Publisher's Letter
My dad, Jay Simmons, has always been a hard worker. When I was a little girl, I remember riding with him in the back of 18-wheelers to deliver trucks to clients over the weekend. I remember thinking the bed in the back for taking naps during the ride was the coolest. I also remember spending many Saturday mornings watching television in my dad’s office while he worked. (Do you remember that commercial showing the eggs in a frying pan? The “This is your brain on drugs,” message seemed to play on repeat during the Saturday morning TV show lineup.)
We still talk about one particular story from our Saturday morning adventures. We can now even laugh about it, even though it wasn’t exactly funny at the time. My dad was calling on a customer, and he left me in his vehicle asleep while he ran inside to check on him. I woke up while he was still inside, and apparently, I was bored. I decided it would be fun to “pretend” to drive the truck. I took the pretending a step too far and put the vehicle in drive. As my dad ran toward me, trying to open the door so he could jump in and put the truck in park, I ran it through the customer’s shop. It was a surreal moment. I can still remember being wide-eyed and terrified as I realized I was actually going through that building. It definitely made a lasting impression on the business owner, who remains my dad’s loyal customer today. That’s when I knew my dad must be good at business. Who else could have salvaged a good working relationship with that customer after the mess I had made? My bad!
As an adult, reflecting on my dad’s hard work, I am so proud of everything he has accomplished. I have watched him start at the bottom and work extremely hard to make his way to the top. It took sacrifice, determination, wins, failures, commitment, risk, and many other impressive qualities to get to the place he is in today. I try to look to him and the path he paved while running my own business. It is never as easy as it seems to those on the outside.
This is our agriculture and outdoor issue, and it is one of our favorites. Every single story represents hard work. It takes grit and determination to get through the ups and downs of running a business. It is long hours in all the elements, and we stand in awe of those willing to do what it takes.
Enjoy all these stories and remember to celebrate Dad this month on Father’s Day.
Stay cool!
