4 minute read
Keeping it in the Farmlands family
For Brent Fell, looking back on 20 years’ service with Farmlands, what makes him most proud is seeing people he has managed go on to senior roles in the co-op – in some cases to become his manager.
“You always get a bit of a kick out of that,” he says, “knowing that you have had some input into seeing them into that role. When I see that happening it does me proud, actually.” Son Sam chips in – “Yeah but they still call you boss, don’t they, Dad.” Brent and Sam Fell epitomise the family links that are such a key part of the Farmlands fabric. As Sam puts it, “I’ve grown up with Farmlands.” Childhood memories include watching Rugby World Cup games on the TV in the branch smoko room. At the end of this month, Brent will set his alarm and don his Aertex one more time to head to the Feilding branch of Farmlands, his current station. He has managed seven Farmlands branches over the years, brought in sometimes to help nurse a straggler back to health. He knows he’ll miss the routine – “I’m a bit of a creature of habit, I’m at the store by 7am each day” – but is looking forward to more time for golf and fishing and to enjoy exploring his beloved stomping ground of Hawke’s Bay and Manawatu / Whanganui. He will miss friends and colleagues as well but he knows where he can find them – at the Feilding sale yards. The yards have been a real hub over the years for Brent, a place where he has caught up with branch customers and also with former colleagues from Farmlands branches throughout Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa. One of those colleagues is Sam, who became Business Manager at Farmlands Hastings last year. It was a proud moment for Brent. For Sam it means a chance to follow Brent’s example in how to manage a team. “During the holidays I used to work under Dad in the store and I was able to witness how he leads a team, which is from the front. I want to follow that example,” Sam says. “I wouldn’t get anyone to do something I wouldn’t do myself – that’s how I’ve seen Dad lead a team over the years.” Brent acknowledges his approach. “You get the rewards and the benefits by leading from the front, by being at their level and leading them. It all flows from that.”
The way Sam tells the story, it wasn’t inevitable he would follow his father into Farmlands – “It happened accidentally in a way.” From high school he went to university in Wellington and was back at home considering his options when a shortterm job came up at the store. Back behind the counter, Sam began to see what his father saw in Farmlands. “it’s just such huge potential,” he says, “so I decided I may as well hop on the bus.”
Since then Sam has benefited from several Farmlands professional development programmes. It’s one of the things he likes most about working for the co-op. “There’s always room to grow. Nobody loves a glass ceiling. There are heaps of opportunities in the company and in the industry as well. Farmlands has given me a good career path in that way.” No surprise though that Sam’s No.1 mentor remains Brent. “He probably gets annoyed with me,” Sam says, “because I’m constantly on the phone to him trying to pick his brains.” The good news for Sam is that if he wants to do that in the future, he may have to break out his fly rod and join Brent for a spot of fishing.
Sam Fell
| During Sam's days at Lindisfarne College, in Hastings.
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