Donor Spotlight: Ron Samuel

Fresno State alumnus and former Ag One Foundation board member Ron Samuel recently reflected on a memorable career path that has positioned him to create new opportunities for a future generations of students through his planned estate contributions (through the campus Heritage Society).

Learn more about his professional path that started from a Central Valley ranching operation through a mix of produce packing and transportation companies to an investment planner in this recent interview.

 

Q: Give us some agricultural background, where you’re from and your path to Fresno State.

Samuel: “I grew up and lived in Los Banos through high school. I kid people that I was raised on the back of a horse since my dad managed the range cattle on a large ranch - Wolfsen Land and Cattle. It was a diversified company that had several ranches and also had farming, a feed lot and a slaughterhouse. It was a very large operation, and I think my dad managed something like 50,000 to 75,000 head on the range. I started working there early on and always thought that would be my career path. After I graduated from high school, I got my associates of arts degree from Merced Junior College (MJC).”

 

Q: Why did you choose Fresno State?

Samuel: “Because of its agriculture program. A lot of friends from MJC and people I grew up with went there. I wanted to join the Alpha Gamm Rho fraternity, and they had a chapter that I knew people were involved with.”

 

Q: What are some of your fondest memories at Fresno State while you were a student?

Samuel: “It was an amazing, new level of experience for me to be at a higher learning institution like Fresno State. One of my fondest memories was the basic college experience and learning something new every day. Also getting to meeting new groups was important, and the fraternity was a big part of it, and still today.”

 

Q: What were some of your favorite classes?

Samuel: “Dr. Hagen was such an entertaining guy and you always learned a lot in his classes. I liked all the business classes because they but that was all new to me and very interesting, since I had been more involved with livestock or animal science growing up. I also really liked the business law class I took.”

 

Q: What events were you involved with on campus?

Samuel: “I helped with FFA Field Day - that was always kind of cool and connecting with future students. The fraternity also connected you to other students in new ways like going Fresno State events like football games and whatever. Being around people like John Gorter and the fraternity brothers was special. It's still like that today, even if we don’t see each other as often as we’d like.”

 

Q: How did Fresno State help you choose your career path?

Samuel: “It help steer me towards a career path based in ag business. It wasn’t until I got to Fresno State that I started to consider other options more seriously (than being a cattle rancher). I wasn’t sure what exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted it to be something in ag so I interviewed for different jobs, and as fate would have it. I ultimately started in a produce-oriented area, and I stuck with it. However, I could have just as easily been involved with other areas, like fertilizer or somewhere else because I interviewed for all of them, and even Bank of America.”

 

Q: Talk about your academic and career path.

Samuel: “At MJC and initially at Fresno State I focused on animal science, but then I switched to agricultural business. My first job led to a job with the Super Value company, a wholesale grocer out of Minneapolis that led me into a 24-year career in the produce business. I did that until 1999 and then switched to and got into financial advising and planning in 2000.”

“An AGR contact helped me get that first job, and it was great, because we did all types of things. Ended up being in charge of transportation, but also got involved in buying a little, and I really liked the excitement. It was very fast paced, with lots of deadlines because of the perishability of the product and getting it from California to different destinations and divisions.”

“I then went to work for Fry Miller Trucking in Wisconsin, which wanted to open a Bakersfield dispatch office. Because of my experience they recruited me and I moved to Bakersfield and we grew that company and they moved their HQ there. I did that for two to three years, and it was exciting. However, I was focused mostly on trucks, and I didn’t want to do truck business forever. I also wasn’t using my education, and decided to try and back to the produce side.”

“I interviewed and got a job with Pure Gold in Lindsay and sold citrus and that’s where my career really started to take off. It was a co-op and I loved it, but after I became the office manager I plateaued a little, and I wanted more. I then worked for a tree fruit shipper in Parlier, KASH. That was a whole new experience because I wasn’t versed in tree fruit, and had to learn a new product line, but I was up for the challenge, and I stayed there and ultimately with a couple AGR brothers at FS we started a company called Pacific West and we molded that into their original company in Opio, which was sold in 1999.

“I then switched career to financial planning, which was originally American Express, and I got my license as an advisor and been doing that for 20 years. I now have my own practice and employees and associate financial advisors underneath me, and it’s been very successful and a lot of work.”

 

Q: What were some of your most important experiences related to the campus farm and/or hands-on learning in labs, and why were they important to you?

Samuel: “My roots were in agriculture so I’ve always felt comfortable there, and even today, I love talking to clients that are involved in it. I speak their language, and I feel a commonality. Ag people are hard-working, honest, trustworthy and steady. They’re a special group of people.”

 

Q: What are some reasons that you've given back to Fresno State through Ag One?

Samuel: ‘I’ve always been involved with Fresno State and the agriculture college in some way or another – either by hanging out with people in ag who went there, going to football and basketball games, or being involved with fraternity and on its board of directors there and past president. A few years ago I was at a wine tasting event and saw one of my old friends and AGR brothers from Los Banos and I said I’m looking for something else to do as a volunteer in the ag industry. He said there was an Ag One Board meeting the next day and he invited me. I went and they were looking for new board members, and because I knew four or five more people in the room, I got on the board, and now I’m starting my second or third term."

 

Q: What areas of the Jordan College and campus farm do you keep tabs on today and see a continued need for support by others?

Samuel: “I always look at the whole farm as an impressive entity. Personally, I like the row and tree crops and livestock. I’m also always interested in the winery. I like it all. One of my old classmates from Los Banos - John Cordeiro – just retired officially from the sheep unit. I’d always stop and talk to him. I enjoy all of it and want to see it preserved. It’s such a big asset for the university. I think it’s also important to the AGR students from a hands-on angle, like being able to work at the dairy, winery, or even and having crop research projects.”