Employee Spotlight: Matt Weston

Job Title: Marketing & Sales Specialist
Location: Harrisonburg Branch
Tenure: 1 year
Briefly describe your involvement in 4-H. I was involved in Rockingham 4-H for 7 years, helping my older brother care for his market steer projects and breeding, raising and showing my own market goat projects.
Briefly describe your involvement in agriculture. I grew up on a small, lifestyle farm in North Rockingham where my dad, brother and I managed sheep, Black Angus cow-calf pairs and Boer goats.
Has anyone in particular in your family had a significant impact on you? My parents are equally inspiring to me. My dad created a career as an agriculture salesman, manager and executive with a degree from Penn State from humble beginnings in rural Northwest Pennsylvania. My mom served as a public school counselor for 25 years after achieving her Masters of Education at JMU and an undergraduate degree at the University of New Hampshire. Both are incredible servants to others in their professional and personal lives.
Tell us about your favorite/best pet you've ever had. My current dog, Maci, a 4-year-old Brittany Spaniel, is the sweetest and liveliest pet I’ve had. She’s attached to me at my hip and reminds me to stop and enjoy the simple things in life like swimming for hours or just sitting on the front porch swing enjoying the view and the breeze.

Pick your favorite decade and tell us why. I was born in the 90s, so I didn’t get to appreciate it enough. As a big music fan (particularly rock), there are a lot of bands I’d love to be able to see live in their prime like Nirvana, Metallica and Alice In Chains.
What is your favorite movie quote? I’m a huge movie fan, but among my favorites is The Dark Knight trilogy. “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me,” is a quote that sticks with me about how our actions in life speak louder than any words or perceptions we might communicate to others.
What is your favorite season? I love fall for the cool weather, changing leaves and football season. I can’t wait to watch the Hokies again and make chili, gumbo and other crockpot recipes on the weekends.

What was your favorite class in school? History was by far my favorite class. It’s taken time to realize how fortunate I am to be born and raised in Virginia with all of our rich history, but I love visiting the many historic sites our state has to offer and reading or listening to books on its past. I try to visit a new site once a year with Revolutionary or Civil War significance.
What's at the top of your bucket list? I want to visit Britain and Ireland with my wife and son. Much of my ancestry stems from both cultures and I hope to identify specific areas where my ancestors hailed from to visit and pay homage to my familial history.

What is a recommendation you'd make to a tourist traveling to your current town? I’d first ask them to let me know, so I can gladly give them a personal tour! Anyone visiting Harrisonburg should ride or hike Skyline Drive, eat at a few places around court square (Jack Brown’s to start) and check out the historic sites in the area.
What was your dream job as a child? I wanted to be a country singer before realizing I couldn’t sing. Once I got fully into sports, I knew I wasn’t destined for the NFL, so a career in business was a welcome and feasible route!
What is the most interesting or favorite aspect of your job? As the marketing specialist covering events and sponsorships, I enjoy getting out to interact with borrowers and the community. It’s important to me to be able to interact with the people we exist to serve and to learn more about our borrowers specializations and commodities at educational seminars.
What would you sing at Karaoke night? I’m an introvert, but given the right amount of encouragement, I could confidently sing any Creed hit. 
If you could meet a famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why? I’d love to meet Ulysses S. Grant. I’ve read his memoir and the corresponding leadership book, which contextualizes his lessons, and find his life story particularly interesting and unique from most military and political leaders of American history.