25 Oct RESOURCE GROUP TEAM SPOTLIGHT: George Caldwell, Regional Sales Manager – West Coast
A: Working in hotels and restaurants I became more & more interested in my own food experience. Since then I have worked on 2 certified Organic Farms, 1 home delivery company (4500 customers per week) & 1 medium sized distributor. You learn to problem solve and make mistakes, you gain confidence and know how many zucchini are almost always in a box at a certain time of year. You learn what employees want to do, how they are connected and what they are not good at and then assign them tasks for success. Through all this you maintain a sense of humor. My passion for Organics led me to success in other related fields. From Employee relations to Climate Change, to saving the earth one carrot at a time sounds like I did learn something from it all. Not sure if it answers your question but feels about right.Q: Tell us a bit about you and your background – life experience:
A: I was born in Philadelphia and spent most of my teen years on the Jersey Shore and yes it was similar to the TV show. I lived in Miami and as mentioned, Sarasota, FL. I met my wife, Ashley in 1993 and we, with our dog Nanook currently reside in Kirkland WA. 15 mins outside of Seattle, WA. We love it! I have attached some photos of how we spent our summer vacation this year in the CA redwoods.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job / field?
A: Satisfying a need. Pleasing a customer. Helping a farmer. Driving to a farm on the weekend and harvesting our own food.
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: Knowing where our food comes from. Not the origin but the participants and the work that goes into it. We go out to farms at least 2-3 times a month and know the folks who harvest our food and food for thousands of others personally. Living in an agriculture rich environment (Washington state) we know how hard the work is and know the folks doing it. They have a sense of humor and get angry, just like all of us. They are more resilient then most and farmers are often calm in the eye of the storm, having purchased products from them at all times of year this can be a good or bad thing. Great to work with/always.
Q: How many years of experience do have in this line of work? Where did you work prior to Resource Group?
A: I went to work on a certified organic 5 acre farm (Full Circle Farm/Carnation, WA). in 1999. I then started working at an Organic Home Delivery Service, Pioneer Organics and worked there through 2006, the company grew rapidly and ultimately we delivered produce to 4500 families weekly. We then moved to Sarasota, FL and began working at Global Organic Specialty Source in 2006. Promoted to Purchasing Director in 2008 my responsibilities included work in the following areas, Purchasing, Quality Control, Repack and Inbound Logistics. So concerning the produce business 17 years in Organics.
Q: What are 3 fun facts about yourself?
A: I read the encyclopedia in 4th grade (20 volumes) and it has been valuable to me my entire life. I was a comic book fanatic for 10 years and have an extensive collection of Marvel comics. We are avid campers.
Q: Why are you proud to work for/with Resource Group?
A: I liked the idea of continuing to work for a growing company with similar goals. I think the fact we are trying to expand on relationships across the country, relationships with growers that reflect a need for change and sustainability is important.