Her Story
About Dr. Connie
My typical day involves day-to-day operations on the farm. We're beginning in our infancy, so it is mapping out, planting, and budgeting for the farm. I highlight additional opportunities where we can go into the community and impact the agriculture community and the community at large. I also do a lot of mental wellness speaking in workshops. I have the honor of being one of Georgia's Women Veteran of the Year, so I go around and participate in workshops and speak on panels in support of veterans, and I do that also in the agricultural community, because I am one of Georgia's agricultural mental health heroes. A typical day - no two are the same, but it is always about making the community better. Here at Hunter Family Farm, we definitely believe that a healthy farmer grows healthy crops, and it makes for a healthy community.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Dr. Connie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to shifting the conversation of mental wellness and being able to help change the paradigm of how people respond to mental health by making it a priority that people take care of their mental wellness. Because the empty cup can't pour into anybody. And here at Hunter Family Farm, we definitely believe that a healthy farmer grows healthy crops, and it makes for a healthy community. This is my most notable professional achievement - changing how people think about and prioritize their mental wellness.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is that if you love what you do, it's never work. This has guided me through my military service, my culinary arts career, and now my work in agriculture and mental wellness. It's just like being military - it is something that you're born with. I always knew that I would be military, and when I retired, I had always cooked, so I knew that I would go into culinary arts as a profession. And when I shifted from preparing the food to growing the food, it was just all something that I felt like I was born to be.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.