Saturday, January 30, 2010

Where are you today?

It seems like yesterday I was driving to the Clewiston Inn with Ady for my interview into a program I had no idea about and walking in, not knowing a soul and not really expecting to get selected. I would have never thought two and a half years later some of the people in that room I would consider friends and that I would miss once the program was over. The support group is there...all we need to do is pick up the phone, send an email or maybe even send a message through Facebook. Sometimes we don't make the time because we are too busy and we will get to it later.

Two years of programming perfectly carved by Dr. Hannah Carter, Rochelle Stickland, Janice Barner and the great support of the WLIANR alumni to then step out and look at our community, industry, Florida, the US and for that matter the rest of the world in a totally different way. I enjoyed it so much and now I want to see it in a different perspective. A business point of view. Prior to leaving to China, I applied for an Executive MBA program at FIU not really thinking I would get accepted. (There is a pattern ya think!) While Sandy and I were at the Dallas airport ready to go home, I receive an email on my Blackberry (need to thank the program for allowing me to embrase techology) and I was granted an interview that Thursday. The program at FIU is a 16 month cohort where I start with the 35 people and hopefully will graduate with the same 35. There is an international trip to India and we are the guinea pigs to a leadership portion of the program at the end. (Nothing close to what we had.)


I have stepped back from some of my previous responsibilities to concentrate on my family, business and school. Times have been challenging no doubt! Business is slow and it has taught us to micromanage and correct our productivity. Working the family business is sometimes difficult because my dad does not want to take risks and try new things. We have the clientele that will support us and after some give and takes, cold issues we are taking it to the next step. Baby steps...and I know we are going in the right direction.

As for school...wow!! My brain hurts! They are making me think in ways I never dreamed of and seeing things from a different perspective. I am looking at my enviroment totally different. Our international trip will consist our groups being consultants of a firm and help them trouble shoot issues.

The family...Ady and D are great. D will be bridging to the Boy Scouts this year. If you want to know more...drop me a line. This was a New Years trip to Boone, NC.


So, where are you today? Fill us in with what you have been up to!!

HUGZ,
Jorge


Friday, January 15, 2010

Happy New Year!

The beginning of a new year is often a time for us to reflect on where we’ve been and what we’ve accomplished in the past year, and set new directions for where we hope to go and what we hope to achieve in the year ahead. As leaders, this often includes an assessment of our personal growth, and how we can improve ourselves to better serve others.

As our world and the agriculture industry is quickly changing around us, we have a responsibility as leaders to keep up with these changes to play an active role in shaping policy or communicating about potential impacts when necessary. Having a set of go-to resources with accurate, up-to-date information is one of the best ways to stay on top of local, state, national and international news and industry changes.

I recently asked you all to cue me in on the resources you use regularly to stay current with industry issues, events and happenings. The following is a collection of the resources most cited by you and your fellow Wedgworth Alumni as regular reads. If you’re looking for something to add to your reading list or personal growth plan in 2010, here are a few ideas!

Periodicals

  • Florida Trend
  • FloridAgriculture
  • Forbes
  • The Economist
  • American Nurseryman
  • Ornamental Outlook
  • National Geographic
  • Smithsonian

Newspapers

  • Wall Street Journal
  • Orlando Business Journal
  • Palm Beach Post
  • Tampa Tribune
  • The Packer
  • Orlando Sentinel
  • The Apopka Chief
  • The NY Times

Websites

  • FoxNews.com
  • CNN.com
  • drudge.com
  • tallahasseedemocrat.com
  • Gatorsports.com
  • Google Alerts

Books

  • John Adams
  • Joker One
  • Broken for You
  • People of the Book
  • My Utmost for His Highest
  • Into the Wild
  • You Can't Fire Me, I'm Your Father

Organizational Information

  • FFVA Newsletter and Daily Updates
  • Florida Citrus Mutual
  • Florida Farm Bureau Legislative Requests and Updates
  • DEP News Releases
  • Highlands Co. Citrus Growers Newsletter and Email Updates
  • Sod Growers Coop Alerts
  • FNGLA Updates
  • ANLA Newsletter
  • Ornamental Outlook

Other

  • WSJ Podcasts
  • My-Cast Weather Center
  • ICSC SmartBrief
  • Facebook

Happy New Year, happy reading and all the best for a fabulous 2010!

Crystal Mathews

Thursday, June 25, 2009

God Bless the USA

Well, not that 18 solid days of Chinese food served on a lazy susan 3 times daily was a bad thing BUT...
I have now finally gotten in the groove of USA food and the lifestyle of the land of the free:
  1. Fried eggs (not scorched like in China) over easy, whole wheat toast with butter, grits, bacon fried crisp (not soggy like China). Real Florida OJ by the gallon. Jelly...assorted kinds. MMMM. Ice tea. With lemon and ice.
  2. Coney Island Chili dogs and Chili Burgers. Real chocolate milkshake made to order. Iced tea by the gallon. With ice!!! And lemon.
  3. Bourbon whiskey. Yes it is better in USA.
  4. Steak. Rare and not scared of it being rare. Fresh grilled veggies. Ice tea with ice.
  5. Gatorade
  6. Jello
  7. Water on ice from the tap
  8. Brushing teeth with water from tap
  9. Barefoot outside
  10. Talking freely about the government, taxes, religion, and anything else
  11. Guns. In the truck, on my hip, in the house. Wherever. I have guns and enjoy it.
  12. 200+ channels of english speaking tv with no censorship and absolutely no point to half of it.
  13. Feet up with bottoms showing to anyone who looks
  14. No shirt when it is hot
  15. Driving a vehicle anywhere I want to go. With rules on how I need to do that. That everyone else follows for the most part, too.
  16. No scooter traffic to speak of
  17. Ford, Chevy, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge
  18. Did I mention ice tea with ice cubes?
  19. Barbecue grills
  20. Swimming pools
  21. Dogs. Inedible dogs.
  22. Birds, opossums, raccoons, critters in general just running around and you can see them with frequency
  23. Facts that you can somewhat believe and rely on
  24. Food quality standards
  25. Western toilets everywhere you need one. With paper. And soap.
  26. Sun-up after 4:30 am
  27. Bodies of water that are relatively safe to get in or eat from
  28. Clean air acts
  29. Air conditioning that you control
  30. Laundry soap that works pretty good. Dryer sheets and fabric softener are pretty nice too.
  31. Dryers
  32. RVs. Didn't see one of those in China.
  33. Family
  34. Friends
  35. The choice to not eat any Chinese food, especially from a lazy susan, for at least a year
  36. And no censorship to post to the internet.

I know I forgot a million things, but these are the ones that seemed to fly out first. What an experience, truly the experience of a lifetime filled with so many "this is the best ____ I have done/seen/eaten ever" moments. We really are blessed to have had the opportunity to see so many things, be so exposed to so much, and to have had the chance of a lifetime to do this trip. Further, to have been a part of the WLI is something I would never have dreamt and yet 2 years is gone so fast. I have had one heck of a ride and enjoyed every minute of it. I know everyone in Class 7 feels the same. Thanks, Dr. Carter, Rochelle, and Janice, and everyone else who makes it go. See you all in Innisbrook.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Asia Trip Complete

Our trip to China, Vietnam and Hong Kong is now complete and man what an adventure!

First a huge Thank You to Dr. Carter and the others that run the Wedgworth Program for providing this opportunity to Class VII. I would also like to thank my classmates for making this an incredibly rewarding experience. Sharing this with my friends was as special as the trip itself.

I believe that we have all gained a new perspective on the world and its complex socio/economic makeup. We have all also certainly reinforced the appreciation we have for our own communities and country.

Mainly, I justed wanted to say Thank You to Dr. Carter and all of my Classmates (the best class ever!!).
Ray

Monday, June 22, 2009

Almost Home

Most of the class has made it home, but the panhandle crew is still traveling. Thad, Richard May & myself are flying into Tallahassee, but the travel day will not end. After almost missing the flight in Dallas, due to an hour & half delay leaving Tokyo, we were then delayed another hour & half on the DFW runway because of Atlanta ground traffic. It is 1130PM and we are on the plane in Atl for a 38 minute flight, but wait they now have to change a tire on the landing gear! 31 hours of travel is not fun, but I am excited & hopeful that I will be sleeping in my own bed tonight! Keep your fingers crossed and thank you all for your prayers & support back home while we were traveling!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Getting on a Jet Plane.

We're at our gate ready to depart to Tokyo for the first of our many flights back to the USA!!! See everyone soon.

TURF in Hong Kong.

Via Erin's turf contacts, we just had an amazing morning on our free day exploring the Hong Kong Golf Club. We saw the turf research facility at the golf club-Erin was definitely in her element and I was expanding my knowledge of turf! We're taking the MTR train/subway back to our hotel now in the first class cabin. A neat way to see more of Hong Kong and very very clean. All of the class is out and about exploring the area in their own ways... Tomorrow we head back to our friends and family!