Behind the Scenes: Media, Marketing & Communications

In this episode of Under The Green, we flip the script and go behind the scenes of media, marketing, and communications for extension at the Ag Center. What starts as a simple question—“what do you do?”—turns into a real conversation about unexpected career paths, creative risk-taking, constant problem-solving, and the kind of work most people never see.

It’s honest, a little unfiltered, and might just change how you think about everything you’ve seen come out of this place. 

Thank you for listening! Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RandolphNCCE or Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/randolph_county_extension/

Transcript

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Welcome back to Under the Green, the podcast where we highlight the programs, people, and purpose inside the Randolph County Agricultural Center. Today we're flipping the script. You've heard about the programs and events, but now we're going behind the scenes to talk about how all of that gets shared with you. I'm joined by Chassity, who leads media, marketing, and communications for Randolph County Cooperative Extension. And we're diving into what this role really looks like day to day and what it actually takes to bring everything you see to life. Welcome. How does it feel to be on the other side? It was really weird to hear someone else read all of that. That was really fun. I may or may not want to co-host. Hey, I could use a co-host. I mean, I think I think we could do it. Yeah. And that that's the only part that we really script of this whole thing is our intro and outro. Let's dive right in. Are you ready? I'm ready. Let's go. How did you end up in this role doing what you do? That's a great question. So glad you asked. So I don't remember what year it was. Time has flown by but yet stood still all at the same time. I just know that when Dr. Kenny Sharon was with us as our director, we finally got the green light on the Ag Center. And he saw the need not only for extension to be better marketed in our county, but also for the Ag Center to be better marketed. And he saw a talent. He saw something that I was capable of doing. And he's like, You're gonna do it. So I love that for us. Yeah. So he so he made that possible and he kind of got some verbiage changed within my job description to include communications, marketing, as well as support. But the heavier lifting is in the communications and marketing part of all of this. Because I've always known you in this role. I mean, it's definitely changed over the years, and we'll we'll talk more about that in a little bit. But it from the outside looking in, no one would ever know that you weren't just always doing this. Oh, thanks. Yeah. No, I definitely was not always doing this. I started out just as 4-H support, but that was back when I was hired, back when everything was on paper and things had to be notarized. Like every single 4-H enrollment had to be notarized. Now it's all online. So that that saves both the families a lot of time as well as extension professionals on this end a lot of time. And things were just kind of slowing down for support in that area. But we had this other thing ramping up. So it was it was a great time for me to be a part of that and for Kenny to have that vision. So it was a really natural segue because you did a lot of the marketing for 4-H prior to being fully in this role. Yes. And and then also I can't discount Canva. Like the rollout of Canva and wherever that came from was heaven sent, honestly. Canva is the best. It changed workforce. Man, it makes every like we could do a whole episode just on Canva. It makes everything so much easier. You know, I I do know enough Photoshop to be dangerous. And yes, you can do a ton of things in there and you can make things look wonderful, but it takes a lot more steps. It takes a lot more digging in like YouTube and learning how to do things and messing up before you make a great product, where Canva is very user-friendly. And so it really does make my job a lot easier. And I can crank out stuff really quickly, and you can keep that brand, keep those colors, all the thing, just everything clicking, and it just really simplifies my life. So Canva came along all at the same time. The stars aligned. I really did. The universe aligned for this. Said, girl, you're gonna do this. Sometimes that's how it happens. So I was gonna ask, and you talked a little bit about this, but do you have a background at all in marketing and media? No, no, I was just very fortunate. And so I've always had some kind of computer. We got one in our home, but I was always playing on it. I was probably the the highest user in my home of the computer. And it was back when some of you will know what I'm talking about. But you know, we had those little like either the hard disk or the floppy disk that had stuff preloaded, print shop, games, different things like that. And I was constantly on there, of course, the AIM chat. Instant messenger. Yes. Yes, we had instant messenger, you know, really honing in on them typing skills, right? Talking to your friends, and those kind of things. Uh, so living through the whole age of dollop internet, all of that stuff, it it's just a natural thing for me. And I also subscribe to the thought of what's the worst that can happen? Go ahead, push the button. Go ahead, move that box. Push the red button. It's okay. Go ahead. Yeah. And also, I'm uh definitely uh do it first, ask for forgiveness later kind of person. Every workplace needs one of those because that's where the the new ideas come from. Like that's where the ingenuity comes from. Because if you're always doing things the same old way, you have to have that ingenuity in this type of role, I feel like. And and the communication piece, like you bring up instant messenger from when you were growing up, but truthfully, to be in marketing and media, you're communicating with people in everything you do. Oh, yeah, you gotta be a yapper. Whether it's, I mean, whether you're designing a flyer that's gonna be posted, that's still a form of communication. Absolutely. I'm very much a like, just let me add it. Hannah and I were in the digital skills lab on Friday. She's got some little pieces of equipment in there. And you could tell she and I are very different learning styles where I'm just like, just put it in there. What's the worst that could happen? Right. And and you know, she's like, Oh, we need to read the instructions first, kind of person. And I'm like, Those people are important in the workplace too. They are, they are. And you know, so we compromised and we read a little bit and did a little bit and read a little bit and did a little bit. And uh we didn't burn the place down. Hey, hey, hey, so and we managed to 3D print something. So, you know, I love having her here and I love being able to learn from her and and she learns things from me. We help try to simplify each other's lives when we can. And uh it's just a natural thing for me, I think. It's just something that I am blessed with, and I'm glad that I get to do it every day. I'm glad that you get to do it every day too. And I'm gonna follow that story up with I was I was gonna mention that, you know, yes, marketing and media, it's good for someone to be a good communicator, but that also goes both ways, and you're a really great listener. Like I you can synthesize people's information. Oh, thanks. Like I can't tell the listeners how many times I've come in here because I'm an out loud processor, like an auditory processor, and I just have to say all the things that are in my head, and you have the ability to be like, okay, what I'm hearing is da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Right. And you do that with so many of the people that work here, where just like the story with Hannah, like you can listen to them talk about what they're doing or what they're planning or what their program was, and then you can absorb that and synthesize it. So it's it's both ways. Like you're you're synthesizing the information that's coming to you and what's going out. Yes. Oh. You're so good. What a compliment. You're so good at what you do. What a compliment. Yeah, I can say I've definitely learned a lot. I've been here 11 and a half years, and I've definitely had to listen to things uh like during COVID times, for instance. Blake he would host pesticide classes online through Zoom. That's already not the super interesting topic as it is. And he would need someone to sit in on these classes and just make sure that people's cameras stayed on. Y'all remember all the protocols, right? So I volunteered or he asked me and I was like, Yes, I'll do it. And I'm by the end of it, I was like, okay, well, now I could probably do all these pesticide tests. Now I have my pesticide license. Yeah, so stuff like that. But I have literally have learned a lot, and it helps me at home as well because I'm I'm married to a legit farmer. We have road crops, we have cows, and so when he comes home and he tells me, oh, so-and-so broke, or the market is this, or this has happened, I have some context. Right. You know, it's not just him venting. I can kind of know what he's talking about because I do pick up a lot of education from our agents here, whether it be about livestock or field crops or horticulture, you know, I'm able to really soak in that information. I may not remember it next week, but but for that moment, like I've got it. Right. Because you do, you touch everybody that's here. So you know you know a little bit about what everybody does. I do, yes. So that being said, what do people think you do versus what you know you actually do? I don't even know if I know I don't know if I have a thought for that. I don't know what they think I do. I just know what they know they can call on me to do, you know, whether it be making flyers or designing something or posting something to the website or getting something out on Facebook. Like, you know, they can they can call me and and I can make that happen and get their approval and we just push it out and whatever, or if they need me to review something, proofread something, anything like that, like they have confidence in me that I can do that. So I maybe that's just that's when it comes to anything that they're gonna kind of really push out to the world and they need a second set of eyes on. Because I think for listeners at home or viewers at home that follow the Randolph County Cooperative Extension Facebook page or peruse the Randolph County Cooperative Extension website, that's what they see of what you do. Yes. It's okay, this this post was made about this event or this fact about something related to agriculture that I never knew, or they're driving down Highway 64 and they see the big green sign and there's extension programming advertised on it. Like that's what outsiders looking in are seeing is that finished product. So, and I know that there's more to your day than just those shiny, beautiful, ready-to-see final items. Yes, yes. Cody and I tend to make a really good team on trying to think out of the box and do some programming that, you know, really hasn't been done in a certain way. Because there again, I'm like, well, what's the worst that can happen? You know, just try it. If people respond, they respond. If they don't, they don't. I may find something, whether it be you scrolling on TikTok or scrolling on Instagram, and I'm like, that's that's a really good idea. How can we modify it to bring education to people? Now I'm not facilitating the program. Now he was gracious enough when we did plant bingo, which was so fun. He did ask me to MC the festivities of the evening. And so we did bingo and I really got to know the people that were playing. And it takes a certain level of uh extrovertness to do that, which I'm introverted extrovert. It just depends on my situation. But if you give me a microphone, I'll talk to you all day. I will, yep, yep, yep. You don't say how you just yap away. And so we had a really good time doing that. And but we've already been talking about how can we keep building on things like that? Because everybody responded, it sold out, everybody had a good time. How do we keep doing things like that to make it better? How do we stay up with the times? Is it still enough to just be like, hey, I'm I'm just doing this class and I'm gonna talk to you the whole time? Are people interested in that? Do they want to do that? And for some people, that that's exactly what they want. And some people are more open to ideas of like, all right, I want to step out of my box a little bit and I know who to go to to help me step out of the box. Right. And also from my outside perspective of watching you day to day and observing you here in this workplace across this campus, we got to give credit where credit is due because you do have that window into everyone's jobs here because you help everyone with their marketing or their whatever for their programming. You serve on committees, like when we were playing in the Common Ground Festival, because you do have that relationship with everyone here and knowledge of what they do. You do things that are within marketing and media, but you help out in other ways too. Yes. Yes, I do. And that was a fun committee to be on. We're doing it again next year. If you didn't hear in the last episode, May 1st, 27, be there. And so, you know, I'm serving in that capacity again. I'm very excited about it. And I I do have that knowledge. That's a lot of years of experience in this office with these people, or at least with these programs. A lot of faces have changed in my time here, but the programs stay the same. The mission stays the same. And how do we keep delivering that to people and making it relevant? And how do we just constantly make it maybe not bigger, but how do we just constantly make it better? Right. And continue to grow. Yeah, because I mean, like for instance, I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan. Huge Taylor Swift fan. But if literally, I know a lot of people can fight me on this and I'll fight you back, but if her music all sounded the same, you wouldn't you would buy that first CD and be like, oh, okay, yeah, that's cool. That sounds good, I love it. The second one, if it sounded the same as the first one, you're gonna be like, mm, I was hoping for something else. I was wanting a little bit more. And so that's kind of my goal in my head with those things, is just like, okay, well, this was our baseline. How do we just keep digging? How do we keep making it better? So just know that if if I had a hand in it, that was my personal goal to like make it better for the people. Because you have that creative brain. All of that said, what does a normal day look like? There is no such thing. Very similar to your answer in our podcast last time. There is no such thing. But I would say like a typical day flow is uh, you know, I come in first things first, like most people, you know, check in your emails. And then we we kind of have some visitation time. People kind of stop in and be like, hey, how was your evening? You know, we just chit-chat. That's I think typical office behavior. And then it's just kind of as the day flows where it gets a little different because it may be that again, Cody, he's just right down the hall. So he's just kind of easy bait, if you will. So, you know, he walks by and he'll be like, Hey, I'm headed out to the orchard to do this. And I'm like, hey, let me bring my my microphone and my camera because that sounds interesting. I think people might like it. So there may be videos in a day, there may not be videos in a day, there may be podcast recordings, there may be just busy work doing flyers, just constantly thinking. I think that's the the day is just thinking creatively. And some days those juices are just flowing and don't get in my zone. And then other days it's like, I am so uninspired. Let me stare out my window at the dead grass because it hasn't rained in five years, and uh see if a butterfly or something will just fly by and and provide some inspiration. But yeah, no two days look the same, but that that's just extension. And you do manage or at least co-manage, I'm not sure you can tell us more. The Facebook page. Yes. And so I'm sure on a daily but like I it's busy on that Facebook page. Yes. So is that something you're monitoring always? Thank you for bringing totally forgot I do that. Yeah, so Facebook and Instagram. Um, Instagram, we're still trying to build up a little bit. We're a little late to the game on that. So if you'll go follow us, that would be fantastic. But Facebook definitely uh we get a number of comments. Not everything we post is gonna be a home run. Sometimes it's gonna be a ground ball and we're out, you know. Other times we're gonna get to second base, whichever. Not everything is gonna be a home run, and that's okay. No business has a home run every time, I would say. But still, there are some things, and sometimes it's the very unexpected things that you're like, wow, this was not the reaction that I anticipated when we posted this. But uh, I'm glad that people are talking because the more you interact with the page, the the more it shows up on other people's pages. And the more you share anything that you find interesting, then other people may find it interesting. So it's a very symbiotic relationship, you know, like we've got to work together, us and the public, to really get the word out and to share things. But yes, I do manage that most of the time, if you're getting, if you send us a message, it's gonna be me replying. Not all the time, you know, all of the agents have access to that page and they all have access to the messenger section. But most of the time it's it is gonna be me and uh and I'm gonna try to help you the best that I can. It may be that simply I'm telling you to call someone that works here, but it's it's most likely gonna be me. I hope you never hear from me on as far as work goes, me say, I don't know, and leave it at that. I hope you never hear that come out of my mouth because I'm going to chase down an answer if it means going all around this building, if it means going to county government, if it means tracking somebody down NC State, I'm we're gonna find you an answer. It may not be what you want, but and I can provide personal, I can provide personal testimony to that because before we moved here to this campus at the old office, my desk was 10 feet away from yours. Yes. And so I would hear the phone ring and you answer it, you know, if if our receptionist was out or she was out for lunch or whatnot, and those just random questions come through. Yes. And you're right. Like I never heard you say, I don't know, which I don't think anybody here would say that, but I would hope not. But you always know immediately who to send a person to. Yeah. And if not, I'm gonna Google it. Listen, I've had we're getting a smidge off topic, and I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I I remember years ago talking to this older gentleman, and he had called in, and he just didn't know who to call. And it they were redoing Highway 42, and right in front of his house, there had developed like a pothole that was pretty large, and he was very concerned about someone getting hurt or popping a tire, something happening. And I'm like, all right, he cares about this, and he's called us, and I didn't feel comfortable just sending him around to everybody. So I'm like, okay, sir, let me see what I can do to help you. And so I just did a quick search, found out where you can report things like that on DOT. And I said, Okay, sir, what's your address? And I just put it in there for him. And I was like, it has been reported, and he was so happy, and I never heard from him again. So I'm assuming it got done and they took care of it, but just little things like that. It doesn't always have to be in your wheelhouse to help people. And I'm gonna I'm gonna do what I can to assist you, whether it's extension related or not. You're such a public servant, I think. You have such a serving heart, I think. What is the most chaotic moment you have ever had in this job? And it doesn't have to be necessarily marketing and media related, because I still think it'll show the listeners more about you, but what can you share? I would probably have to say, and I think everyone would agree, because it was our first time doing something of that magnitude is at the Comic Ground Festival, but in all the right ways. You know, it was so incredibly chaotic. And knowing what my goals and what my duties were for that day, but also feeling like there's no way I can get all of this done because I was one person being pulled in a lot of different directions. And it wasn't necessarily poor planning on our parts, it was just the overwhelming response from the public that made that happen. But like I said, it was in all the best ways. And no one was upset. I wasn't upset. It was mind-blowing, like it was such a good day, but just still just trying to do what I do best, and then also, you know, checking on my people, which is also something that no one's told me I ever have to do that. But it's just it's just something in me. Like I'm gonna make sure, are you okay? Are you okay? And taking lunch orders for the day, trying to make sure everybody ate, giving our parking attendant Bruce his break. That's right. That break was very important to Bruce, and you gave it to him. That's right. And Bruce and I are like besties now, so it was worth it. And uh just different little things like that of the day. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. And I would do it again in a heartbeat. But that's probably the most chaotic I've ever been. Well, you were here, there, everywhere that day. I really was. I mean, we all were busy, but I think if we were tracking movement of around campus and different things done, you you won the trophy on that one. Let me tell you my favorite thing that I thought of ahead of time was asking my husband to please bring our golf cart. Had I had to walk that as many times as I was back and forth from one building to the other, to the arena, to parking lots, to this, to that. And oh my goodness, I still wouldn't be able to walk. No, no one could have done. Because you, I mean, I was inside at the concessions area for 99% of that day. Yeah. But I could just hear walkie-talkie traffic. You know, all the staff had our walkie-talkies, and we were, hey, SOS, I need this, or hey, does anybody know where such and such is? Yeah. And you were popular on that channel because you had you knew most of the answers, or you were the person that could handle it. Yeah. Like handle that request. Yeah. And then of course you still had random people that were trying to get from one place to the next, but maybe had some mobility issues and they just saw, oh, golf cart. And so they would stop and be like, Can you, you know, can you take me here? Can you take me there? And of course, I was happy to do it, but that would prolong me responding to something else. But we we got through that day, and like I said, I would do it again in a heartbeat. And we're going to. We are. We are first. And we're gonna have more golf cars and more parking attendance per Bruce. Yeah, per Bruce. Bruce has ordered more parking attendance. We're gonna do Bruce the solid for sure. That being said, chaotic and stressful are two different things. What is the most stressful part of your job? I guess the only time would be I get pulled away a lot of, hey, let's go do this, or hey, let's go do that. Or it's usually my own doing, honestly, because someone will tell me they're wanting to do something. And I'm like, I want to go too. So things like that. I don't really have a ton of deadlines. A for H summer can get a little crazy, uh, making sure that we we put that out in so many different types of media that making sure that everything matches. And I am not good with numbers. We learned that last time as well. And sometimes, like my times and my dates, they'll just get cross-posted in my brain. And it's like, oh, September 9th at 10 30 when it was supposed to be like October 9th at 9 30, you know. And so my brain just gets all the wires confused sometimes. Um, so making sure that those things are done and that it's cohesive and it looks like it's supposed to across all those different platforms and medias, that can be a little stressful, just for me, just for the way I'm wired. It may be a walk in the park for someone else and kudos to them. But for the most part, I am not a very stressed person. You do have that mentality of what someone else may see as stress. I think you see it as like a challenge. Yeah. Or like a, no, I will do this. Oh, yeah. You know, like I this will be this will not defeat me. Uh-uh. I'm gonna defeat it. Don't tell me I won't do something. Right. Don't tell me. Yeah, and the other thing that I say a lot, and I've had to say it to Taylor a lot over the past like year, is you know what it never was that serious. Right. Like, yes, what we do is important. It's it's very valuable, but we're not brain surgeons. We're not, this is not a life or death situation. But yes, there are still deadlines, but no harm, no foul. And that is such a beneficial mindset for someone in that role because you are you're posting things on social media, and when they're out there, they're out there. And I know people who could not handle that pressure. You know what I mean? Of once it's out there, it's out there, and you know, da-da-da. And it's almost a major benefit to have that mentality of like, it's okay. Like, we're we'll we'll address every challenge as it comes. We get to this obstacle, we're gonna figure it out. We made this mistake, it's okay, we can fix it. Yeah, and that's that's to your benefit. Right. Yeah, it's not the end of the world. If you left out a word, you missed a word, you got your numbers crossed. You know, there's nothing that can't be fixed because again, it's it's not brain surgery. Yeah. But yeah, so I think that helps keep my stress level pretty low. I think it does. Yeah. I'm a very chill person. Well depends on who you ask, I think. My husband may beg to differ. My children may beg to differ. So what is the overall goal behind your work and and what you do? I would say the overall goal, in my own words, to extend extension, to get it in your homes, to get it in your car, to get our mission of education and agriculture advocacy out to the world. You know, maybe well, maybe not the world, but our little our little part that we're responsible for, this little square in the middle of North Carolina, to to get our mission out here and to get people passionate and having faith in their farmers and having faith in their kids that they can push them to do hard things through 4-H and they can learn new things at all times. You're never ever too old to learn new things, whether it be, you know, planting, gardening, how to eat better, how to cook things, how to preserve your food, whatever it may be. You know, we we've got something here. And if not, chances are we can create something that'll help you learn, or we can find some kind of publication, some something that speaks to how you need to access that information. So I just want everyone to know that that's what we're here for. So I'm gonna put you on the spot with this because of what you do, and we all, if no matter where you work, I feel like you get this question, you're told to prep for this question. I am interested, especially because you are marketing and media, what is your elevator pitch about extension? Like if you were locked in an elevator going to the tenth floor and somebody's like, Hey, what what is extension? What do you say? I would say we are an educational resource that just meets you where you are. We're just gonna meet you where you are, and that's probably it for me. We're an educational resource, we're gonna meet you where you are. You know nothing about that, all right. Let's learn. Oh you know everything about that? All right, well, teach me. You know, like those kind of things. And and we're just we're here for everybody. There's nothing that we don't offer that doesn't touch some facet of everyone's life, whether it be technology, cooking, eating, planting, what whatever it is. Yeah, I mean that that's just how I would sum it up personally. So, what's something that that you're proud of as you look back on your marketing and media journey? In this role, and since we've moved here, I have sat in rooms with people that I've never sat in rooms with before. County leadership, county commissioners, those type of things. Um, you know, I don't have any degrees. I'm just high school education, just a little lady living on a farm. Nothing remarkable about me necessarily, but you know, I've been able to come in and sit in rooms with these people and just listen mostly to their plans, their ideas, what they think about things, but then also be appreciated for when I do have something to offer and listen to when I do have something to offer. But also it came with some trust to create things, you know. They may seem like really simple things, but if you got an invitation to the ribbon cutting, I did that. Yes, I didn't make that the building artwork that came from the architecture, but you know, like just knowing like simple fonts that go well together or how to word things for different audiences, those kind of things, our partnership packet. Oh my gosh, I was gonna bring that up. I did that. You did. I do I do have some uh NC State award-winning things. One thing I created, Adam Lowing, won an award and he didn't even tell me about it. He just like pocketed the money. So he's forever on my list for that one. He gets a reminder every week. He does. Oh, Cody, on the other hand, Tuesday. I gotta go tell Adam I remember about that one time. That's right. He's never gonna live it down because Cody, being the gentleman he is, won something for a joint project we did, and he half to his winnings with me was like $25. Wow. He has $25 more than I had. Hey, that'll take you to Chili anyway. So I do keep a little notebook of just things that I've created that I'm proud of over the years. One thing, this was back before Cody, our former horticulture agent, she wanted to come up with this ruler to have out at different stations. I don't even remember where she put them all out, but it it was a ruler and on the back of it, it was measurements so that you could measure like, oh, is my cucumbers like the average length when I should be able to harvest it, or my tomatoes the right like circumference, all those things. And that may sound simple, but it was actually kind of difficult to get that to scale. And I I love that that thing was out there. Um some things that Sophie had printed last year before we moved from farmers markets, they're beautiful. And I'm very proud of those. And they're out there at the different rest stops in our county. Uh TDA has some, just different little things like that. I really love knowing that this is landed in people's hands. Right. And it may go right into the trash at the end of the day, and that's okay. But for a moment, like they got it, and maybe they appreciated it. Like those colors really go well together. I did recently learn through my own research that our extension page is the third most followed in the state of North Carolina. Woo, woo! Yes, that's awesome. So I I do know that having Temple Grand in here was uh a big draw, as well as the Common Ground Festival. We had a we had a lot of followers and just being here at the Act Center, moving here, got a lot of people interested in what we're doing. And so, yeah, we saw a great increase between those three things. So I'm very thankful for that. What just all me, but you know, now that they're here, I'm like, we gotta keep them, we gotta keep them engaged. So, that being said, how has your role changed over the past year from the old office before the ag center was really the ag center, and now we're here and we're on this campus and we're doing what we're doing. How's that changed your work life? That is a fantastic question because it kind of goes back to the beginning and the purpose of the change that was made to to adjust my role. But prior to moving here, prior to even your job being created, it fell on me to market not just extension, but the ag center, like to really sell the benefits of what this ag center was gonna bring, and just kind of to know all those details of like, I can't rattle them off as much as I could because they hired you, and which is fantastic. And I've not had to like retain that information like I did before, but you know, to be able to rattle off how many people is room A and B gonna hold, and how many people is prior to naming of anything, how many people is the arena gonna hold, the event center, what's this gonna look like, what's that gonna look like, what kind of events are you gonna have there, what's gonna be allowed, blah, blah, blah. And I'd have to just know all these things to help answer those questions. And again, we wouldn't always have those answers because we were still learning as we went and things were still being decided. But since moving here and your position being created and your department being created, I've had to really shift back into just extension. And it's great, but I do miss like being part of being part of like the excitement and the push for the Ag Center. It was a really fantastic time. And I'm thankful that I got to be a part of it. But I really, I really do miss it. I'm glad that you're just right here down the hall. Oh my gosh, I know. Right around the car. You're just right, you're not quite the uh Mr. Wilson peeking over the uh fence anymore. But we can we can check in with each other quite frequently and like what's going on, what's going on? But yeah, but just the promotion and excitement that this place still holds. I do miss it. I'm not gonna lie. Oh, I miss it. So she includes me when she can. I do, I do. Well, because it's true. I mean, before the creation of the Ag Center department, before the creation of my position, when all of this was just an idea until the time that it was ready to we're building and we're gonna move in in a few months, and we need to get things rocking and rolling. Extension played a massive, massive, massive role in getting this facility ready to go. Yes. And so you did there for a little while. Yeah. That more than dabble, I almost said dabble, but you were full-fledged thrown into this huge transition of attention and efforts towards the Randolph County Act Center. Yeah. And then the positions were created, the department was created, and it was like a retreat of it was back to what it was two years ago. I mean, that was really two years. How do I get back to that? How do I get back? But yeah, it was hard. I'm not gonna lie. It's still hard because I get excited. I get really excited. So if I see that Taylor has posted something interesting on the Ag Center page for Facebook, I'm like, you know what? Our people need to hear that too. And so we'll share it. No, I didn't come up with that idea, but I'm I definitely want to make sure our people see it and that hopefully they will go and then follow you as well. So it's promoting in a very circumvent way. It is. Well, you're the bridge. Like we went to other ag centers around the state, and everywhere told us teamwork. Yes. Like everywhere we went was like teamwork, no matter how you slice it, cut it, skin it, whatever. Yeah. Whoever is on your campus, make sure it's a team effort with what you do. Of course, everybody has their specialties, right? But you are really that bridge person here because of what you do and your mentality. You're just passionate about the Ag Center as a whole, of just the whole entire facility and what it's what it does for our community, the passion that you have for it. And so you're really that bridge person. You're like the little connector between the dots. Yeah. All right. Last question. What do you wish people understood about your job? I'm gonna go and kind of answer that question, but also propose a thought. Okay. Okay. I wish people understood that there's very few of my positions in this state. We do have 101 extension offices throughout the state, and there's only a handful of people who do what I do. And for a county our size, and for people to be as involved in extension as they are in this county, we definitely need someone like myself. Very, very few people have a me, very few people have a Wanda are receptionist. Usually it's the admin doing just all of those things. And they are they kind of get put in charge of everything, helping make flyers, they help balance the budget and do the books and do all the things. And I think that in the future, of course, I have no power over this, but I think in the future we do have to kind of look at the model, the staffing model for extension, and kind of really evaluate if we need more people who do things like I do that think creatively. Because the agents, they're busy, they are doing programming. That's what they're hired to do. That's their job, they're educating. And so they don't always have time to make those flyers, to record podcasts, to just do all the tiny little things to market themselves. And the world is only getting more and more digital, and it's always changing. It's going so quickly, and people's attention spans are just getting shorter and shorter. We've got just a few seconds to make that impression and to really reel people in. You've got to be able to communicate communicate what you're about, what you're here for, and in a fun and engaging way. People are always, they always want to be fun and engaged, and it's got to be exciting, and you don't want to miss the opportunity. So I think I think that's what I hope people understand more about my job is that we're gonna need more people like myself. You gotta have those creatives. You gotta have them. And I can't imagine Randolph County without a you, you know, this position, but a you as well, just as an individual and what you bring to the table with this role. We're definitely very, very, very lucky to have you in Randolph County. Thank you, Chassity, for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to share everything happening here at the Agricultural Center. It's clear this role is about more than communication. It's about connection, storytelling, and making sure our community knows what's available to them. Next time on Under the Green, we'll be highlighting soil and water and the important work they're doing to support conservation, resources, and the land that sustains our community. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time, right here, Under the Green.