Recently GreenStone’s summer interns were able to attend Camp Core Four, hosted by our human resources and learning and development teams. Camp Core Four is a special part of our internship program that gives interns a chance to learn more about each of the different roles at GreenStone and the opportunity to visit some of our members!
On the first day of Camp Core Four the interns heard from GreenStone’s staff members, including Pete Lemmer and Becky Taylor who educated the group on GreenStone’s legislative outreach efforts and the work GreenStone does to advocate for all of agriculture. Following that, the interns learned the lifecycle of a loan and how it goes through our sales, credit, operations, and audit departments before a loan can successfully close.
Later the group heard from Paul Anderson and Cindy Birchmeier to hear more about what makes up Michigan and Wisconsin’s agriculture - learning that Michigan has over 300 different commodities, and Wisconsin makes 104.8 billion annually on food and agriculture! The intern group was also able to have a discussion with four fulltime employees to learn about how they started as an intern and worked to become a fulltime employee.
Wrapping up the first day of camp, the group heard from Angela NaDell, our chief human resources officer, who provided advice and talked about her career experiences. She left the group with the term Ikigai, ‘Iki’ meaning to live, and ‘gai’ meaning reason. She explained the importance of finding what you are passionate about and finding what the world is willing to pay for it. If you find both of those things, you have found your Ikigai!
All of the interns with strawberries and ice cream!
To start day two of Camp Core Four, the interns took a break from the office and headed over to Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park where they heard about the ranch’s start and their development, before seeing the rhinos and feeding the giraffes!
The next stop was the Red Barn Market, where they graciously provided lunch for everyone. After a great lunch, there was a tour of the property while learning about their hard cider operation. They also showcased their U-pick apple orchard, where the interns learned that all their over 300 trees are hand grafted! Grafting is the art of propagating and diversifying young trees, where the bud of one tree gets tied on the stem or root of another tree so they grow together. The orchard wanted many different varieties of apples, so they hand grafted ensuring each tree had the qualities they wanted.
The final stop to the intern Camp Core Four was to Anderson & Girls where there was a sweet surprise waiting! The interns learned about the different strawberry variations and how the family operation started. As part of their sweet surprise, each intern got to pick a quart of strawberries fresh from the bush and enjoy a scoop of ice cream from the shop!
Heading back into the office reflecting over the two days at Camp Core Four, the intern team explored the opportunities within GreenStone with a big thank you to all the expert presenters they got to hear and learn from. The interns also got to learn about Michigan and Wisconsin’s agriculture, finding their passions, and tour some of our amazing members!
