Growing Our Future
Don't Ignore a Hunch
In this episode of the "Growing Our Future" podcast, host Aaron Alejandro welcomes Karissa Jones, a Strategic Account Manager at BASF. Karissa shares her journey from a non-traditional agricultural background to her current role, emphasizing the importance of initiative, learning from setbacks, and developing soft skills through FFA involvement. She highlights networking, effective communication, and being coachable as key to success in any career. Aaron and Karissa underscore the value of FFA in cultivating essential skills and offering practical advice for listeners navigating their own career paths.
Story Notes:
- Karissa's Journey at BASF
- Philanthropy and Leadership
- Importance of Networking
- Effective Communication
- Coachability and Leadership
Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org
In this episode of the "Growing Our Future" podcast, host Aaron Alejandro welcomes Karissa Jones, a Strategic Account Manager at BASF. Karissa shares her journey from a non-traditional agricultural background to her current role, emphasizing the importance of initiative, learning from setbacks, and developing soft skills through FFA involvement. She highlights networking, effective communication, and being coachable as key to success in any career. Aaron and Karissa underscore the value of FFA in cultivating essential skills and offering practical advice for listeners navigating their own career paths.
Story Notes:
- Karissa's Journey at BASF
- Philanthropy and Leadership
- Importance of Networking
- Effective Communication
- Coachability and Leadership
Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. In this show, the Texas FFA Foundation will take on a journey of exploration into agricultural science, education, leadership development and insights from subject matter experts and sponsors who provide the fuel to make dreams come true. Here's your host, Aaron Alejandro.
Speaker 2:Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast. Thank you for stopping by. We appreciate you being here and you know what we just appreciate bringing this podcast to everybody, whether it's students or teachers or just friends of the FFA stakeholders. We get to bring subject matter experts. We get to bring people on that share their stories, their backgrounds, their expertise. They share with us seeds of greatness. And the reason seeds of greatness are so important is because, like I always say, if you want to know what the future is, grow it. Well, we got to plant the right seeds. Well, what better way to get those seeds and to bring the experts on and ask them. And today is no different. Today we have Caressa Jones with B with basf, she's got a title strategic account manager, pest control, turf, ornamental hope. I got it all in there at basf.
Speaker 3:Caressa, thank you for being with us well, hello, hello podcast team and hello aaron. It's an honor to be on here today. I listen often to the podcast as well as um active in the ffa association, so it's a true honor to be on here today. I listen often to the podcast as well as active in the FFA Association, so it's a true honor to be on here. Thank you today.
Speaker 2:Well, we appreciate you being here and we're going to dive deeper into some topics here as we get going. But you know, one of the questions that I like to start every podcast. I just think it's important, I think it sets the tone, the right attitude. Everything is gratitude. Carissa, what are you?
Speaker 3:grateful for today, aaron. What am I grateful for? You know, as I sit here and think for just a second, I'm grateful for opportunity, for an opportunity, right? You know? Oftentimes people say you know I'm grateful for opportunities. Well, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to have an opportunity, right, it's really up to you to drive it and to drive your success, to drive your momentum, to drive your positivity and your mindset on a day-to-day basis. So just having that opportunity to have an opportunity is what I'm grateful for today. I like that.
Speaker 2:That's really good An opportunity to have an opportunity.
Speaker 3:That's really good.
Speaker 2:That's kind of a Yogi Berra. I kind of like it, it is yeah. That's good, and there's a lot behind that. I mean, it sounds real simple, but think about what you just said. There's really, there's really a pretty big umbrella behind what you just said. You know, I tell people that February 6th 1966, you know, when I came into this world, they wrapped me in this incredible blanket called freedom and liberty and they said here's a world, here's a country, here's a state full of exactly what you just said opportunity.
Speaker 3:And so.
Speaker 2:I am I'm grateful for that, and whether it was the work that I did with at-risk populations or whether it's the work that I get to do now with some incredible kids and teachers and wonderful sponsors, it's just you know like you said it's an opportunity that's pretty cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I mean, you think about it right? Is you know the old cliche of saying you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink? Well, it's kind of like us and working with the youth or working with, say, some of my direct reports in the past, or even working with customers today, it's you can lead them to the opportunity, but it's what they do with that opportunity is what it really defines Very good.
Speaker 2:All right, we're going to jump in here. All right, let's go. Let's talk a little bit about your role at BASF. There's probably some folks listening that don't really know what is BASF.
Speaker 2:Us older folks. We remember, you know, BASF. We don't make this, we make the things you use better. We remember the old tweaks on BASF. I know it's changed. The other part of that question, though, Caressa, is that I brag on you more than you will ever know. I tell people that Caressa is just this outstanding leader. I talk about your energy, your passion I said it's contagious and the fact that she has multiple states that are under her responsibility, and something tells me you did not just fall into that seat. Something tells me you did not just fall into that role, that there's a story that brought you to the seat that you sit in. If you would kind of tell us a little bit about that, Take us through your career, your title and how you came into this role that you're at at BASF.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you, aaron, and to all the podcast listeners out there. So BASF, we are the world's largest chemical company, based out of Germany. We've been in business for over 155 years and I'm proud to say that I've been with BASF for almost 16 years now. So, aaron, as you mentioned, I'm currently the strategic account manager in our pest control and turf and ornamental business, but we consider our specialty solutions in our agricultural production business unit of BASF. So what does that mean? I kind of see myself as an air traffic controller. Right Is, I am the liaison and the go-to person between my customers at the distribution level to BASF and providing all those different moving parts into one. At the end of the day, it is a sales and influencing type position, but it's also strategic business planning, all involved into one. So I'm going to step back a little bit about the start, right? No, I didn't necessarily fall into this seat here today. It works my way here.
Speaker 3:I'm a non-traditional ag student from central Indiana, south central Indiana and Franklin, just outside of Indianapolis, and, you know, grew up in the city. Mom remarried, we had the opportunity to move out to the country right as we called it. The city folk called it, and you know, I was 13, 14 years old and I had, I had a desire, obviously, to get my driver's license and have a vehicle to actually drive when I was 16. Well, your, your opportunities are pretty limited. So I took um the opportunity to walk across the pasture and work for a farmer corn and soybean farmer as well as raise feeder pigs and feeder cattle, and the rest is history. I'm the only one in my family in agriculture and absolutely love it, right, so it is never knew what I would fall into by just trying to simply earn a few dollars to buy myself a vehicle, and it's led me to where I am today.
Speaker 3:So I attended Purdue University in soil and crop science, started out as a pre-vet. I attended Purdue University in soil and crop science, started out as a pre-vet, but also decided that maybe my second passion, which was the soil and crop side, was somewhere where I wanted to go, and I was able to intern for Monsanto in soybean production while I was in college and then happened to get a full-time position with them upon graduating Purdue in 2002. I then worked as a seed quality supervisor, which means I was able to really put forth my agronomic skills that I learned at Purdue, as well as put forth some of the development skills that I learned in FFA while serving in my FFA chapter there in Franklin, indiana, and building that confidence, having that ability to communicate with growers because I was working with soybean growers on planning their crops so we could actually harvest and utilize for the years to come, for future years, as seed production I then had the hunch to try something different. My friends always told me you know, kj, you'd be good in sales. Well, I took that and I ran with it and I have an opportunity to take a sales position as a sales agronomist at a small co-op in Russell, kansas, which is more towards Western Kansas, about an hour outside of Colby, and I got my teeth sunk into sales and got started there. Talk about an eye-opening cultural experience. You know corn and soybean girl from the Midwest moving into western Kansas where they talked about fallow land, right, never had been exposed to fallow ground. It was unheard of in Indiana, right, where we put a crop on it every single year. And not to mention the cultural changes, as well as learning wheat and Milo or grain sorghum. But at the same time as at the end of the day, agronomics is agronomics and if you have the will and the passion and the drive to learn and you keep your eyes open and you ask questions, nothing's unattainable, right.
Speaker 3:And so I took another leap and wanted to go back into production. So I moved a little bit farther East, went into Eastern Colorado, worked ag sales until an opportunity with BASF came along and to take over a sales territory. So never did I ever chose to be in sales, let alone working for a big company and a major manufacturer in agricultural space BASF, right, and, like I said, I've been with BASF for 16 years. So after about four and a half years in sales, I had an opportunity to go into marketing. I got recruited to go into marketing. Whoa, I don't have a marketing background, right? What am I going to do? What am I going to be able to provide? But that was an eye-opening experience.
Speaker 3:So I got to relocate to Raleigh, north Carolina, in Research Triangle Park, to where our BASF North American Ag Quarters are located, and it was three and a half years of working with active ingredients that are very passionate in the ag industry here today, mainly focused around dicamba, and what that really taught me is having that connection of not only working with regulatory, but also our global, regional and our local marketing groups, Working with our sales team, right.
Speaker 3:So sales background that I had, being able to bring that knowledge into the office and be able to put together programs, go-to-market strategies and really sell forth what type of products that we want in the future through lifecycle management something that's very important to the existence of a company, right? And not only that, but also where can we incorporate innovation? Innovation is very important to BASF and very important to the ag industry, right, we have to continue to I'm going to say, out-innovate some of our other industries, right, because we are the existence. Without food, fiber and fuel, we wouldn't be where we are today, and so, really, the agriculture is the backbone and being able to work for BASF with the innovation field to do that, then it came full circle of opportunity to move not only into a different business unit, as I mentioned, that I'm in today in our specialty business unit Interferonemental and Pest Control but also to manage people and I had the opportunity to manage people for six years and I had a team of nine stellar sales reps.
Speaker 3:They were definitely experts in their area and they taught me a lot.
Speaker 3:They were very coachable and that's what I enjoyed most is, I wasn't a manager right, I don't necessarily like to use that title of sales manager I was a sales coach, I was a sales leader.
Speaker 3:I was the encourager, the motivator, also the questioner, right, really challenging what their go-to-market strategy is in their particular territory and what they're wanting to accomplish with their customers. That year. And then I had the opportunity to move into the current role today, as I mentioned, a strategic account manager, which has been a passion of mine ever since being a sales director in eastern Colorado. And so here I am come full circle and being able to incorporate it all Right, like I said, it is the center of influence as an account manager, and so being able to take the sales skills, the marketing skills, being able to navigate internally within a company, being able to understand how to communicate and network, not only in the space that you're in in the markets, but also with your customers and potential future customers. So, aaron, that was a long, roundabout way of kind of giving a little bit of the journey in the background of where I am today.
Speaker 2:Well, there's a reason. I asked that question, by the way, and you definitely hit every one of the touch points that I wanted you to hit and if you will, let me unpack some of those, because I think there's a lot of good stuff here podcast, and you're listening to Caressa's story of how she ended up where she's at the first seed that I see that you did number one. You took initiative. You said you walked across the field. You said you walked over, you wanted to learn something. You were inquisitive, you took initiative.
Speaker 2:I think that right there, I hope everybody heard that loud and clear. The other thing that I heard loud and clear is you've not been satisfied, that you like a challenge, you like an opportunity, and so what I'm listening to you tell this incredible career journey that you've been on. I'm hearing somebody that's saying I'm on the lookout for an opportunity to grow personally, to grow professionally, to pour into others and see them grow. I mean, I heard all of that by what you just said. The other thing that we like to tell people is listen, and listening is not just your ears, it's your eyes and your ears, just your ears, it's your eyes and your ears and every one of those career steps that you took, something tells me it didn't just come to you, you had to be on the lookout for it. Yes, and then take that initiative, take that action. Am I correct?
Speaker 3:in all, that you are correct and a perfect example of that, Aaron, is it took me three tries to get into the position I am today, Right, Three different ties over a span of about eight years to get to where I'm at today. And you know the story there is is don't give up, Right, Every opportunity. You're going to learn something from it and understand that when the time is right, the time will be right and the leaders above you right, wrong or indifferent and maybe what you think about what their feedback was is they have a reason and a place and there's a time and a place. And as long as you still keep that initiative, as you mentioned before, and that will, and that drive that sometimes your greatest success is gonna come from a failure, right, and you have to learn from those opportunities. I didn't see it as a failure, right, and you have to learn from those opportunities I didn't see it as a failure.
Speaker 2:I saw it as an opportunity to do better, absolutely Well, and that's part of that process that you just went through and I love what you said. You learned something from it. I mean, you said something else that I want to brag on you about. Tom Ziegler is on our foundation board of directors the son of the late Zig Ziegler and he has a whole program called the Coach Leader, and that's what he calls it, the Coach Leader, because that's really what it is. I tell people all the time that's what I want to be. I'm the kind of guy that sits behind the scenes and I want to be the trainer. I want to make you stronger. I want to make you better at what you do. No-transcript. So one thing that you did kind of talk about, that is definitely part of both of our journeys, and the reason we're even here is FFA.
Speaker 2:So I like to tell kids, I like to remind them that you know I can't speak for every state in the country, but in the state of Texas there are over 3,000 high schools and I always ask the kids I said how many of those high schools have graduating classes? Every one of them? Now think about that. All these kids are getting out and they're looking for a job, a scholarship or an opportunity, and so I always ask them what separates you from your peers? What's your competitive edge? What is it that? It could be something as simple as the handshake, the yes or no sir. Yes, ma'am, no ma'am. It could be the way that you communicate, but there is something that can give you a competitive edge. I believe FFA gives students a competitive edge and I'm just curious in your life journey, was FFA part of your competitive skill development?
Speaker 3:A hundred and twenty-five percent, if that's even possible to be over a hundred percent. Yes, aaron, it was, and I think one of the things that you mentioned that really takes me back as a hiring manager right, I've been involved in a lot of interviews of bringing in folks that have one year experience to 20 plus years experience in whatever market and that they are in, is having the confidence Number one right. Ffa provides that opportunity to build confidence, even if it's just having that firm handshake. I can't tell you how many times that I have shook a hand with a candidate who's 25 plus years in the business and has the weakest handshake.
Speaker 3:To me, that doesn't represent confidence in that person, right, you know? Are they really wanting to be there and to be engaged and really seek out an opportunity with the ASF or even be a member of my team? I'm also to the communication part, right Is communication is so important? I think you elaborated this just a minute ago in terms of not just being able to physically hear and communicate, but also nonverbally being able to communicate and being able to read those nonverbal communications, and that is also very important, something that you also learn in FFA. Right, it's those soft skills that you're really developing.
Speaker 3:Sometimes we may think about it as, oh well, you know, they're just giving a speech. Oh, no, no, no, folks, that speech is most important, right? I often hear people say that they're so afraid of public speaking. I was right there. I mean, I was right there, and now you know, I do a lot of public speaking on a day to day basis, putting together a lot of presentations, whether it's an impromptu presentation or a speech in an elevator, to where it's a prepared hour, plus meeting conducting with the CEO of one of my channel partners that I work with there you go again.
Speaker 2:You just gave us a bunch more stuff. Again, as we do these podcasts these interviews.
Speaker 2:This is one of the things I appreciate about guests like you. Chris says that when you share your life journey, when you share your story, there's somebody else out there listening right now that could be wondering about their career path, wondering whether or not they should step up and step out, wondering if they really have the goods. And you know, I think we've all been in those places and I think it's the examples of guests like you that help them find that confidence. Or they plant the seed right. It may not come to fruition right now. I mean, maybe somebody listens to this podcast and they hear Carissa's journey and they plant that seed, but maybe somewhere along the way an area officer or a state FFA officer or a national FFA officer or a sponsor, somebody else may water that seed and help nurture that seed until one day that seed grows into the beautiful person that we were designed to be. So that's why stories like yours to me are so important, and I knew folks I got to tell you Carissa and I have a mutual friend who used to be the director of the Colorado FFA Foundation, don Thorne, and this is another compliment to Carissa. But you know, don and I had a longstanding working relationship, a very healthy working relationship, and I remember Caressa called our office one day and she said Don told me that I need to come by and meet y'all and I need to talk to y'all about the Texas FFA. Well, number one Caressa didn't have to do that.
Speaker 2:But if you listen to Caressa's journey, it started when she walked across the field journey. It started when she walked across the field. She came across the city and said I think I'm going to drive over and meet y'all and talk. Didn't take me long, by the way, I'll just let y'all know. It did not take me long to listen to Caressa to know okay, we got to get you involved, you need to be a volunteer. And one thing led to another and we've got her on boards and she's judging stuff and she's the chairs of committees.
Speaker 2:And the point is, what do they say? That philanthropy is the four Ts. Philanthropy is giving of time, talent, treasures and testimonies. And, caressa, not only are you a great example of what FFA can do, but you're also a great example of philanthropy, and so I would say to you personally thank you to BASF, thank you, you know, because, at the end of the day, for those of us in the world of FFA. We couldn't do the things we do if we didn't have the fuel to make dreams come true, and the support of companies like BASF provides the fuel to help us make dreams come true, to empower that next Caressa, that next Alejandro, that's going to take our seats one day, and so thank you so much for that.
Speaker 3:You actually took my story right out of my mouth there and I was actually going to bring that up right as to how it all kind of came full circle. Going back to FFA, it's one of the questions you had mentioned to me before. Right, is that opportunity to take initiative in the network? Right, and that's what I did. I started on a prior board and that's how I met Don, thus you, and that's how I've been involved within Texas FFA both the association and on the foundation, as well as a founding member of our BASF alumni and supporters chapter at BASF and to work for a company that fully supports the organization, the importance of it, and really recognizes the leadership abilities that come out of the OSFFA members, some of those soft skills that we talked about, right, some of those skills that you learned through your SAE project, through your CDE and LDE projects as well.
Speaker 3:It really does matter, folks, and some of the opportunities I've had to engage with some FFA members is don't be afraid to put FFA on your resume, right, sometimes we forget about that. We get out of high school, we're on into college, we're thinking about something different, but we forget about how we got to where we're going, and don't forget to put that on there Right, it's important and trust me, those that have been in FFA or heard of it. Well, you talk about competitive ed Darren. Not only is it in your skills that you have and develop, but also in terms of what you can portray on paper as well that you can then show in an interview.
Speaker 2:Well, and we know that, by the way. So, number one, you've just validated once again what we know. And I actually have a sponsor who said that when he was in his company he used to separate out 4-H and FFA reference anything that referenced 4-H or FFA. He actually separated them out because he kind of knew what qualities that candidate was going to bring to that potential role.
Speaker 3:That's right, it's true, very very true.
Speaker 2:So let's simplify this just a little bit more, because, even though you've already given us a ton of really good stuff here, I'm going to try to challenge you one more time here. You, too, I'm game. Come on to imagine, if you will, that you get to speak to freshmen's classrooms across the United States, sophomores across the United States, juniors and seniors, maybe even college students that are tuning in Carissa. I'm just curious if you knew that you could speak to all those people right now and say here are three skills, here are three things that if I were you, I would put these in place in your life that can help you build an incredible career in future. What would you say? What are those three things?
Speaker 3:I like this question, right, and sometimes in some of the interactions at some of the conventions, some of the members actually come up and ask me this one. So I'm prepared on this one. And there are three top of mind things, right, I've already alluded to them throughout my time here with you this morning. But number one is networking. I cannot emphasize, overemphasize you can put this word bold, italicize, underline, different colors, different fonts networking, it truly is important, right, and I know the old cliche is it's not what you know to you know. In essence, sometimes that is the case, but it's not only taking of what and who you know, but doing something with that, right. So, number one, networking. We talked about Aaron. You know how have we got to be where we are today? And this podcast today is through networking.
Speaker 3:Number two is communication. If there is one weakness and also strength sometimes in any organization and or association, and even in a person themselves, as communication. You cannot over communicate. And, as I mentioned previously, it's not just about the verbal communication, it is also about the nonverbal communication, because sometimes what you're thinking in your mind can be portrayed in a different way in your nonverbal skills and your nonverbal communications that come out. So communication, both verbal and nonverbal.
Speaker 3:Number three and I alluded to this as well, in terms of being not a manager, but a coach, being coachable is incredibly important. Leadership you aren't the smartest one in the room, nor will you be. Your ability to be that leader is to really bring out the strengths in the folks that you're working with, whether it's one or whether it's 100. Being able to do that is also one learning about yourself, both strengths and weaknesses. And with those weaknesses and or areas of opportunity, as I also like to call them, is how can you work through those? And being able to accept feedback so you can take that coaching lesson to be a better person, to be a better leader, to be that better coach so you can then help others be a better leader, better coach, better mentor. So those are my three networking, communication and being coachable.
Speaker 2:Well, excuse me that's it.
Speaker 3:That's it, I mean, I agree.
Speaker 2:You know and Carissa, you and I both we know a lot of people, right, and I tell people exactly what you just said Successful people know lots of people. In the ambassador program, one of the awards that we give every year, every summer, we give what's called the three-foot award, and what we teach the ambassadors is get to know everybody within three feet of you, because everybody that's within three feet of you one day is going to be a customer, a colleague, a constituent. People that know people are able to solve problems quicker. They're able to capitalize on opportunities quicker and by listening with your eyes and ears and having a strong network, you can ascend through an organization like BASF quicker, probably and I mean Carissa's career path is an example of that Communication. Obviously we know that's just the reality and it's changed. I meant to think that we used to have typing that was it.
Speaker 2:We had rotary telephones. That was it, I remember, when we were introduced to fax machines.
Speaker 3:Oh yes. You know, and then we got email and now we got direct messaging there's really in today's world.
Speaker 2:to your point, carissa, and something that you said and I hope people heard it I'm going to say it a little harsher than Carissa there is really no excuse not to be an effective communicator.
Speaker 2:There's really not because the tools that are at our fingertips are greater than they've ever been and, to Carissa's point, even those tools can convey those nonverbal cues as well, and so I just want to again capitalize on what you shared and then, lastly, couldn't agree with you more Be coachable. There are people out there that you know when I say, hey, you know you might look at doing this this way. Or you know, hey, let's talk about this, maybe you could consider this, and they either become offended or the wall goes up, and I'm thinking I'm not doing this because I'm trying to hurt your feelings, I'm not doing this because I dislike you. I'm sharing with you because I really do like you. I'm sharing with you because I see the potential that you have. And to your point, carissa, to be coachable is huge. Yes, it's huge. So well, listen, I can't thank you. Thank you enough for joining us. I guess I've got one, maybe two last questions for you. You know, we, we live in a big world and it's a world that's that's growing. The population is growing. I know that there are people you know.
Speaker 2:One of my favorite quotes is from Wayne Gretzky. When they asked Gretzky you know what makes you such a great hockey player? And Wayne Gretzky said. He said most players skate to where the puck is. I skate to where the puck is going. When I think about where the puck is going, I think about our world, and I know that in today's world there's domestic tension, societal tension, internationally, there's tension in the Middle East and in the Baltic states. But when we really look at what's coming, when we really look at the food needs of this world that are coming in just a few short years, I'm looking at where the puck is going. And where the puck is going is a necessity for agriculture, a necessity for food. From the seat that you sit in Caressa. Both domestically and internationally, are there opportunities for people to pursue careers in agriculture?
Speaker 3:Oh my goodness, yes, yes, yes and yes, and maybe I should have asked the question to the question, right is do we enjoy having clothes on our backs, food on our tables and having the security of both?
Speaker 3:Right Folks? Agriculture truly is the backland of America. It is the biggest job on earth and there are opportunities out there, not just your traditional, you know hands on production agriculture, as I shared my story today, right is, I started out on the production side of agriculture but ended up in an opportunity to be able to coach, lead, mentor and provide those opportunities to others that are providing solutions in the agricultural space, whether that's marketing communications, whether that's through public health, through pest control, when it's not often thought about a whole lot. Right, we also enjoy the greenery that's out there, whether you enjoy golf, or whether you enjoy flowers or plants in the greenhouse and nursery markets. Those are all very crucial to the vegetation management, controlling weeds on the sides of the road, to having the timber right. Timber is also an important part of agriculture that's not often thought about from time to time.
Speaker 3:but having those solutions to make it higher yielding is important, and also the ability to really give back, not only to your country, but also to society in general. So, aaron, yes, there's opportunities in agriculture and, in fact, folks, but also to society in general. So, aaron, yes, there's opportunities in agriculture and, in fact, folks, we need more people in agriculture, we need more people to advocate. We need more people to tell our story. There's a lot of misinformation out there, right, and being an advocate for agriculture is absolutely crucial for the success and future of our entire country and our world.
Speaker 3:I was just having a conversation with my dad last night talking about the cattle market and some of the stuff that's on the news regarding inventories and costs. Folks, it's important to really understand and to seek out the facts. Also, when hearing something right and being an advocate for agriculture is important. As I mentioned, I'm the only one in my family in agriculture right, that's an opportunity for me. It's an opportunity for me to educate my family and it's also an opportunity for you as well. Ffa members, ag enthusiasts alike.
Speaker 2:Yep. So when we say the word agriculture, I know that in this circle we're probably the majority of the people that tune into this podcast. They understand that. But statistically, we know that once we get outside of that circle, the word agriculture is not always understood or could be assimilated, but the word food is. So as we get out and become these advocates, always remember that one simple word food can get everybody's attention. Everybody that I know has been hungry at some time. Everybody I know has needed to get across town at some time. Everybody I know has needed to get under shelter at some time. And everything that I just said is what Caressa told us is why agriculture is important Food, fiber and fuel. And there are plenty of jobs, plenty of opportunities that exist. Pursue them, because I can tell you where the puck's headed and if you get there before everybody else, something tells me there's nothing wrong with being the lead position. No, caressa, thank you so much for taking time today. It is an honor to have you here on the Growing Our Future podcast.
Speaker 3:Thank you, aaron, really enjoyed it. Dan, to all the listeners out there, I hope you were able to take a little nugget away from today, and thank you, aaron, again for the opportunity.
Speaker 2:Hey, you get one last question. You know we wrap every show up with a fun question. All right, your fun question. Caressa Jones, tell me what is the best concert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3:Oh, the best concert, oh, okay. So I'm probably going to take a little bit different approach to this one, and this goes back to a little bit of my younger years in middle school.
Speaker 3:So I was a band nerd. I played the clarinet, also the tenor sax, in jazz bands and marched in high school and I had the opportunity to go with my mom to be ready for this one. A Kenny G and a Peebo Bryson concert in middle school Phenomenal Folks. If you don't know who they are, google them right now as soon as you get off the podcast. Look up Kenny G and Peebo Bryson outstanding musicians and that, to me, was very eye-opening. It was just mom and I at an amphitheater out on the lawn seating, and it really helped gain some more appreciation for music. For me, so it's not only a favorite one because it's a favorite memory of mine. It was one of those moments that really triggered my interest in music and also just an opportunity to, uh, to learn something new.
Speaker 2:right, it was something outside of my comfort zone love it I gotta tell Cressa just being able to be here and do these podcasts. I have heard everything from Pitbull to Harry Connick Jr. So, to your point, I think it's neat. Just like we don't all eat the same things, we don't all like the same things. I love it that our musical tastes are all different and, as somebody who's married to a band nerd, as you call it I get it and that, but that's awesome. It's a talent. By the way, I think it's a talent both academically, mentally, to be able to hear music, transition music, and so compliments to you for being one of those folks. So thank you. Anyway, all right, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us for another episode of Growing Our Future. Like I always say, if agriculture has taught me anything, it's taught me. If you want to know what the future is, grow it.
Speaker 2:And whether that's your personal life, your FFA chapter, your professional life, you've got to plant seeds, and then you've got to take care of them, and then, when that harvest comes in, you've got to harvest it. Don't be stingy with it, share it, and when we do, we make our worlds a better place to live, work and raise our families. Until we meet again, go out and do something great for somebody. You'll feel good about it and the world will be better for it. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1:We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast. This show is sponsored by the Texas FFA Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen agricultural science education so students can develop their potential for personal growth, career success and leadership in a global marketplace. Learn more at mytexasffaorg.