I started my first job at age thirteen unloading fertilizer trucks at the local farm supply store in my rural hometown of 5000 people. From that point forward, I never had an “indoors job” until after graduating college. My summer jobs gave me an opportunity to operate an array of machinery for making tall grass short. Yazoo Three-Wheel Riders, an old Ford 5000 hitched to a rusty six foot cutter, and my grandfather’s John Deere 4020 tractor, no sun shade included. My grandfather was a farmer and my father enjoyed a thirty-one year career with John Deere, so you could say this was in my blood.Fast forward and you find that thirteen year old boy has dedicated his entire career to the agricultural and outdoor power equipment industries, industries that I have an overflowing passion for. I feel blessed to have spent these past twenty years coaching, mentoring, and empowering salespeople to achieve both their career and personal goals. I hope they learn as much from me as I do from them.Today we see technology at the forefront of these industries, creating new opportunities for manufacturers, dealers, and end-users alike. This technology requires new and creative ways of thinking, as well as the need to develop new skill sets to remain relevant in the future. Signing up to help launch a new, technologically advanced brand like Kress allowed me to go outside my comfort zone and re-think traditional methods of getting the job done. Where battery goes in OPE, I feel, is yet to be determined. There are certainly applications where one technology has advantages over the other, and visa versa. But what I do know is that the industry will continue to evolve and the future of outdoor power looks exciting and bright. Oh, and I still enjoy a little tractor therapy and making tall grass short on my free weekends.