How do you define success? The answer and ingredients are as unique as the women profiled on the pages within The Packer's 15th annual Women in Produce issue, honoring eight industry leaders playing pivotal roles in the success of their own organizations as well as supporting the future of agriculture, embracing crazy big ideas, having a positive impact and lifting up farmers and the fresh produce industry as a whole.
This year's honorees are moving the industry forward and inspiring future generations to do the same.
Before she was marketing Texas citrus, April Flowers experienced the challenges of teaching in the McAllen, Texas, school district for several years.
The Packer asked Flowers, marketing director of Lone Star Citrus Growers, Mission, Texas, about what lessons she drew from that experience and other observations from her career.
The Packer: How has your experience as an educator helped you in your current role in the produce industry?
Flowers: The hardest part about teaching is figuring out how to hold the attention of a roomful of teens for an hour a day throughout an entire school year — and teens are a tough crowd. Capturing their interest requires self-discipline, creativity, storytelling and, quite frankly, a good dose of fearlessness. If you expect to get through to every student, you have to be able to reinvent the wheel a dozen times every day, and that means you absolutely cannot be afraid to try new things.
Those skills easily translate into marketing. After all, in both fields we spend our days sorting out the best way to relate to an audience that may or may not be inherently interested in our message. In the end, story delivery is everything.
What does the Texas citrus industry mean to you?
I love the Texas citrus industry. It has such a rich heritage here in the valley, and everyone has a story about it. I love how people connect emotionally with their food when they have the opportunity to see it growing in their community. Combine that with the knowledge that this industry provides so much opportunity to the community, and it's easy to be proud to have a small part in it.
What has made you effective in your current role?
I've never been afraid of a new idea; the bigger and crazier, the better! I love change and thrive on it, even when it's stressful. I also enjoy learning new tech skills, so it's easy for me to spend a day learning a new program when I don't have the ability to outsource bringing an idea to life. I think a lot of good ideas die because people don't know how to move it from concept to reality, but for some reason, I enjoy the challenge.
Anybody come to mind as a mentor or leader who has helped you grow?
I think mentors are more than a nice idea; they are absolutely essential to growth and an enjoyable life experience. I consider a mentor to be anyone who has something to teach me and is willing to do so. If we aren't learning from the people who surround us, then we simply aren't growing.
That said, I have several people who have helped shape my thinking along the way. I'd have to give you a very long list of people if I were to name them all, but in terms of marketing, Lisa Cork and Megan Zweig have taught me so much and really helped me learn to see things through a variety of lenses. Eleisha Ensign has always been gracious enough to answer all of my questions and provide access to any resource she has.
We run a family business, so everything I know about the trees and agricultural issues came from my father-in-law, Jud, and when I have a question about production and logistics, my husband, TJ, is the one I ask every time. When it comes to In Bloom and industry leadership, our chairwoman, Michelle Cortez, is my partner in crime, and we are constantly pushing each other forward creatively and intellectually.
What is one industry/societal issue that you are passionate about?
I'm very passionate about developing women leaders in our industry and providing meaningful networking opportunities to them. Twenty years ago, I was working in a very female-dominant profession that provided structured training, mentorship and leadership development, and then I switched over to a very male-dominant profession that didn't have those opportunities built into the framework of day-to-day business. It was a pretty big change, and I had to be very intentional about how I was learning and developing.
I think there are so many young women with huge potential in this industry. Can they hack it without that support? Of course. But if we have the opportunity to help others grow faster and in new directions, I really feel that as decent human beings we owe it to each other to help where we can. This is the spirit behind In Bloom, and I'm extremely proud to be associated with this organization because we really are trying to provide opportunities that have depth and breadth.
More of The Packer's 2024 Women in Produce honorees:
- Frances Dillard, vice president of brand and product marketing, Driscoll's.
- Cynthia Haskins, president and CEO, New York Apple Association.
- Sandi Kronick, CEO and co-founder, Happy Dirt.
- Christine Moseley, founder and CEO, Full Harvest.
- Tara Murray, vice president of marketing, Fresh Innovations/Yo Quiero Brands.
- Julie Olivarria, vice president, produce, Sysco.
- Jen Velasquez, vice president marketing, Full Tilt Marketing.
Top row, from left: Frances Dillard, April Flowers, Cynthia Haskins and Sandi Kronick; bottom row, from left: Christine Moseley, Tara Murray, Julie Olivarria and Jen Velasquez. (Design: Tasha Fabela-Jonas)
