otherperson?
It could be as simple as a firmhandshake.
It could be something as simpleas saying yes, sir, no sir, yes
ma'am, no ma'am.
It could be an example of Ishowed up on time.
But the bottom line issomething gave you that
(20:22):
competitive edge to get the joband something's going to give
these kids a competitive edge tocapitalize on an opportunity.
How important is it for youngpeople to develop a competitive
edge?
You've already said it, buttell us more about why you
(20:43):
believe FFA can give you someskill sets that give you a
competitive edge.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
well, you know I don't want to be cynical when I
say this, but we live in acompetitive world and that's
just.
The reality is that everythingis a little bit of a competition
and somebody is always vyingfor something and you've got to
figure out what part of youmakes you individualized and
what part of you makes youspecial.
And everybody has that in themand you have to figure that out
(21:07):
and foster it, pull it out andand if you're lucky to be
surrounded by people in yourlife who will guide you with
that, I do, I made I may go on atangent for a minute, aaron.
I think young people, people,all of us, not not even young
people all of us need toremember that sometimes there
are people in our life, whetherwe're younger or middle-aged,
(21:30):
who see things in us that we maynot see for ourselves, and
sometimes it's not apparent.
Somebody, sometimes it'ssomebody that's maybe not quite
so close to you, and if they areseeing that in you and they are
trying to foster you orencourage you or bring things
out in you, listen to them.
Listen to them because they'redoing it for a reason.
People don't waste their time.
(21:51):
That way, people are not thatselfless.
If they see something in youthat they are trying to
encourage you, whether it's hey,you really have great
leadership skills, look intothat, or can I help you with
this, listen, because thosepeople are well-meaning and they
can help you see things thatyou don't see in yourself.
Back to the competitive edge.
(22:11):
I think that's something thatit takes all of us.
You know, some people learn iteasier than others and
definitely comes with experience.
But listen to other people.
I think making sure what wetalked about before, that you
have a passion for whatever itis that you're doing.
I think if you don't have that,you're lacking a lot because you
are trying to force yourselfinto something that maybe
(22:33):
doesn't fit with your skill set,your personality, who you are
as an individual doesn't fitwith your skill set, your
personality, who you are as anindividual.
And then you will start tofigure out what it is about you
that makes you unique andcompetitive.
And again, we all have that.
For example, I try very hard todo what I say I'm going to do,
and I'm the kind of person thatif I don't follow through with
(22:55):
something, it niggles at theback of my brain.
I didn't do that thing that Isaid I was going to do because
it's just important.
You know, it's that whole.
Your handshake is your word.
Competition is incrediblyimportant, whether it's a young
person starting out in theircareer or a middle-aged person
in their life.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Well, that's good stuff right there.
Well, that's good stuff rightthere.
Well, we could almost do awhole episode on that.
What you just said aboutpassion is a competitive edge.
It's an internal driver right itmakes you want and you know you
also you're kind of alluding tosomething else here too, we
could probably dive into, butit's a core value too.
(23:37):
I mean, when you, when you,make those comments, that tells
me you're the kind of personthat's driven by something
internal.
It's not an external.
Let me tell you what you needto be doing.
It's an internal compass thatsays I'm going to set a standard
so high that I want everybodyto be proud of the standard,
because that's my brand and mybrand does what it says it's
(24:00):
going to do and my brand isgoing to get the job done and,
as a result, the company's brandlooks good.
So that's why I'm a big believerin Live your Brand, because
it's exactly what you just said,and everybody that works for an
organization they sometimesmaybe not realizing it, but they
are an extension of thatcompany because that's how
(24:22):
people know them and so they'relike well, if Jennifer's that
way, I guess Cavendish is thatway, so that must be pretty good
.
So, anyway, talk aboutleadership real quick.
Let's talk about leadership.
I know you see leadership inthe Cavend brand, in the company
.
You see leadership in all theseother organizations that you
work with, people that you'vebeen exposed to.
(24:44):
How important is it for us tosee good leaders and then also
give us some leadership tips?
If you could sit down right nowin front of every high school
ag student in the United States,say here are three leadership
tips, what would you tell them?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I think I would tell them the following are the
biggest skills that I think aremost important Communication,
positivity and resiliency.
The thing about communicationis, if you don't know how to
convey what you're thinking,what you want, how you want to
(25:25):
get there, maybe you're confusedabout how to get there.
If you can't convey that to thepeople that you're working with
and I say with, not who workedfor you.
It's a partnership.
You're unable to all get on thesame page and we're all on
different pages and we all thinkdifferently and we work
differently.
So, learning how to verbalize,whatever that may be, you know,
(25:48):
some people are better atcommunicating 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 forme, but I really do believe in
my own experience when I'veworked with people who are not
good communicators.
It's a challenge.
If you can know wheresomebody's coming from, then you
can know how to meet them wherethey are.
(26:11):
Positivity you know there arealways going to be challenges
that we deal with and lifeitself brings its own set of
hurdles that we all are going toface and have to jump,
maintaining the ability to bepositive and look forward and
(26:32):
not look in the rearview mirroris just, it's a life skill, it's
a career skill.
It's to me it the leaders thatI most appreciate that are
around me are positive people,Even when things are difficult,
even when they're relaying badnews.
I had something relayed to meyesterday.
That was not something I wantedto hear from a perspective of
something we were working on,but it was relayed sincerely and
(26:57):
with positivity at the very endof the day and it made it a lot
easier to accept and swallow.
And then resiliency Our careersare 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.
(27:18):
I mean, there's a lot of stuffout there.
Nothing ever stays the same.
Change is just inevitable.
You can't deal with that ifyou're not resilient and just
able to cope and shift andbecome a windmill that just
keeps like I've never heardanybody use the windmill analogy
.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
That's a good analogy .
Listen to that.
Think about a windmill, you boy, that was a good one.
Resiliency, kind of like awindmill.
Yeah, you got a shift.
It does move with the wind, butguess what it does?
It keeps moving.
Wow, that's good stuffcommunication, positivity and
(27:58):
resiliency.
I like something that you saidabout communication too.
You know, we know that in theworld of work you have both the
internal customer and theexternal customer.
So we've got the people that wework with that we got to
deliver the same exceptionalcustomer service.
You know, I know that soundscrazy, but it's the reality.
You know, if it's an externalcustomer, we're Johnny on the
(28:21):
spot, you know.
But we've also got to rememberthat internal customer.
If we can act that same waywith them, then they have
exceptional customer service aswell as our external customers
have an exceptional customerservice.
But if you can't communicatewith one another, then how can
you deliver that exceptionalservice?
Communicate with one another,then how can you deliver that
(28:42):
exceptional service.
So that was a really good point, that it's not just what we
convey and communicate outsideof our offices, our
organizations, it's also how wecommunicate internally with our
colleagues in our internalorganization.
That was good.
And also I love the fact thatyou 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 youknow resiliency.
Not everybody gets a trophy.
I meant we got to be resilient.
(29:03):
I tell people and you showedcattle.
I did, too.
Tell people, I learned just asmuch getting the gate as I did
getting the blue ribbon.
You know, I learned that when Igot 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 thegenetics?
I mean, there's all kinds ofquestions, if I'm smart enough
to evaluate it.
(29:24):
John Maxwell even talks aboutsuccess.
He says you should do anautopsy on every success.
I doubt why it was a success.
But move on to the next thing.
You got to always be lookingforward.
I think resiliency is aboutlooking forward.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
I like that.
I'm taking that one with mewhen I leave.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
All right, let's see what else did we cover?
Everything that I wanted tocover this was good stuff.
I love your career path.
I love the fact that you camefrom the ranks of the FFA.
I learned that you found yourway into a college profession
and a degree plan, and it soundslike it's kind of led itself to
the opportunity that you're intoday.
Not everybody's career pathleads that way, so the fact that
(30:10):
yours did and I think that'salso.
I also like what you said aboutnonprofit work too, because I
think for a lot of times, for alot of people, they may not
understand that is exactly whatyou said.
People they say well, aaron,y'all are a nonprofit.
You got to run like a business.
Yes and no, there's really.
(30:32):
To me it's a mission, because Idon't think anybody can stretch
a dollar as far as a nonprofit.
I think nonprofits that arereally efficient, they know how
to stretch a dollar because theyoperate on such small margins
that they have to.
But I also think there's a lotof wisdom that we can learn from
our for-profit colleagues interms of best practices and
(30:54):
management, data collection,evaluation.
You know Eddie Preford over atPreford tells us that you know
there's nothing that leavestheir shop that they don't
measure.
They measure everything, theywant to measure the performance
of everything, and I think, evenas a nonprofit guy, I want to
know that.
I want to know who's opening myemails, what social media
(31:15):
platform is getting the mosttraction when we're trying to
communicate a message or anevent or an activity.
So I think we've all got to bewilling to pivot, like you said,
be resilient to move with thewind if necessary, but keep
spinning.
That was a really good analogy.
All right, jennifer.
(31:36):
So you know, everybody gets afun question at the end, and for
you, I'm about to launchsomething brand new.
You're going to be the firstguest on this podcast, so
actually you'll get twoquestions, okay.
So the first question is I liketo ask guests because I'm
always curious what's the bestconcert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3 (31:59):
The best concert I've ever been to was also the first
concert I ever went to, butI've seen this artist I don't
know how many times.
It was George Strait, and Iknow that may be a cliche answer
, but it is honest.
I was my very first time to seehim.
I was 14 years old and my momtook me to see him.
It was a birthday gift and heput on such an amazing show and
(32:24):
I have had the privilege to notonly kind of work alongside his
career with my job throughvendor partners like Justin and
Wrangler, but every time I seehim he puts on a consistently
wonderful show that just leavesyou, you know, enjoying and
happy and singing along.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Where'd you see him at 14 years old?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
In Nacogdoches, texas , at the Coliseum.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Nacogdoches.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Nacogdoches.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Wow, yeah, I got to tell you.
So, of all the guests, of allthe when I asked that question,
king George is number one, justso you know.
Consistently across and I'mtalking spectrum, I've got
everything from musicals I'vegot some guests that have said
musicals all the way to Pitbull,to heavy metal.
(33:14):
I mean the spectrum isincredible.
But I do like the fact thatKing George is number one.
He seems to be the most admiredconcert from our guest on the
podcast.
All right, here's the newquestion.
Okay, if they were to make amovie about Jennifer Green, who
(33:39):
would play Jennifer Green?
Speaker 3 (33:42):
green.
Wow, oh, aaron, okay.
So before I answer this, I'mgonna say, aaron, I do not take
myself very seriously.
I mean, I try to have ittogether, I try to come across
um, poised and articulate andall the things, and I am that
(34:03):
person, but I am also the personthat just does the most
ridiculous silly things, and Ithink did somebody see that
happen?
Surely they didn't, becausethat's just life, I don't know.
I just don't think you can takeyourself so seriously and also
I simply cannot take myself thatseriously.
So probably somebody who hassome comedic talent for sure, I
(34:30):
love Sarah Jessica Parker.
I always have See that.
I think she's prettyself-deprecating, so probably
she would play there you go, Ilike it.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
There you go, I like it.
I like it and I like the factthat you have a sense of humor
too.
I watched, I had theopportunity to work with Wayne
Goldberg when Wayne was the CEOof La Quinta, and here was a
company that was on the verge ofbankruptcy.
I didn't know that when wefirst started working with them
and Wayne was the leader thathelped turn that company around.
(35:01):
But it's funny because we wouldbe in meetings and he had that
knack of bringing a sense ofhumor into a moment.
That might have been tense, thatmight have been getting a
little deep, but it providedthat sense of relaxation to
allow everybody to open back upagain.
So I do like the fact that yousaid don't take yourself too
(35:22):
seriously.
And I laugh at myself all thetime.
I, you know, I tell people likeI was in the movie with Dick
Walrath, you know the deep inthe heart movie, and with Val
Kilmer and uncle Rico.
And they asked me.
They said well, aaron, how'dyou get that part?
And I said cause they needed aTexas Danny DeVito lookalike.
That's how I got it.
(35:42):
So, yeah, I'm like you.
It's like come on, don't takeyourself so seriously.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
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 (35:58):
Really do appreciate you taking a moment and coming
on the Growing Our Futurepodcast, we're excited.
We've partnered with ICEV andICEV will eventually this
podcast will go on a platformnationwide and teachers can
actually use this podcast.
It'll come with a lesson planwhere they can actually teach
off of this podcast.
(36:18):
So that's why, when you doveinto your interview and the
importance of that and theskills and the competitive edge,
all of those things, I justwant you to know how much we
value your sharing your journey,because there's probably
somebody out there right nowthat's gonna say you know, if
Jennifer can do that, maybe Ican do that, maybe I can find my
way to one day be the publicrelations and events manager for
(36:43):
a major company.
So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
Well, thank you for allowing me the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
All right, folks, and until we meet again.
Remember we like to say it allthe time Listen, if agriculture
has taught us anything, it'staught us this If you want to
know what the future is, grow it.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Well, how do you grow it?
You've got to plant the rightseeds, and then you've got to
take care of them.
You've got to keep the weedsout and then, when the time
(37:13):
comes, you've got to harvest itand you've got to share it with
others.
That's what this podcast isabout.
Jennifer shared some incredibleseeds 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 forsomebody else.
You'll feel better about it andguess what?
(37:35):
Our world will be a betterplace because you did it.
Thank y'all for stopping by.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the
Growing Our Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, ErinAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast.
Hey, number one, first andforemost, thank you for stopping
by.
I meant listen.
Time is the only thing we getto spend.
That's all we can do with it.
We can't save it, we can'tinvest in it.
(00:50):
Really, all we can do is spendit.
So the fact that you'respending some of your time with
us really means a lot.
So, number one, thank you.
Number two, know that we enjoydoing this podcast.
I mean, it is a great way, it'sa great platform to bring
incredible guests, minds,experiences and expertise on and
(01:10):
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 meether.
Ladies and gentlemen, this isJennifer Green to Public
Relations and Events Managerwith Cavenders.
Jennifer, thank you for joiningus.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Are you ready for this, Jennifer?
Speaker 3 (01:31):
That's ready as I'll ever be.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
All right.
Well, we're excited that you'rehere.
We're going to have fun.
We're going to talk a littlebit about your life journey and
what you do at Cavenders andmaybe offer some words of
encouragement for any members orteachers or even potential
sponsors who may be listening tothe show.
So let's start off with this.
I like to start every episodewith the same question.
(01:55):
I just think it's a great placeto start, and that question is
this Jennifer, what are yougrateful for today, jennifer?
What are you?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
grateful for today.
Well, good morning Aaron.
Thank you for having me.
I am grateful for opportunitiesand paths.
You know, life consists of alot of different chapters and is
always evolving, and I'mparticularly grateful for the
people that God puts in ourlives at the right time.
I'm blessed to have a lot ofamazing family and friends in my
(02:25):
life, including my 20-year-oldson, who is not only my child
but one of my favorite people,which is a super extra blessing,
and I'm grateful for thisopportunity.
You know, I think a lot of youpersonally 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 (02:46):
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 aswell.
You're going to tell us aboutthat and everybody's going to
understand why I'm a fan, by theway, just so you know.
I agree with you Everythingthat you said family, friends,
mentors, all of those things.
I think in those good times andeven in those challenging times,
(03:06):
I'm really kind of glad we havethem around.
And as a parent too, I can alsotell you I'm like you.
It's, it's.
You know, we're proud of all ofour kids, proud of all of them.
But you know, you love it whenyou see them do well, and you
love it when they're there andthey notice you as well.
You love it when you see themdo well and you love it when
(03:35):
they're there and they noticeyou as well.
And so I appreciate those words.
That was good.
Listening to this that are notfamiliar with Cavenders this is
going to go nationwide is,interestingly enough, when we
look at the analytics of thispodcast, we have a lot of
listeners over in Europe, sothere's a lot of people that
listen to this podcast, and sothey may not be familiar with
(03:58):
Cavenders.
And so, anyway, what I wouldlike is I'm guessing you did not
just fall into that chair,that's I'm just guessing.
Something tells me there is astory and a journey that led you
into this job that you're intoday at Cavendish, and I'm
wondering if you'd be so kind asto take us back and take us
(04:21):
through your journey.
How did you end up in this roleat Cavendish?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Well, I would love to share that journey with you.
I did not just land in thischair.
I do think that life isinteresting and ironic.
I probably started shopping atCavenders, a Westernware
retailer based in Texas, beforeI could even remember, and so to
then come full circle and getto work for this company is a
(04:47):
blessing for sure.
And I guess, if you want to goback a little bit into college,
career wise Erin.
I graduated from Texas A&M in1998, 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 inthe AgriLeader, which is a
(05:09):
publication that is produced bythe students in the College of
Ag back in the 90s, and duringthat time it was a black and
white newsletter, like a frontand page, and then it evolved on
the glossy paper and today itis a four-color, beautiful,
produced, four times a yearmagazine, and it is very fun to
go back and look at that inanother life and to see what's
(05:32):
come of it.
I also, incidentally, met mytwo best friends of 27 years
working on that, and so you know, I think that time in our life,
our college.
Our twenties are opportunitiesfor us to figure out who we are
and the path that we're going tobe on, and I cannot say enough
about that time in my life andhow it felt for me and what it's
(05:52):
done for my life.
But after I graduated from A&MI kind of struggled a little bit
.
You know, sometimes we get outof school and we don't really
know what our path is andsometimes our paths find us.
I did a short stint in Austin atthe Capitol, working for a
state representative, and then Iworked in public relations and
advertising for about a year andthen I moved to Tyler, texas,
(06:17):
and I landed in a career innonprofit and I worked for a
children's advocacy center andSusan G Komen and that career,
that time period for me, whichwas 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
(06:38):
organizations, lords andvolunteers, you really
understand what it takes to makean organization go around.
Nonprofits are great places tostart careers because you really
wear a lot of hats.
You know you have to do a lotof different things and you work
with the very beginning of anevent or a fundraising program
to the very end of it.
And you know I was able tolearn that relationships are
(07:06):
kind of the thing that makes theworld go around.
That was a great opportunity forme.
I loved my time with that.
It was predominantly infundraising and development and
I was sort of approached bysomebody to take this job at
Cavendish and I was kind of atthat place in life where I
needed a new opportunity and Ihad not been in the Western
(07:29):
agriculture space in a long time.
I had grown up in it, it washome for me, it was very
familiar, but I had not been init in a little bit.
And when I started theinterview process for Cavendish
took a little bit of time.
And you know that thing thathappens when you get excited
about something you know youthink you want it and then
you're not sure you're debatingand then the closer you get to
(07:52):
it the more excited you getabout it.
And that was definitelyhappening to me.
During that time period I duginto the company a little more
other than just being a consumerand a customer.
And then I dug into the familyand who they were and what they
do and it just got me more andmore excited.
So I was thrilled when I wasactually given the opportunity
to come on board and I have beenwith the company for 10 years
(08:14):
10 years.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Can we dive into this a little bit more?
Because you said something thatgot my attention.
One of the things I like aboutthis podcast and having guests
on and just letting y'all shareyour journey is if people will
listen.
And I tell people all the timelisten with your eyes and ears,
because if you'll listen, you'regoing to find clues, you're
going to find these littlenuggets of wisdom.
You said something just asecond ago that got my attention
(08:38):
.
I think it's a.
It's a great opportunity hereto share you talk.
You said something a second agoabout the interview process and
it was more than you expected.
Give us a little more insightinto that, because there's a
couple of things that you saidthat I thought was really
important.
Number one this isn't a contest.
By the way, I know that in theFFA, we have a job interview
(09:00):
contest In the real world.
You're actually going after ajob job interview contest In the
real world.
You're actually going after ajob.
It's competitive, Bottom line.
It's competitive, so you'relooking for a competitive edge.
So it is a process.
And then you talked about howyou looked more into the company
and you looked more into thefamily.
So really, I don't know if yourealize that you just gave us
(09:22):
three really good things to talkabout.
So tell us a little bit moreabout what that interview
process looked like Maybesomebody out there is getting
ready to go through it.
Why it was important for you tolook into the company and to
know more about the Cavendersfamily.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Okay, well, like I said, you know, the opportunity
was presented to me.
I had some time we don'tparticularly move all that fast
here and specifically whenyou're working for a family
owned company, there was just itwas.
It was also it happened to bethe end of the year, which for
us is is holiday, and it's verybusy, and I didn't know that at
the time.
(09:58):
But what I would say is, youknow, a, I had immediate
interest in job and then, b, Idid started doing some digging
into what I could find out aboutthe company and the family,
which is important when you'relooking into a career, and I
have always been extremelycautious with my own career to
make sure that I was.
(10:19):
I like the longevity of stayingsomewhere a long time and
knowing what you're getting intoand that your values line up
with what that company or thatindustry is and for sure it did
for me with Cavendish and so Ispent some time digging into
what I could find out about whatthe company was involved in and
what they aligned with, andthen specifically, the family
(10:41):
involvement and what theirvalues and causes were that were
important to them, and,interestingly enough, they have
a very generous heart, and so Iknew that there was an
opportunity potentially for meto bring my nonprofit career
into the company as well, and Ihave been able to do that.
So anytime anyone's looking tomake a change, you know I think,
(11:03):
don't try to fit a square peginto a round hole for your own
self.
You need to be completelycomfortable 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 aliving?
It's you know, it's a blessing,it's your career, it's your
calling, it's your path.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Well, that's good.
Yeah, I just think there's somuch wisdom there in what you
just shared.
We like to tell the kids go dointernships, and the reason why
is because you may go to aninternship of something you
think you might want to do andyou may find out that's really
not what you want to do.
But I say the same thing aboutsponsors, by the way.
(11:44):
When we've got companies likeCavenders and McCoys and
Prefords, when we've gotcompanies who I know their core
values and I know our corevalues, it sure makes it a lot
easier to work together than ifwe were trying, as you said, try
to put a square peg in a roundhole.
So the good thing is is becauseour core values align, it makes
(12:05):
the relationships a lot easierto become win-win opportunities.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I think that's kind of what you were sharing is,
when you're pursuing a job andyou're going through that
interview process and you'relooking at the company and
you're looking at the peoplethat are involved, find out if
it's an alignment and if it'snot aligned, then maybe there
might be another opportunitythat fits better.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
I think that what I have seen is we have definitely
been in a growth period atCavendish and we work in a
unique industry that's a littlebit of a niche, I would say
environment and it is not foreverybody.
And so, you know, whatever thatmay be for you as an individual
, you definitely want to makesure that it's something that
you like and want to be involvedin every day.
I'm also the kind of person,erin, that, for better or worse
(12:56):
I will say for better or worse Itend to throw my whole self
into whatever my job is, andthen it's not a job, it's a
career, and it's what makes itfun and it's what makes it
passionate for you and you'reable 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
(13:17):
part of my professional careeras well.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
That's good.
I was visiting with one of mycolleagues yesterday and she was
sharing with me some of thewisdom of her father and he is,
you know, passing on theselittle tidbits of things to
think about in life and she saidthat he told her that you know
that it's the things that youwake up thinking about and the
things that you go to bedthinking about.
Those are typically the thingsthat you're passionate toward.
(13:43):
And I thought, man, there's alot of wisdom in that
observation.
That that's, you know, whenyou're really sold out on your
job, when you're reallyassimilated into your job,
that's what you're thinkingabout is how do I make this
better?
You know, what are we doingright?
What can we improve on?
And it does kind of consume you.
(14:03):
And, by the way, jennifer,here's the other thing.
You know, I ask the kids allthe time.
I tell them.
I say tell me about yourbusiness.
And they look at me, they startlaughing.
They say I don't have abusiness.
I said, yeah, you do, you're it, but what time do you open?
What kind of customer servicedo you deliver?
You think about it.
We, you know.
(14:29):
You know, everybody that knowsme knows I go by the live, your
brand logo.
That's kind of my thing is liveyour brand.
Well, what you just shared isexactly the same thing.
You're living your brandalongside of the brand of
Cavenders and you're living theCavenders brand as a result of
your brand, right?
So I just wanted to share withyou.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I think that's really good what you wouldn't.
You say thank you, so I knowit's.
I think it makes you happy, goback.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
And let's go a little further back because, if I
recall in a conversation that wehad, you're a former ffa member
too I was.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I was um.
My time with the ffa in myschool was one of the most
impactful parts of my earlyyears, without a doubt.
I mean, I've been out of highschool let's not say how long
Erin a long time I that affectedme tremendously in life to this
day, and FFA was one of them,and my high school ag teacher,
(15:31):
who still teaches today, wassuch a patient and encouraging
man and he got me out of mycomfort zone to do things that I
wouldn't have probablyotherwise done.
I definitely had grown up inthe lifestyle and around
agriculture and we had a smallcow-calf operation.
I'd showed horses, but I was alittle bit probably shy in high
(15:55):
school and had to, I'm going tosay, come into my own a little
bit, probably lacked someconfidence that I needed other
people to bring out in me, andso I think, looking back, one of
the biggest aspects of FFA forme was the leaders that were
around that encouraged me topush myself, and whether that is
(16:15):
showing cattle, which I did, orjudging 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 havegrown up in that environment and
you know that's very familiarto them.
But I also believe and you arenodding your head at this, I
believe that a lot of what yourag teachers want you to do is to
(16:39):
push you into an area that youdon't know, to learn something
new, and so I learned new skills.
You know halter breaking a calfis not easy and it's physically
challenging and can be extremelyfrustrating.
Learning you know what you'relooking for.
If you go in a freezing meatlocker to determine what side of
beef you know averages out best.
It's been a long time withthose words, but those are
(17:02):
things that are not necessarilyeasy and challenging.
And you learn through thosechallenges that you're able to
meet and rise to those occasions.
And you, most of the timeyou're not doing that in the
silo, you're doing it with.
You know a lot of support aroundyou, whether that are your
peers if you're doing a judgingcompetition and you're getting
to know students that you mightnot have otherwise been friends
(17:23):
with or known and for me thatwas part of that or you're
learning how to show cattle andyou have an ag teacher or
colleagues around.
You know friends around you whoare helping you learn to do
those things.
It just helped shape me andgive me confidence.
And the other thing that Iwould add that you may not
(17:44):
remember or realize, erin, isthat I had some pretty good
friends and family members whowent on to become Texas FFA
state officers shortly after.
One of them was a little olderthan me and then some were my
same age.
I have a cousin that I'm veryclose with that was a Texas FFA
officer, and watching my peersdo something that seemed so big
(18:09):
was encouraging to me.
Hey, if they can go do this,what can I do with my life?
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Wow, we've talked several times and I guess if you
shared it with me before and Imissed it, I just want to
apologize, but I did not realizethat we were both meets judges,
because I was a meets judge aswell.
Yes, yes, we did too.
As a matter of fact, I've got afun story about that.
I'm not going to share it todaybecause this interview is about
(18:36):
you, but I do have a fun storyabout that.
I'm not going to share it todaybecause this interview is about
you, but I do have a fun storyabout that.
But my wife, my kids, they geta kick out of it because they
know if we go eat at asteakhouse, it better be what I
ordered.
And I've been amazed at nicesteakhouses too, by the way,
that I've been to that haveserved me something that was not
what I ordered.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
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, thismuscle right here.
There's no way this muscleright here came from what I
ordered.
You know, I would have neverknown that had I not been a
meats judger, and I think howmany consumers may be taken
(19:17):
advantage of a little bitbecause they don't know.
And it's a steak, Is it theright steak, the right Cooked,
the right way?
You know, there's a one of thethings that I like to share with
(19:40):
kids, and I think the podcastis a good place to do this, and
I can't speak for every otherstate.
Let's just take Texas.
There are over 3,000 highschools in the state of Texas.
Now think about that.
3,000 high schools, they're allgoing to have a graduating
class.
That means all these kids aregoing to be graduating, they're
going to get out.
They're all going to have agraduating class.
That means all these kids aregoing to be graduating, they're
going to get out and they'regoing to be looking for a job, a
(20:00):
scholarship or an opportunity.
And so I always ask them what'syour competitive edge, what
separates you from the otherperson?
It could be as simple as a firmhandshake.
It could be something as simpleas saying yes, sir, no sir, yes
ma'am, no ma'am.
It could be an example of Ishowed up on time.
But the bottom line issomething gave you that
(20:22):
competitive edge to get the joband something's going to give
these kids a competitive edge tocapitalize on an opportunity.
How important is it for youngpeople to develop a competitive
edge?
You've already said it, buttell us more about why you
(20:43):
believe FFA can give you someskill sets that give you a
competitive edge.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
well, you know I don't want to be cynical when I
say this, but we live in acompetitive world and that's
just.
The reality is that everythingis a little bit of a competition
and somebody is always vyingfor something and you've got to
figure out what part of youmakes you individualized and
what part of you makes youspecial.
And everybody has that in themand you have to figure that out
(21:07):
and foster it, pull it out andand if you're lucky to be
surrounded by people in yourlife who will guide you with
that, I do, I made I may go on atangent for a minute, aaron.
I think young people, people,all of us, not not even young
people all of us need toremember that sometimes there
are people in our life, whetherwe're younger or middle-aged,
(21:30):
who see things in us that we maynot see for ourselves, and
sometimes it's not apparent.
Somebody, sometimes it'ssomebody that's maybe not quite
so close to you, and if they areseeing that in you and they are
trying to foster you orencourage you or bring things
out in you, listen to them.
Listen to them because they'redoing it for a reason.
People don't waste their time.
(21:51):
That way, people are not thatselfless.
If they see something in youthat they are trying to
encourage you, whether it's hey,you really have great
leadership skills, look intothat, or can I help you with
this, listen, because thosepeople are well-meaning and they
can help you see things thatyou don't see in yourself.
Back to the competitive edge.
(22:11):
I think that's something thatit takes all of us.
You know, some people learn iteasier than others and
definitely comes with experience.
But listen to other people.
I think making sure what wetalked about before, that you
have a passion for whatever itis that you're doing.
I think if you don't have that,you're lacking a lot because you
are trying to force yourselfinto something that maybe
(22:33):
doesn't fit with your skill set,your personality, who you are
as an individual doesn't fitwith your skill set, your
personality, who you are as anindividual.
And then you will start tofigure out what it is about you
that makes you unique andcompetitive.
And again, we all have that.
For example, I try very hard todo what I say I'm going to do,
and I'm the kind of person thatif I don't follow through with
(22:55):
something, it niggles at theback of my brain.
I didn't do that thing that Isaid I was going to do because
it's just important.
You know, it's that whole.
Your handshake is your word.
Competition is incrediblyimportant, whether it's a young
person starting out in theircareer or a middle-aged person
in their life.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Well, that's good stuff right there.
Well, that's good stuff rightthere.
Well, we could almost do awhole episode on that.
What you just said aboutpassion is a competitive edge.
It's an internal driver right itmakes you want and you know you
also you're kind of alluding tosomething else here too, we
could probably dive into, butit's a core value too.
(23:37):
I mean, when you, when you,make those comments, that tells
me you're the kind of personthat's driven by something
internal.
It's not an external.
Let me tell you what you needto be doing.
It's an internal compass thatsays I'm going to set a standard
so high that I want everybodyto be proud of the standard,
because that's my brand and mybrand does what it says it's
(24:00):
going to do and my brand isgoing to get the job done and,
as a result, the company's brandlooks good.
So that's why I'm a big believerin Live your Brand, because
it's exactly what you just said,and everybody that works for an
organization they sometimesmaybe not realizing it, but they
are an extension of thatcompany because that's how
(24:22):
people know them and so they'relike well, if Jennifer's that
way, I guess Cavendish is thatway, so that must be pretty good
.
So, anyway, talk aboutleadership real quick.
Let's talk about leadership.
I know you see leadership inthe Cavend brand, in the company
.
You see leadership in all theseother organizations that you
work with, people that you'vebeen exposed to.
(24:44):
How important is it for us tosee good leaders and then also
give us some leadership tips?
If you could sit down right nowin front of every high school
ag student in the United States,say here are three leadership
tips, what would you tell them?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I think I would tell them the following are the
biggest skills that I think aremost important Communication,
positivity and resiliency.
The thing about communicationis, if you don't know how to
convey what you're thinking,what you want, how you want to
(25:25):
get there, maybe you're confusedabout how to get there.
If you can't convey that to thepeople that you're working with
and I say with, not who workedfor you.
It's a partnership.
You're unable to all get on thesame page and we're all on
different pages and we all thinkdifferently and we work
differently.
So, learning how to verbalize,whatever that may be, you know,
(25:48):
some people are better atcommunicating 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 forme, but I really do believe in
my own experience when I'veworked with people who are not
good communicators.
It's a challenge.
If you can know wheresomebody's coming from, then you
can know how to meet them wherethey are.
(26:11):
Positivity you know there arealways going to be challenges
that we deal with and lifeitself brings its own set of
hurdles that we all are going toface and have to jump,
maintaining the ability to bepositive and look forward and
(26:32):
not look in the rearview mirroris just, it's a life skill, it's
a career skill.
It's to me it the leaders thatI most appreciate that are
around me are positive people,Even when things are difficult,
even when they're relaying badnews.
I had something relayed to meyesterday.
That was not something I wantedto hear from a perspective of
something we were working on,but it was relayed sincerely and
(26:57):
with positivity at the very endof the day and it made it a lot
easier to accept and swallow.
And then resiliency Our careersare 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.
(27:18):
I mean, there's a lot of stuffout there.
Nothing ever stays the same.
Change is just inevitable.
You can't deal with that ifyou're not resilient and just
able to cope and shift andbecome a windmill that just
keeps like I've never heardanybody use the windmill analogy
.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
That's a good analogy .
Listen to that.
Think about a windmill, you boy, that was a good one.
Resiliency, kind of like awindmill.
Yeah, you got a shift.
It does move with the wind, butguess what it does?
It keeps moving.
Wow, that's good stuffcommunication, positivity and
(27:58):
resiliency.
I like something that you saidabout communication too.
You know, we know that in theworld of work you have both the
internal customer and theexternal customer.
So we've got the people that wework with that we got to
deliver the same exceptionalcustomer service.
You know, I know that soundscrazy, but it's the reality.
You know, if it's an externalcustomer, we're Johnny on the
(28:21):
spot, you know.
But we've also got to rememberthat internal customer.
If we can act that same waywith them, then they have
exceptional customer service aswell as our external customers
have an exceptional customerservice.
But if you can't communicatewith one another, then how can
you deliver that exceptionalservice?
Communicate with one another,then how can you deliver that
(28:42):
exceptional service.
So that was a really good point, that it's not just what we
convey and communicate outsideof our offices, our
organizations, it's also how wecommunicate internally with our
colleagues in our internalorganization.
That was good.
And also I love the fact thatyou 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 youknow resiliency.
Not everybody gets a trophy.
I meant we got to be resilient.
(29:03):
I tell people and you showedcattle.
I did, too.
Tell people, I learned just asmuch getting the gate as I did
getting the blue ribbon.
You know, I learned that when Igot 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 thegenetics?
I mean, there's all kinds ofquestions, if I'm smart enough
to evaluate it.
(29:24):
John Maxwell even talks aboutsuccess.
He says you should do anautopsy on every success.
I doubt why it was a success.
But move on to the next thing.
You got to always be lookingforward.
I think resiliency is aboutlooking forward.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
I like that.
I'm taking that one with mewhen I leave.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
All right, let's see what else did we cover?
Everything that I wanted tocover this was good stuff.
I love your career path.
I love the fact that you camefrom the ranks of the FFA.
I learned that you found yourway into a college profession
and a degree plan, and it soundslike it's kind of led itself to
the opportunity that you're intoday.
Not everybody's career pathleads that way, so the fact that
(30:10):
yours did and I think that'salso.
I also like what you said aboutnonprofit work too, because I
think for a lot of times, for alot of people, they may not
understand that is exactly whatyou said.
People they say well, aaron,y'all are a nonprofit.
You got to run like a business.
Yes and no, there's really.
(30:32):
To me it's a mission, because Idon't think anybody can stretch
a dollar as far as a nonprofit.
I think nonprofits that arereally efficient, they know how
to stretch a dollar because theyoperate on such small margins
that they have to.
But I also think there's a lotof wisdom that we can learn from
our for-profit colleagues interms of best practices and
(30:54):
management, data collection,evaluation.
You know Eddie Preford over atPreford tells us that you know
there's nothing that leavestheir shop that they don't
measure.
They measure everything, theywant to measure the performance
of everything, and I think, evenas a nonprofit guy, I want to
know that.
I want to know who's opening myemails, what social media
(31:15):
platform is getting the mosttraction when we're trying to
communicate a message or anevent or an activity.
So I think we've all got to bewilling to pivot, like you said,
be resilient to move with thewind if necessary, but keep
spinning.
That was a really good analogy.
All right, jennifer.
(31:36):
So you know, everybody gets afun question at the end, and for
you, I'm about to launchsomething brand new.
You're going to be the firstguest on this podcast, so
actually you'll get twoquestions, okay.
So the first question is I liketo ask guests because I'm
always curious what's the bestconcert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3 (31:59):
The best concert I've ever been to was also the first
concert I ever went to, butI've seen this artist I don't
know how many times.
It was George Strait, and Iknow that may be a cliche answer
, but it is honest.
I was my very first time to seehim.
I was 14 years old and my momtook me to see him.
It was a birthday gift and heput on such an amazing show and
(32:24):
I have had the privilege to notonly kind of work alongside his
career with my job throughvendor partners like Justin and
Wrangler, but every time I seehim he puts on a consistently
wonderful show that just leavesyou, you know, enjoying and
happy and singing along.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Where'd you see him at 14 years old?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
In Nacogdoches, texas , at the Coliseum.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Nacogdoches.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Nacogdoches.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Wow, yeah, I got to tell you.
So, of all the guests, of allthe when I asked that question,
king George is number one, justso you know.
Consistently across and I'mtalking spectrum, I've got
everything from musicals I'vegot some guests that have said
musicals all the way to Pitbull,to heavy metal.
(33:14):
I mean the spectrum isincredible.
But I do like the fact thatKing George is number one.
He seems to be the most admiredconcert from our guest on the
podcast.
All right, here's the newquestion.
Okay, if they were to make amovie about Jennifer Green, who
(33:39):
would play Jennifer Green?
Speaker 3 (33:42):
green.
Wow, oh, aaron, okay.
So before I answer this, I'mgonna say, aaron, I do not take
myself very seriously.
I mean, I try to have ittogether, I try to come across
um, poised and articulate andall the things, and I am that
(34:03):
person, but I am also the personthat just does the most
ridiculous silly things, and Ithink did somebody see that
happen?
Surely they didn't, becausethat's just life, I don't know.
I just don't think you can takeyourself so seriously and also
I simply cannot take myself thatseriously.
So probably somebody who hassome comedic talent for sure, I
(34:30):
love Sarah Jessica Parker.
I always have See that.
I think she's prettyself-deprecating, so probably
she would play there you go, Ilike it.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
There you go, I like it.
I like it and I like the factthat you have a sense of humor
too.
I watched, I had theopportunity to work with Wayne
Goldberg when Wayne was the CEOof La Quinta, and here was a
company that was on the verge ofbankruptcy.
I didn't know that when wefirst started working with them
and Wayne was the leader thathelped turn that company around.
(35:01):
But it's funny because we wouldbe in meetings and he had that
knack of bringing a sense ofhumor into a moment.
That might have been tense, thatmight have been getting a
little deep, but it providedthat sense of relaxation to
allow everybody to open back upagain.
So I do like the fact that yousaid don't take yourself too
(35:22):
seriously.
And I laugh at myself all thetime.
I, you know, I tell people likeI was in the movie with Dick
Walrath, you know the deep inthe heart movie, and with Val
Kilmer and uncle Rico.
And they asked me.
They said well, aaron, how'dyou get that part?
And I said cause they needed aTexas Danny DeVito lookalike.
That's how I got it.
(35:42):
So, yeah, I'm like you.
It's like come on, don't takeyourself so seriously.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
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 (35:58):
Really do appreciate you taking a moment and coming
on the Growing Our Futurepodcast, we're excited.
We've partnered with ICEV andICEV will eventually this
podcast will go on a platformnationwide and teachers can
actually use this podcast.
It'll come with a lesson planwhere they can actually teach
off of this podcast.
(36:18):
So that's why, when you doveinto your interview and the
importance of that and theskills and the competitive edge,
all of those things, I justwant you to know how much we
value your sharing your journey,because there's probably
somebody out there right nowthat's gonna say you know, if
Jennifer can do that, maybe Ican do that, maybe I can find my
way to one day be the publicrelations and events manager for
(36:43):
a major company.
So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
Well, thank you for allowing me the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
All right, folks, and until we meet again.
Remember we like to say it allthe time Listen, if agriculture
has taught us anything, it'staught us this If you want to
know what the future is, grow it.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Well, how do you grow it?
You've got to plant the rightseeds, and then you've got to
take care of them.
You've got to keep the weedsout and then, when the time
(37:13):
comes, you've got to harvest itand you've got to share it with
others.
That's what this podcast isabout.
Jennifer shared some incredibleseeds 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 forsomebody else.
You'll feel better about it andguess what?
(37:35):
Our world will be a betterplace because you did it.
Thank y'all for stopping by.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the
Growing Our Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!