10
Aug
Chino Ramires has been with Southern Valley for twenty years. After spending his youth working all across the Southeast – oranges in Florida, peaches in South Carolina, apples in Virginia, tobacco in Tennessee – a friend invited him to come work at Southern Valley in Georgia. There, he took on role after role and seemingly loved them all.
Chino spent eight years in Georgia in a variety of roles – field, packing house, shipping, spraying, and irrigation – “and then” he jokingly says, “they sent me back to Mexico!” He was, in fact, sent back to Mexico for the purpose of playing an integral role at the farm in Yucatan. Chino spent twelve years working for Southern Valley Yucatan, managing the operation for five of those years, before retiring. Now, Chino is back visiting the farm in Tennessee to learn from the operation there and utilize his experience in Mexico to help put together a Tennessee team.
Full of personality, charm, and class, Chino is quick to laugh, quick to be humble, and eager to continue growing and learning. I’m telling you, one interaction with this man and you’ll be hooked. It seems he’s done it all on the farm…and loved it all too. From field worker to electrician to packing house to farm manager – he knows a little (or a lot) about it all and speaks of each role with ease and familiarity.
“I am grateful to be in the company” says Chino “I’ve been here for a long time and I feel like a part of the company.” Chino’s experience and wisdom are an asset for Southern Valley and we are the ones who are grateful for him.