Latest / GO TEXAN THE Truly Significant / Truly Significant Texans in Agriculture honors Dr. Jayla Frye- Gardener over 8000 Master Gardners

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Truly Significant Texans in Agriculture honors Dr. Jayla Frye- Gardener over 8000 Master Gardners · GO TEXAN THE Truly Significant

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  Speaker 1: And we chase success.
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  Speaker 2: What's left is just emptiness. It's not what you possess.
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  Speaker 2: It's knowing true significance.
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  Speaker 3: Welcome back to Success Made to Last. This is our
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  Speaker 3: special edition of Truly Significant Texans in Agriculture. And this
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  Speaker 3: is brought to you by the Go Texan Group. at
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  Speaker 3: the Texas Department of Ag and thank you there, those
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  Speaker 3: teams and everybody there for their support of this podcast.
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  Speaker 3: We have such a special person to honor this morning.
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  Speaker 3: She is Dr. Jayla Fry. She's a professor of horticulture
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  Speaker 3: at A & M, but what's of greatest interest to
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  Speaker 3: us is honoring you for your organization, coordination, leadership, motivation
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  Speaker 3: of 8,000 Master Gardeners across the United States and maybe
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  Speaker 3: across the world.
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  Speaker 1: Dr.
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  Speaker 4: Fry, welcome to our show and it's great to honor
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  Speaker 4: you today.
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  Speaker 5: Well, thank you so much for having me. It is
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  Speaker 5: an honor to be here, and I'm just so proud
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  Speaker 5: of our Texas Mother Gardeners and all that they contribute
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  Speaker 5: to our communities across Texas. So thank you so much
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  Speaker 5: for selecting me and allowing.
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  Speaker 1: Me to highlight all that they do.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am. And before I get into all these crazy
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  Speaker 3: questions that I sent you, would you tell us about
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  Speaker 3: your own backstory, including where you're from originally?
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  Speaker 1: Sounds great.
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  Speaker 5: Well, I grew up in Paris, Texas, Northeast Texas.
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  Speaker 1: I still have family there. I grew up doing.
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  Speaker 5: All the things, the 4-H, the SSA.
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  Speaker 1: Just loving life and sports. I loved it.
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  Speaker 5: I grew up with a family of gardeners.
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  Speaker 1: I have one grandmother that She.
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  Speaker 5: Was all into her vegetable garden. And then my other
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  Speaker 5: grandmother was all into the ornamentals and the flowers.
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  Speaker 1: And my mother kind of did both.
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  Speaker 5: And so it was just kind of.
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  Speaker 1: In my blood.
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  Speaker 5: And so when I graduated from high school, of course,
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  Speaker 5: you know, 18, who knows what you're going to do.
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  Speaker 1: But I kind of had something planted.
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  Speaker 5: And then, lo and behold, fast forward several years, I
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  Speaker 5: ended up with a degree in horticultural sciences at Texas
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  Speaker 5: A & M.
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  Speaker 1: And it has just taken me all sorts of wonderful places.
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  Speaker 1: And that's just kind of me in a nutshell and
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  Speaker 1: where I came from.
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  Speaker 4: That's fabulous.
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  Speaker 3: And by the way, I'm from Sherman, Texas, so I
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  Speaker 3: know Paris extremely well.
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  Speaker 5: Yes, it's not far, is it? It isn't.
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  Speaker 4: Did you happen to know Rodney Franklin from Paris?
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  Speaker 1: No, sir. I'm sorry. I did not.
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  Speaker 3: Ironically, Jayla, this year, as we're celebrating truly significant Texas
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  Speaker 3: in agriculture, Rodney Franklin, Paris, Texas, director of Texas Parks
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  Speaker 3: and Wildlife, class of 90.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness.
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  Speaker 3: 91, 92, something like that. and easily could be president
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  Speaker 3: of the United States. Oh my goodness. So what is
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  Speaker 3: it about Paris, Texas?
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  Speaker 4: Is it something in the water?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know. We've got some amazing people here.
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  Speaker 5: A huge shout out to Dr. Susan Malavina, who is
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  Speaker 5: also from that area. I don't know what's in the
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  Speaker 5: water up there, but there's some beautiful black land soil
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  Speaker 5: and amazing people involved.
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  Speaker 4: Maybe that's it. Okay.
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  Speaker 3: At our network, we study people that have side quests.
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  Speaker 3: Side quests defined as passionate pursuits with meaningful activities, something
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  Speaker 3: that brings people deep joy. Every single one of the
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  Speaker 3: Master Gardeners that I've known in my lifetime are finding
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  Speaker 3: this deep love and joy in meaning in gardening. And
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  Speaker 3: when you look at your own career today, do you
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  Speaker 3: think of yourself primarily as a horticulturist, an educator, a leader,
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  Speaker 3: or the gardener of those people that I'm speaking about?
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  Speaker 4: Oh my goodness.
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  Speaker 5: I would love to be known as that gardener of people.
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  Speaker 5: And honestly, I don't know how much I influenced them, but.
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  Speaker 1: Boy, let me tell you how they influenced me.
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  Speaker 5: They are the most kindest, generous, enthusiastic people I've ever met,
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  Speaker 5: and I just hope.
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  Speaker 1: That I can be like them. I hope that I can,
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  Speaker 1: you know, give back the way.
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  Speaker 5: That they do. I'm always inspired by, you know, our
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  Speaker 5: people come to the Master Gardener program for so many reasons.
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  Speaker 5: Sometimes it's because they desperately want to learn how to
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  Speaker 5: grow vegetables or, you know, garden themselves, but then they
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  Speaker 5: come and they find this deep knowledge, and then they go, oh,
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  Speaker 5: I can't keep it to myself, and they just want
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  Speaker 5: to share it out. And so I just love that
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  Speaker 5: about them, and I hope that I can just have
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  Speaker 5: an out of that initiative and integrity in me to
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  Speaker 5: be able to go and share life.
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  Speaker 1: Indeed.
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  Speaker 3: And I know you've got a thousand examples here, but
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  Speaker 3: share a moment and some individuals when you consciously realize that, hey,
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  Speaker 3: this isn't even a job. My mission, vision could be
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  Speaker 3: to multiply the people who can do all of this work.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, goodness, yes.
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  Speaker 5: I could just sit here this entire time and name names,
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  Speaker 5: and I'm going to throw out just a few here,
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  Speaker 5: but goodness, y'all, there are so, so, so many more.
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  Speaker 5: The volunteers that come to mind, Louie McDaniel, we have
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  Speaker 5: Barbara Porsche out in Midland, Odessa area. I have to
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  Speaker 5: bring up the incredible county extension agents that oversee those
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  Speaker 5: local programs, Samantha Shannon.
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  Speaker 1: I just have to give a shout-out to because.
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  Speaker 5: She was a graduate of the department here at Texas
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  Speaker 5: A & M. She worked for the Junior Master Gardener Program,
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  Speaker 5: the international Junior Master Gardener Program that started here at.
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  Speaker 1: Texas A & M, by the way.
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  Speaker 5: She worked for that program, went.
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  Speaker 1: On to be a county extension agent, and now is
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  Speaker 1: coordinating her own Master Gardener volunteer program that she started
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  Speaker 1: there in her county.
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  Speaker 5: It's these people that.
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  Speaker 1: that just give and give and give. There's the heart. People,
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  Speaker 1: like I said earlier, people.
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  Speaker 5: Come to this program for so many reasons, whether it's for,
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  Speaker 5: you know, gardening knowledge themselves. Some people come specifically because
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  Speaker 5: they want to serve their community. And how honorable is that?
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  Speaker 5: People come because they seek friendship. And that is a
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  Speaker 5: wonderful thing. We can feel that. We have all of
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  Speaker 5: that here in the Master Gardener program.
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  Speaker 1: And we just, we hope that.
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  Speaker 5: That whether you're utilizing the services that the people, the
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  Speaker 5: Master Gardeners give in your county, or whether you want
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  Speaker 5: to become one yourself, we hope that you find that
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  Speaker 5: person on the other end of the phone that is
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  Speaker 5: caring and kind and gentle and wants you to be
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  Speaker 5: as successful as they.
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  Speaker 1: Are with whatever gardening endeavors that they have chosen.
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  Speaker 4: That's right.
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  Speaker 3: This is a good time to give out the number
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  Speaker 3: or website for Texas AgriLife.
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  Speaker 4: So let's lay it on our audience.
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  Speaker 1: That's excellent.
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  Speaker 5: So for the Master Gardener program, you can go to txmg.org.
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  Speaker 5: And there you can find your local Master Gardener program.
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  Speaker 5: And so many, many, many, about 115 exactly, counties have
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  Speaker 5: Master Gardener programs associated with them.
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  Speaker 1: And so if you have a question or if you
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  Speaker 1: want to be a part.
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  Speaker 5: Of that, please go to txmg.org, find your county, and
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  Speaker 5: they will be able to connect you with that. However,
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  Speaker 5: if you do not have a county Master Gardener program,
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  Speaker 5: in your county, please feel free.
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  Speaker 1: To contact me.
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  Speaker 5: I would love to be able to share resources with you.
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  Speaker 5: You may have a neighboring county that you could join,
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  Speaker 5: but we would still love to help and.
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  Speaker 1: Serve you in any way we can.
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  Speaker 3: Beautiful. Okay, in doing research about you, Dr. Fry, we
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  Speaker 3: found out that your professional journey took an unexpected turn,
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  Speaker 3: and one early chapter in your life included facilitating a
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  Speaker 3: horticulture program at a federal prison camp. What did that
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  Speaker 3: experience teach you about human potential and did you realize
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  Speaker 3: that gardening could be a vehicle for rehabilitation, changing people's lives,
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  Speaker 3: improving and changing lives, not simply growing plants?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely.
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  Speaker 5: It was such an amazing experience. I've been so grateful
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  Speaker 5: for that time in my life. I did start off
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  Speaker 5: by teaching horticulture at a federal women's prison here in Bryan.
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  Speaker 5: At that time, I think they grew me as much
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  Speaker 5: as I grew them. We are so blessed that the
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  Speaker 5: green industry is a very forgiving industry, and there is
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  Speaker 5: often places for people who have been incarcerated to find
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  Speaker 5: a job. And that was the whole point of that program.
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  Speaker 1: Was to keep.
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  Speaker 5: Someone out of trouble.
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  Speaker 1: What they got there for.
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  Speaker 5: You know, we wanted to find a different path for them.
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  Speaker 5: And that's exactly what we did. We trained them up.
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  Speaker 5: We got them hands-on experience. And then they were able
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  Speaker 5: to sit for a test and get a certificate. It
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  Speaker 5: was a horticulture technician certificate. And they could present this
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  Speaker 5: to a potential employer. And I just– I was able
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  Speaker 5: to hear– for years how many people went on to
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  Speaker 5: utilize that and really change their lives and that was
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  Speaker 5: such a beautiful experience but really they taught me how
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  Speaker 5: to be a horticulturist I learned a ton at Texas
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  Speaker 5: A & M but really the hands-on and teaching was
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  Speaker 5: such an incredible experience and I am just so so
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  Speaker 5: thankful and blessed for that time.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you so much for sharing that that's a It's
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  Speaker 3: kind of one of those inflection points in one's career,
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  Speaker 3: and you realize, hey, there's something bigger going on here
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  Speaker 3: than just me.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, and I'm so thankful. Even now, we still get
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  Speaker 1: to work with the prison system.
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  Speaker 5: We work with the LH unit. There's multiple federal prisons
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  Speaker 5: that we still have.
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  Speaker 1: Connections with here at Texas A & M Adelaide.
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  Speaker 5: To be able to offer that horticulture technician certificate.
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  Speaker 1: And so that work is ongoing.
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  Speaker 5: And again, so glad that those people have an opportunity
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  Speaker 5: to gain that certificate.
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  Speaker 4: I'm so glad to hear that. I so much appreciate it.
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  Speaker 3: Now listen, my brother Dennis graduated in 75 with a
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  Speaker 3: degree in agronomy and built golf courses around the world
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  Speaker 3: and also took too many horticulture classes.
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  Speaker 4: And if he were here today.
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  Speaker 3: He would want me to ask you, are you teaching
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  Speaker 3: people to talk to plants?
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  Speaker 1: I'm teaching people to talk to plants. Oh, my goodness.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know if I am directly, but they probably,
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  Speaker 1: if they.
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  Speaker 3: Do what I do, I talk to plants.
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  Speaker 1: I just enjoy being around them. It's very awesome.
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  Speaker 4: I love that.
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  Speaker 3: Well, speaking of teaching, what have the volunteers taught you
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  Speaker 3: relative to core values like self-service and integrity and honesty?
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  Speaker 5: Oh, just start with those three and just keep naming
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  Speaker 5: because they have just taught me so much. They are just,
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  Speaker 5: they see a need and they jump and they feel it.
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  Speaker 5: to an even greater expectation than we can have. And
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  Speaker 5: then they selflessly serve. They just give and give and give.
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  Speaker 5: And what an honor to be around people that truly
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  Speaker 5: care about others.
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  Speaker 1: Dr.
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  Speaker 5: Sable here at Texas A & M, the College of
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  Speaker 5: Ag and Life Sciences, he's the dean over here, he
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  Speaker 5: says we're in the people business. And we are, and
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  Speaker 5: so are our volunteers. They truly care. truly want to
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  Speaker 5: help people be successful. And the beauty is that you
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  Speaker 5: don't give it away and then you.
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  Speaker 1: No longer have it. The more our volunteers serve others,
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  Speaker 1: the more they learn, the more they have useful information.
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  Speaker 5: And so it's just a beautiful system that is set up.
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  Speaker 5: We call it the train-the-trainer model.
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  Speaker 1: And it just multiplies, and it's so beautiful.
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  Speaker 4: It is beautiful.
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  Speaker 3: Speaking of side quests, as we honor and celebrate your
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  Speaker 3: own career, what are some of your side quests outside
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  Speaker 3: of horticulture and gardening?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness.
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  Speaker 5: Well, I can't say I'm completely outside of horticulture and gardening.
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  Speaker 5: One thing that my family does is we have a
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  Speaker 5: small homestead.
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  Speaker 1: In the Complell area, and we love to grow our
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  Speaker 1: own food. It's such a joy when we sit down
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  Speaker 1: at the dinner table and my husband's like, we produce
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  Speaker 1: 98% of.
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  Speaker 3: Everything that's on our plate, whether it's.
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  Speaker 5: The pork that we raise or the chickens or the
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  Speaker 5: vegetables that we have grown. That is something that we
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  Speaker 5: truly love doing ourselves.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, I would say that's one of my side quests.
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  Speaker 4: That is so cool.
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  Speaker 3: We had Vaughn Miller on, and for those that didn't
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  Speaker 3: hear that show, Vaughn started his own chicken, his own
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  Speaker 3: poultry company, and yes, there is life beyond the NFL
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  Speaker 3: and Hall of Fame and all that. So chickens have
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  Speaker 3: become a great side quest for a lot of people.
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  Speaker 5: Yes, I saw him on television at the game, and
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  Speaker 5: he had a chicken shirt.
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  Speaker 1: On this weekend, and so that was really cool after
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  Speaker 1: I listened to this podcast with him.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, greener pastures.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, let's talk about the Texas Master Gardener effect. The Gardener,
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  Speaker 3: the Texas, call it the Master Gardener model, is extraordinary
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  Speaker 3: because one trained volunteer can reach an entire community. What
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  Speaker 3: happens from your perspective when you stop counting your impact
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  Speaker 3: by people that you personally teach and start counting it
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  Speaker 3: by the people your students actually reach?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness.
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  Speaker 5: I can't even begin to tell you the impact of that.
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  Speaker 5: And I am a qualitative researcher, and so I'm all
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  Speaker 5: about how that impact has carried on. And so I
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  Speaker 5: love this question. But I feel like I almost need
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  Speaker 5: to give you a little bit of reference on some
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  Speaker 5: of our statistics of how much our Master Gardeners impact people.
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  Speaker 5: So the Master Gardener program was built on individual calls.
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  Speaker 1: So Dr.
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  Speaker 5: David Gibby was a county extension agent in Washington State,
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  Speaker 5: and he was completely overwhelmed by by the amount of
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  Speaker 5: calls that came into the county office. Well, that's where
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  Speaker 5: the Master Gardener program.
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  Speaker 1: Got kicked off. And then in the early 70s, Dr.
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  Speaker 5: Sam Kottner, who was the department head in horticulture here, said, okay,
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  Speaker 5: we need to look into that. And then he brought
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  Speaker 5: the idea back to Texas.
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  Speaker 1: And we trained seven.
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  Speaker 5: Master Gardeners in Montgomery County the first year.
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  Speaker 1: What Dr.
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  Speaker 5: Gibby established was exactly the basis of everything that we do.
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  Speaker 5: We answer gardening questions. So here in Texas, our 8,000
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  Speaker 5: volunteers answer over 23,000 individual calls each year. But it
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  Speaker 5: doesn't stop there. Typically, when I'm training people, telling them,
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  Speaker 5: you know, what to expect with the Master's Learner Program,
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  Speaker 5: I say something.
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  Speaker 1: On the line.
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  Speaker 5: Instead of talking to this person about their tomatoes and
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  Speaker 5: that person about their tomatoes.
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  Speaker 1: And this other person about.
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  Speaker 5: Their tomatoes, we will have a tomato presentation. And then, again,
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  Speaker 5: we're just multiplying our effects. So we give probably around 2,500
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  Speaker 5: individual presentations each year, but that impacts over 125,000 people
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  Speaker 5: in those presentations. And so, again, it is that multiplier effect.
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  Speaker 5: We multiply, Master Gardeners multiply the impact of Texas A
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  Speaker 5: & M AgriLife Extension, but they also multiply their own impact.
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  Speaker 5: Your question of what does that do for that individual?
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  Speaker 1: Well, it could be that they.
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  Speaker 5: Have a great tomato crop that year, or it could
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  Speaker 5: be that they're feeding their family for an entire season.
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  Speaker 1: It could be that.
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  Speaker 5: They're teaching their children how to grow a fruit or vegetable,
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  Speaker 5: and that impact just goes on and on and on.
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  Speaker 5: And so the ripple effect can be so, so much
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  Speaker 5: greater than just one person answering the call.
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  Speaker 4: It's so true.
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  Speaker 3: It's generational. It's legacy work. I think that that's part
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  Speaker 3: of what is so attractive. And we are parents and grandparents.
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  Speaker 3: And to teach our grandchildren about growing tomatoes and then picking.
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  Speaker 4: Them from the vine and then tasting. And then you
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  Speaker 4: can talk about vitamins.
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  Speaker 3: We talk about vitamins as you taste something.
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  Speaker 4: So it's a very experiential thing. And then, of course... being.
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  Speaker 3: Aggies ourselves, we go, what can we amend the soil
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  Speaker 3: with that no one else knows about? Well, you know,
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  Speaker 3: so it's not secretive. This is about sharing information. But, Doctor,
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  Speaker 3: we have found that if you, at least when we
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  Speaker 3: were in Colorado, if you use horse manure from horses
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  Speaker 3: that were fed alfalfa only, oh my gosh, it creates
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  Speaker 3: the most spectacular tomatoes in the entire world, or at
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  Speaker 3: least Colorado. So, see, you get passionate about it, excited,
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  Speaker 3: and then you see life differently.
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  Speaker 1: You do.
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 5: And you just almost can't help but share what you've learned.
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  Speaker 5: Because it doesn't take anything away from you. It adds
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  Speaker 5: to someone else.
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  Speaker 4: So why would you not? That's right.
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  Speaker 3: Let's talk a little bit more about the service aspect.
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  Speaker 3: One of our rubrics asks whether service is merely something
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  Speaker 3: someone does or whether service becomes central to who they are.
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  Speaker 3: For the volunteers, When does service stop being something on
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  Speaker 3: their resume and actually part of their personal identity?
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  Speaker 1: I think this is exactly.
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  Speaker 5: What we have just been talking about is, you know,
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  Speaker 5: master gardeners sign up to take this class for so
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  Speaker 5: many different reasons. And, you know, they come to.
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  Speaker 1: Learn one thing and then they learn so much more.
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  Speaker 1: But then.
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  Speaker 5: it just becomes a part of who they are. It's
• 20:37
  Speaker 5: built into the program that, you know, we do have
• 20:40
  Speaker 5: a service requirement. And so they know when they sign, yes,
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: I have to give back.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: But it's when they.
• 20:48
  Speaker 5: Blow through that minimum requirement that you go, oh, they
• 20:53
  Speaker 5: loved it. They love what they're doing. They want to
• 20:56
  Speaker 5: help and serve and to give to other people. And
• 20:59
  Speaker 5: that's when it really, It takes a life of its own.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: And it may not be just an hour.
• 21:05
  Speaker 5: It could be that project that they developed, and it
• 21:09
  Speaker 5: just makes.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: An impact on someone's life, whether it could be a
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: school garden or a demonstration garden.
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: So I have to give a shout-out for our demonstration gardens.
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: These gardens are truly a challenge.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: Tool for people in the community to come.
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: To and see what works and what doesn't work.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: And so if you see a dead plant in.
• 21:28
  Speaker 5: One of your Master Gardener demonstration gardens, that is an
• 21:32
  Speaker 5: example of how this does not do well here.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: It's not that we're neglecting our garden.
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: It's an example.
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: But most of the time, those gardens are immaculately maintained,
• 21:43
  Speaker 5: and you see what does flourish, what does grow well there.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: And so... back to when it.
• 21:51
  Speaker 5: Becomes central to who they are, it's that aha moment.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: And it's different for everyone when they go.
• 21:56
  Speaker 5: I can't keep this in.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: I have to shoot this out.
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: It's so great.
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: There must have been a point where you recognize for yourself,
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: and these Master Gardeners recognize for themselves, this isn't about success.
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: This is about significance. This is something bigger than life itself.
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: When does anybody in the teaching of them have to
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: even mention this or do they they just go i
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: knew that that's the reason why i'm here becoming a
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: master gardener oh goodness.
• 22:29
  Speaker 5: Yeah i don't i don't think that's something that has to.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: Be taught it's caught you know it's that vision.
• 22:39
  Speaker 5: That that you know it's just again it's It.
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: Builds into our programs, but it's truly based on the
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: individual to embrace it and just love it.
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: Of course.
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: All right, this is one of our favorite questions to
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: ask of people that we honor in Texas agriculture, but
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: a true multiplier eventually develops people who become better at
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: something than their own mentor. Share a story of a
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: person who has surpassed you.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness.
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: Well, again, I could give a thousand mastermind examples, but
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: I am going to tell.
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: One from the prison.
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: This one young lady was incarcerated. She was a bright
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: young lady. She made a mistake, and while we were there,
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: she enrolled in this horticulture technician certificate program, and she
• 23:36
  Speaker 5: embraced it. She just really found value in it. She
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: began at helping the others. So oftentimes I would have
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: a class coordinator, someone that would help really just kind
• 23:50
  Speaker 5: of teach the same things that I had taught, just
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: maybe in a slightly different way in case someone else
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: caught it better from someone else.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: So she became a class coordinator.
• 24:00
  Speaker 5: After her time there in the facility, she went on
• 24:05
  Speaker 5: to a landscape job that just She thrived. She just
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: went on to do so many excellent things with that career.
• 24:16
  Speaker 5: And truly, it made a difference in who she was
• 24:19
  Speaker 5: and how she managed her life and who she became.
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: And then, of course, you know, I was able to
• 24:26
  Speaker 5: reconnect with her many years later and.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: See, you know, that she had gotten married.
• 24:30
  Speaker 5: And had a child and just was living this beautiful life.
• 24:34
  Speaker 5: And I just... I just think what an honor it
• 24:39
  Speaker 5: was to be able to be a tiny.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: Little small part of who she became.
• 24:44
  Speaker 5: And, again, back to our Master Gardeners, I don't work
• 24:50
  Speaker 5: with them day in and day out. And so, again,
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: I have to say a huge thank you to those
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: county extension agents who do. I am blessed to work
• 24:59
  Speaker 5: with all of those county extension agents. And it's their
• 25:03
  Speaker 5: efforts that they pour into those Master.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: Gardeners and our specialists.
• 25:07
  Speaker 5: Oh, and then it's having talked about all of the
• 25:11
  Speaker 5: AgriLife Extension specialists across the agency that train our volunteers,
• 25:16
  Speaker 5: that they just go on to do incredible projects, to
• 25:20
  Speaker 5: do incredible work, to help with research projects.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: They just go on and do so much.
• 25:27
  Speaker 5: So much that contributes back to not only their communities
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: or that individual life, but to the greater, to research,
• 25:36
  Speaker 5: to what others are doing. And again, I could talk
• 25:41
  Speaker 5: on and on about that, but those are a couple
• 25:43
  Speaker 5: that come to mind.
• 25:45
  Speaker 4: Thanks for sharing that.
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: You make me think about, Jayla, what might be the
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: average age of a master gardener and all these volunteers
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: and specialists and even county agents. Can you, being a
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: statistician and watching numbers, what's the gender breakdown and even
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: the age, average age?
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: So, and this is across the United States.
• 26:10
  Speaker 5: The average age of a master gardener is about 65.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: We're predominantly female. Let's see here.
• 26:19
  Speaker 5: What other stats can I give you? Let me just
• 26:21
  Speaker 5: talk about those for a minute. Typically, we have reached
• 26:27
  Speaker 5: a retired community. When I first started almost 20 years ago,
• 26:32
  Speaker 5: it was very much we needed people who could be
• 26:36
  Speaker 5: here Monday through Friday, 8 to 5, to answer those questions.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: That came into the office.
• 26:42
  Speaker 5: However, we are seeing a huge shift in that. We
• 26:46
  Speaker 5: are seeing a greater demand for programming or information to
• 26:51
  Speaker 5: be given on weekends and at night. And so I
• 26:54
  Speaker 5: feel like we are going to see over the next
• 26:57
  Speaker 5: 10 years probably a little bit of a shift in that.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: And I can't say that we'll lose any of our
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: typical demographic. I hope we don't. But I see that
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: broadening to maybe a.
• 27:08
  Speaker 5: Range, a greater range, or that average shifting because we
• 27:12
  Speaker 5: are gaining some younger.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Folks that may still be working.
• 27:16
  Speaker 5: We often say that the beauty of the Master Gardener
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: program is because so many people come with life and
• 27:25
  Speaker 5: career experience that really has nothing to do with gardening,
• 27:28
  Speaker 5: that they have so much to contribute even so. So
• 27:32
  Speaker 5: that's a little bit.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: Of a shift that we're seeing, and it just works.
• 27:39
  Speaker 5: You know, our demographic works, and so we're thankful.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: For those that.
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's so insightful. It makes me think about side quests, though,
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: that there's no theory. People that are involved in something
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: else that's meaningful and joyful.
• 27:57
  Speaker 4: They actually are better at work.
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: Why can't this next generation have a primary job and
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: become a master gardener?
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: Is it about time? Is it about money? What would
• 28:09
  Speaker 4: keep them.
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: If they had an 8 to 5 job, what keeps
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: someone from becoming a master gardener in their 40s or 50s?
• 28:23
  Speaker 5: It would be our training, when the training is set up.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: That could be the greatest limitation. However, we are starting
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: to branch out and do training a little bit differently.
• 28:33
  Speaker 5: We have more options for online training, something that you
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: could attend live or a recording is made of that
• 28:41
  Speaker 5: class that could be utilized at a later time. Again,
• 28:45
  Speaker 5: another beauty of the MasterGarden program is that it's local training.
• 28:49
  Speaker 5: So the folks that come to the Master Burger Program
• 28:53
  Speaker 5: are trained at the county level, and.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: They serve the people in their county.
• 28:56
  Speaker 5: So they know what the needs are. They know, you know,
• 29:00
  Speaker 5: when and where people are and when they.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: Need to be served.
• 29:03
  Speaker 5: And so those county extension agents that oversee those local programs,
• 29:07
  Speaker 5: they will determine and set what that training schedule is.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: And it's really kind of a local thing. And that, again,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: it works very well because it's all there locally. It's
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: housed right there. And so that's how that works, the
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: training side of things.
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: Okay, so that may be evolving also relative to what's
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: happening locally. And so that person's tuned in to when
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: training can take place. Okay, so are there other people
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: like you across the United States, other state corps, And.
• 29:43
  Speaker 4: In this is a double question.
• 29:46
  Speaker 3: What would surprise our listeners about what goes on with
• 29:49
  Speaker 3: the state coordinator? So yes, all 50 states in the
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: United States have a Master Gardener.
• 29:52
  Speaker 5: Program Most have a state coordinator, not all, and even
• 30:05
  Speaker 5: though each state Master Gardener program is autonomous, we do
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: have a national Master Gardener.
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: Committee, and it is made up of primarily state Master
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: Gardener coordinators.
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: Several of us serve in different capacities.
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: I'm actually on the committee right.
• 30:22
  Speaker 5: Now, and... I'm a regional coordinator, and so I contact
• 30:27
  Speaker 5: the other states and make sure that they're up to
• 30:30
  Speaker 5: date on, you know, just information. We do have an
• 30:34
  Speaker 5: international Master Burner conference, which Texas hosted in 2026, and
• 30:38
  Speaker 5: then we also have a national coordinators conference that was
• 30:43
  Speaker 5: just held about two weeks ago in Chicago.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: And so even though, again, we're autonomous, we know.
• 30:48
  Speaker 5: That our volunteers still have similar interests, and there's lots
• 30:53
  Speaker 5: that They can learn together. Coordinators do the same thing.
• 30:58
  Speaker 5: So to answer your question about.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: What is unique is that I get the beauty of
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: 115 counties.
• 31:07
  Speaker 5: I get to know what's going on, and I get
• 31:10
  Speaker 5: to kind of see the birds eye view. So while
• 31:12
  Speaker 5: that agent is right there in the day in and
• 31:15
  Speaker 5: day out, I get, you know, a different perspective. And
• 31:20
  Speaker 5: so when an agent or a volunteer calls me and
• 31:23
  Speaker 5: asks for help, I get the experience of all of
• 31:27
  Speaker 5: these other groups that I can share with them. And
• 31:29
  Speaker 5: so I think that's one of the most beautiful things
• 31:31
  Speaker 5: that I can do for our MasterCarders.
• 31:34
  Speaker 4: Yes, that's fabulous. Thank you for your service, by the way.
• 31:38
  Speaker 4: It's interesting. I think last count we had 254 counties.
• 31:41
  Speaker 5: So....
• 31:44
  Speaker 3: What about all those other counties in Texas that are
• 31:46
  Speaker 3: not served by this program? What should they do?
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: Well, that's a great question.
• 31:54
  Speaker 5: So Extension is still responsible for horticulture information.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: And so if there is.
• 32:01
  Speaker 5: Not a Master Gardener.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: Program there, and there can be many, many reasons why
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: there is not a program there, that agent that is there.
• 32:09
  Speaker 5: Is still responsible for giving.
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: Out that information.
• 32:12
  Speaker 5: So if you have a gardening question, then please feel
• 32:15
  Speaker 5: free to contact any county extension office and they.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: Will be able to help you.
• 32:20
  Speaker 5: And some of the reasons I guess I should share
• 32:23
  Speaker 5: is why we may not have a Master Gardener program
• 32:25
  Speaker 5: there is that first of all, we specifically work with homeowners.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: We do not.
• 32:31
  Speaker 5: Work with commercial growers or anything in the commercial side
• 32:35
  Speaker 5: of things. And so there may not be that many
• 32:38
  Speaker 5: calls for homeowner horticulture that come into that office. And
• 32:42
  Speaker 5: so that agent is able to maintain the questions, be
• 32:45
  Speaker 5: able to handle the call load. And so when an
• 32:49
  Speaker 5: agent starts a Master Gardener program, I chuckle and.
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: Tell them that you're not... You're not really taking anything
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: off your plate.
• 32:57
  Speaker 5: You're going from answering those questions and delivering programming and
• 33:01
  Speaker 5: things like that to now managing volunteers. So it just shifts.
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: And some agents.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: They are perfectly fine and content answering the question. And
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: that's great.
• 33:14
  Speaker 5: We look at some places, they're more crop-oriented, not so
• 33:18
  Speaker 5: much homeowner horticulture. And so there can be, again, different
• 33:22
  Speaker 5: reasons why there is not a master burner.
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: Program in each county.
• 33:26
  Speaker 4: Okay, that makes sense. Okay, so two final questions for you.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 33:32
  Speaker 4: One is related to blue zones around the world.
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: And Carla and I have had the good fortune of
• 33:43
  Speaker 3: getting to travel to many of the blue zones. And
• 33:47
  Speaker 3: lo and behold, Jayla, gardening is one of the elements
• 33:52
  Speaker 3: of these areas like Okinawa and in Greece and in
• 33:57
  Speaker 3: Costa Rica where people are gardening and they are living
• 34:02
  Speaker 3: to over 100 years. And I'd like your perspective on
• 34:08
  Speaker 3: why gardening is becoming such juice and creating youthfulness and
• 34:16
  Speaker 3: extending life and people are finding out it's one of
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: the secrets to longevity.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: Oh my, this is a.
• 34:26
  Speaker 5: Whole other topic and I love this. I truly believe
• 34:32
  Speaker 5: that being outside, touching things, the earth being in green
• 34:38
  Speaker 5: spaces I think people.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: Need it I think.
• 34:42
  Speaker 5: People long for it and I do believe that that
• 34:47
  Speaker 5: is why people live longer I think gardeners are happy
• 34:51
  Speaker 5: people and therefore happy people are going to live longer
• 34:55
  Speaker 5: that just makes sense I don't know all of the
• 34:59
  Speaker 5: research surrounding this but obviously there's some specific scientific reasons
• 35:07
  Speaker 5: behind this.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: And just think about how you feel when you go outside.
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: Doesn't it just kind.
• 35:15
  Speaker 5: Of give you a breath of fresh air? You have
• 35:17
  Speaker 5: to go a little bit shorter, a little more energized.
• 35:20
  Speaker 5: At least that's how it works for me.
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: And so being.
• 35:24
  Speaker 5: Outside, whether you're, you know, putting a plant in the
• 35:28
  Speaker 5: ground or just walking through visually being in nature.
• 35:34
  Speaker 4: There's something to it, and it's powerful. Amen, and indeed.
• 35:39
  Speaker 3: What a great answer. The first church of gardening. Okay,
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: so final question. Picture yourself at 80. Your grandchildren are
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: at your feet, and one of them says, Grandma, who
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: did you become in life?
• 35:58
  Speaker 4: What do you want them to hear?
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: Well, I would want.
• 36:06
  Speaker 5: Them to see that I love Jesus and.
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: I love people. And if I.
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: Can leave.
• 36:17
  Speaker 3: That legacy, that's all I ask for.
• 36:22
  Speaker 4: Way to go. That's Dr. Jayla Fry.
• 36:24
  Speaker 3: And Jayla, we're going to find a way to get
• 36:26
  Speaker 3: this certificate from Governor Abbott over to you in College
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: Station and present it in person and take pictures along
• 36:34
  Speaker 3: with a truly significant book. We love you, Jay LaFry,
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: and thank you for what you're doing to be the
• 36:39
  Speaker 3: gardener's gardener. Thank you, thank you, thank you. What an
• 36:41
  Speaker 3: honor it has been to visit with you today and
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: just shout out to all the Master Gardeners across Texas.
• 36:53
  Speaker 5: We love them and.
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: It's then why I am here on this call today.
• 37:01
  Speaker 4: That's what it's all about. Thanks again. We appreciate it.
• 37:05
  Speaker 4: That's Dr.
• 37:06
  Speaker 3: Jayla Fry, and you'll be able to read more about
• 37:09
  Speaker 3: her in a chapter that's coming up on Truly Significant Texans.
• 37:16
  Speaker 3: And folks, as we leave you and depart for another show, remember...
• 37:23
  Speaker 3: You can chase after success, but pay attention to what's significant.
• 37:27
  Speaker 4: Along the way.
• 37:28
  Speaker 3: And I got to tell you, from personal experience and
• 37:32
  Speaker 3: what Dr.
• 37:32
  Speaker 4: Fry just told you, get out there and try gardening.
• 37:36
  Speaker 3: You'll find it to be quite therapeutic and one of
• 37:40
  Speaker 3: your favorite side quests and interests in life.
• 37:44
  Speaker 4: And you get to eat what you grow. Have a
• 37:46
  Speaker 4: great week.
• 37:50
  Speaker 6: Found across our state Bright is how we're looking.
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: Frisket is on our plate.
• 37:58
  Speaker 6: Boots is what we're wearing Horses, yeah, we may ride
• 38:03
  Speaker 6: Farming is so rewarding Ranching we do with pride And
• 38:08
  Speaker 6: we chase success.
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: What's left is just emptiness. It's not what you possess.
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: It's knowing true significance.