Service has always been a part of my life. My family has always set an example for me of the importance to serve others beyond yourself. Sometimes this comes as sacrifice, but at the end of the day the lasting legacy of service will live beyond your years. I feel that growing up in a… Continue reading Why I Serve
Our most recent VALOR excursion landed us in beautiful central Virginia; here we focused on adding value. We visited numerous operations that were committed to adding VALUE to their products. Going back to my Ag Econ roots at Virginia Tech, it is well documented that most commodity producers keep very little of the full retail… Continue reading Value added
Day 11 of #VALORVietnam is complete. The once well oiled travel machine that is VALOR now more resembles the Vietnamese telecom system - a bundled and tatered mess, lacking in consistent access to much of anything (especially energy). You could say we lost our #SWAG. Any semblance of winter back home is replaced with air… Continue reading Saigon to the Mekong
Experience - it is what shapes a man (or woman for the "inclusive" editors out there). Everyone is shaped by this little thing we call life. My life's journey has been up and down, some good times and some times that just plain sucked. I wouldn't trade them for anything, though. It's who I… Continue reading Life is treasure
Happiness is infections...but happiness is not a word that we can understand by looking it up in the dictionary. Every day, Americans are bombarded with problems and aignst. Happiness seems elusive. Why? We've got shelter, heat, tv, weekends, and based on the average waist line plenty of food. Vietnam is offerring a good perspective of… Continue reading Toes in the mud perspective
Whenever I travel, my favorite memories are always the unplanned hicups and mixing with the locals. Rewind to VALOR session 1.0 to understand our personality types, and how deviation from the plan = BIG fun for me. The absolute best stories usually involve some sort of chaos - those are the ones I remember at… Continue reading Chicken or Frogger Lessons
#ValortakesFL was the latest hashtag reference describing our most recent excursion. This session landed us in sunny central Florida. Here we were emersed in local agricultural, political, and ecological life. A few things are well known about Florida; it's hot, it's humid, it's a popular desitination of the grey nomads, The Villages (key annoying jingle… Continue reading ABC’s of Florida: Alligators, Beef, & Crackers (or citrus)
Have you ever think you had it all figured out, only to realize you really didn't know what was going on all around you? The moment you think your plan is coming together, you realize that the world didn't get the memo that this was your day. As we travel around, meet with people of… Continue reading Wet Blueprints
Our most recent VALOR excursion landed us in the Northern Neck region of Virginia. The Northern Neck is an area full of history, fertile soils, and plenty of water. The roads are lined with historic markers, the homeplaces or many of the founding fathers of the United States, and historic homes of yesterday. It is… Continue reading Leadership, A Committment Beyond What Most Can See
Our most recent VALOR excursion landed us in Southwest Virginia. Known throughout this great land for their tough resolve, hard work ethic, and independent way of life, Appalachia Virginia offers a view of rugged beauty in both landscape and culture. As I reflect on our experience, I cannot help but think of the economy of… Continue reading Cycle of Growth
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