13
Aug
This past Friday marked the end of my seven-week internship with Southern Valley. I am so thankful to have been a part of this wonderful company, even for a short period of time. Not only did I enjoy working with people who have passion for what they do and know how to work hard while still having fun, I learned a lot! I now know the difference between “RPC,” “DC,” and “GTIN,” and can tell you whether a cucumber is a “super” or a “large.” I learned about what it takes to be vertically integrated, including training harvesting crews, washing, grading, and packing produce, maintaining coolers, and working with truck drivers and distribution centers. It really is all-encompassing and requires dedicated, hardworking people to ensure that every box is checked off.
I also learned about year-round operations and even got to stay in the “Tennessee Palace” (the very outdated mobile home that some workers stay in while working at the Tennessee farm) while sitting in on a food safety audit of the Tennessee farm. Best of all, I was given so many great opportunities to help market Southern Valley on the national level. I’m very excited to have designed new business cards for the company as well as advertisements for Southern Valley’s booths at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Convention and Expo as well as the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure.
When I attended SEPC’s Southern Exposure event in Orlando, Florida as a scholarship recipient last February, I was introduced to Southern Valley. I had no idea that such a large produce grower was only forty-five minutes down the road from my childhood home. On the last night of the expo, Dug Schwalls gave me his card and said to contact him about the possibility of a summer internship. I did exactly that. After an interview with Jon and Katie, we agreed that I would work part-time while I lived at home during the summer. Working with Southern Valley was easily one of the best summer experiences I’ve had. Not only was I given great opportunities, I learned so much about the industry – and the folks at Southern Valley managed to make it fun.
At Southern Valley I learned that it takes a lot more than a dream to make one of the largest produce growers in the Southeast a success. It takes passion to be able to work hard for many hours. It takes having people you can rely on, whether they’re family, or trusted friends and employees. It takes relentless innovation and a refusal to rest on your laurels. Most of all, it takes heart. In the end, what I learned from Southern Valley is the secret to success – and I’m excited to apply it to my life going forward.