Thankful for an awesome team

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to "say out loud" what often crosses my mind throughout the year: I am continually impressed by and grateful to my colleagues at The Packer and Farm Journal. These folks are really all-stars. It's occurring to me as I write this that the well-known Maya Angelou quote rings so true when it comes to my team: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

All my colleagues do a great job at their actual work, but their willingness to do it with a smile and a kind word (and even a rolling-on-the-floor-laughing emoji now and then) really brings it to another level.

My fellow Packer editorial team members — Tom Karst, Chris Koger, Amelia Freidline, Amy Sowder and Brooke Park — make it a joy to come to work every day. They are such a selfless and supportive group. Each brings unique strengths, skill sets and perspectives, and the combination is powerful. Each of them, in his or her own way, challenges us to be better and encourages us when the days get crazy.

Tom, no matter how long the to-do list is, always makes sure to check in with everyone and see how things are going. His policy coverage is unmatched; he does a remarkable job breaking down complex topics and explaining what they mean for the industry. As the leader of our team, he is awesome about empowering us to pursue ideas we have for different ways to serve The Packer's audience, and he makes a point to recognize and celebrate successes.

Chris is our North Star for incisive, fundamentally sound produce journalism; his news judgment is excellent, and he sets the standard in food safety coverage. Much of my foundation of produce industry knowledge comes from Chris. As seriously as he takes the work, Chris can also make the whole team laugh with a well-timed one-liner, even via email.

Amelia, our copy chief and designer, moves seamlessly between words and images, working her magic on both to give readers an experience that's both consistent and creative. She also has been so kind as to venture down the video series rabbit hole with me, filming many episodes of Millennials Eat, including lots of new product reviews, whether in-person or virtual. She's wise beyond her years and has often been a sounding board for me, and she's hilarious.

Amy has a wonderful eye for details and a flair for feature writing, and she does a great job bringing the human element in her storytelling. It's been a joy to get to know Amy, and the fact that I feel I've gotten to do so even though she's been remote always is really a testament to her openness and willingness to invest in each of us one conversation at a time.

Brooke is such an impressive combination of practicality and creativity. I don't know that I've ever seen someone as great at planning ahead and preparing others as Brooke. She makes sure everyone knows what's coming next, how to navigate it and who to go to with questions. She's also always coming up with new ways to amplify our content or present it in different ways. Last but not least, in the midst of everything she's responsible for, she often asks the rest of our team how she can help us.

Another person with whom I work often is Alison Fulton, who designs our PMG magazine. Alison does beautiful work, and she's also an excellent communicator. She always knows the best way to phrase a question or present an idea. She does an excellent job interpreting what I ask for from a design standpoint, and she's always open to adjusting based on my feedback about what will resonate best with our readership. That dialogue makes the final product better every time, and her patience and optimism throughout the process is amazing.

There are a number of folks at Farm Journal more broadly with whom I've gotten to work for the first time this year. Heather Sterrett, who heads up events for the whole company, is basically Superwoman. I am constantly amazed at how she handles event after event, across various divisions of the company, and the mountains of details for each one, with such skill and grace. Lindsey Robinson and Kayla Lichty, whom I've also crossed paths with one the events side, have been similarly on top of things, and it is impressive.

Brock Nemecek, marketing manager for produce at Farm Journal, just recently joined the company and really hit the ground running. His knowledge of the industry, willingness to brainstorm any time, focus on next steps and collaborative spirit have made working on event content even better.

I've had such positive interactions even with folks whom I've just briefly encountered on quick requests or individual projects. Danielle Brady in our customer service center has been so quick to help — and enthusiastic in those efforts — when I send over requests for more issues of the magazine for different folks wanting to share it around their company. Zoe Merz, who works in audience development, has shown such kindness and patience as she's taken me through the process for setting up webinars and e-blasts to promote our Produce Artist Award Series. Here I'm adding a dozen emails to her day with all my questions, and she made me feel so welcome.

I'll wrap it up here: I really appreciate the leadership of our executive vice president of produce, Matt Morgan, and our vice president of content, Portia Stewart. They've often made themselves available for comments, questions and brainstorming. They've invited feedback and ideas, and they've given me the green light to pursue many of those ideas. They've given me new responsibilities and opportunities, and I've gotten to grow a lot this year as a result.

I know I tell these folks thank you and that I appreciate them every now and then, but I know I don't do so often enough, so here's one small step in the right direction.

Happy Thanksgiving!