Journey and Vision for Grow West

From receptionist to CFO, Emily Garrison has shown dedication, growth and leadership

Down the street from Grow West’s Woodland office is Nugget Market, a grocery store where Grow West CFO Emily Garrison first learned about the importance of exceptional customer service, quality products, teamwork and a family atmosphere.

Garrison began her two-year stint at Nugget while in high school. She started off as a courtesy clerk (fun fact: she won local and regional “bag-off” competitions, then placed third at nationals). She was then promoted to checker, worked in specialty grocery stocking shelves, product procurement and worked closely with vendors. These different opportunities allowed her to grow professionally and gave her insight into business operations and a positive workplace culture.

“Nugget focuses on excellent customer service and that’s what they instill in their employees,” Garrison said. “Grow West is very much the same. Similarly, we want our customers to have the best experience and exceptional customer service while working with us. If they have an issue or concern, we are there for them. We want our employees and their families to feel the same great experience as our customers. We have to take care of all of them.”

That strong focus on people – and the sense of community and family – is what Grow West is all about.

“The company started out as mom-and-pop stores and those roots have carried through the decades,” Garrison said. “Even though we’ve expanded, there’s still a family feel. Plus, quite a few of our employees are related, which is a special aspect of our business.”

CAREER PROGRESSION

It is actually because of a family member that Garrison joined the Grow West team. In 2007, her sister, Grow West Vice President of Human Resources Samantha Hanley, encouraged her to apply for a receptionist position that the two shared while going through college. At the time, their dad was the wholesale manager at TSI in Dixon, which became part of the Grow West umbrella.

As a receptionist, Garrison worked on a variety of tasks, including assisting with accounts payable and invoicing. She eventually transitioned to the accounting team, taking on the role of accounting assistant then accounting manager. Later, Garrison moved up to controller. She said having mentors to assist her and provide in-depth training during her career progression was extremely helpful.

In January 2024, Garrison was promoted to CFO. “I had big shoes to fill, but was ready for the challenge,” she said. “I worked with the previous CFO for 11 years and we had a great working relationship. He gave me a couple of years’ notice about his retirement, so I was able to learn as much as I could from him during that time. He said he knew I could do the job, which definitely bolstered my confidence.”

Just as Garrison’s varied roles at Nugget opened her eyes to that business, her diverse experiences across Grow West departments have given her a comprehensive understanding of internal operations and customer needs.

“Over the past 18 years, I’ve helped with accounts receivable, accounts payable and learned about the general ledger,” she said. “There’s a lot of integration between other departments and accounting, so I’ve been fortunate enough to work closely with human resources, safety and regulatory, and procurement. Together we’ve been successful in implementing change within our organization.”

INITIATIVES AND ENDEAVORS

During the past 20 months as CFO, Garrison has implemented some key initiatives to benefit employees and customers. Those include improving communication and financial processes companywide.

“When I became CFO, I had to make a solid effort with team communication,” she said. “I started doing 15- to 20-minute Monday meetings with my staff so that everyone would be on the same page and transparent about what’s going on for the week ahead. That open communication definitely helped our team. Understanding everyone’s roles and responsibilities has been important. I also have an open door policy and want my team to know I’m here for them.”

In addition to weekly team meetings at the office, Garrison keeps in contact with location-based accounting teams. “Each location has an accounting staff,” she said. “A lot of the locations have been established for so long that they have things under control and they have their systems in place. But we work very closely with the location teams and offer support for anything they may need.”

Another initiative was inventory improvements. Last year, Garrison worked with the Woodland farm supply

store to prepare it for a major inventory count, which involved organizing shelves and bar coding every item for easy scanning. This effort led to inventory counts at every Grow West location that has inventory.

“This was definitely a boots-on-the-ground endeavor that took a substantial amount of time,” Garrison said. “My goal was to make the inventory process as efficient and streamlined as possible. That meant taking time to understand our inventory processes and making appropriate changes. Almost all items in the stores are now scannable.”

An endeavor that has been beneficial to Grow West is Garrison’s participation in a CFO roundtable group. Dozens of ag business CFOs from across the U.S. meet quarterly – in person or via Zoom – to discuss business trends, good business practices, industry issues and effective strategies. “It’s very interesting learning about companies from other states. We discuss similar and different industry challenges, but we’re all connected through agriculture. This peer collaboration has been a great opportunity to bring fresh insight to Grow West.”

LOOKING AHEAD

In addition to implementing successful initiatives, Garrison is focused on the following goals:

CUSTOMER PORTAL FOR ACCOUNT ACCESS AND BILL PAYMENT

“I’d love for our customers to be able to go online to look at their account and invoices, to have that information at their fingertips,” she said. “We have to get past a few hurdles to roll this out smoothly. We are looking at the best way to integrate this and hope to launch it within the next couple of years.”

FOSTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRATEGIC GROWTH

This includes expansion, acquisitions or new service offerings – driven by customer needs and long-term sustainability. “I help ensure expansion is in line with Grow West’s values and long-term sustainability, that we have the internal support that’s needed and understanding how it will benefit our customers. As with previous acquisitions, we need to make sure it’s seamless for our customers and staff.”

STRENGTHENING CUSTOMER SERVICE

“There are always going to be challenges for growers and ag businesses. There are so many aspects of our industry that are unknown and we try to prepare as best we can. Every operational improvement at Grow West is rooted in better serving our customers, helping them succeed and showing that we’re all in this together. Customer service leadership is something I try to instill in my team. Building rapport with customers and fellow employees greatly enhances Grow West’s family-like culture. Get to know them. Ask them questions about their family and work – and remember those things. It makes people feel good.”

Garrison said she is grateful to Grow West for a career that has provided her with growth and leadership opportunities and the ability to support production agriculture.

“Ag has a special place in my heart,” she said. “I grew up around agriculture and it’s an amazing community. I love working in the industry, with our customers and staff.”