Spotlight – Darryl R

Harvest of OH would like to congratulate Darryl Render, our new General Manager at Harvest of Athens. Darryl has been with this company from the beginning and has truly shown passion, leadership skills, and tenacity, exemplifying what the Harvest of OH brand is all about.

Q: What difference has being a part of the Harvest of OH family made in your life?

Joining the Harvest family has been nothing short of a blessing! This opportunity has allowed me to use my lifelong skills, growing up playing sports, in a different way. This is just being a part of a different team, this is honestly the perfect fit.

Q: What aspect of your new role as General Manager are you most excited about?

I am excited about the growth of the store inside and out. I can only speak for myself but I know that I learn something new everyday I walk into the shop. Conversations I have with employees and patients have given me so much knowledge about the different products. I look forward to passing on the knowledge I have been blessed with in my time working in the dispensary to educate others and offer the best products that are available for our patients.

Q: What parts of our mission do you connect with?

I’m all about the PEOPLE! Without them there is no us; we get so many patients that come in and talk about all the great things that cannabis does for them and how they are able to get back to their normal day to day. Connecting to people, breaking the negative stigma of cannabis and helping educate the community on the positive advantages to using cannabis is what it’s all about.

Q: Who are some of your biggest inspirations within the company?

Aspen and Brandon really gave me the blueprint to being a GM so I can say those two inspired me for sure. But Ariane and Amonica, the two that made this whole Harvest of Ohio thing possible and stayed true to themselves, that’s inspirational.

Q: How have you grown professionally while on our team?

I had the rare opportunity to be able to learn under Brandon Jones (Columbus’s GM) and Aspen Finch (Beavercreek’s GM) and being able to take both of their styles of management and make it my own. I started with Brandon and he was really my foundation and intro to working in a medical dispensary teaching me the do’s, the don’ts and the grind of running a shop. He would challenge me to learn the different communication styles to help me understand that everyone doesn’t learn things the same but you have to find how to clearly communicate to the one in front of you. And then Aspen came in and took me under her wing and showed me all the behind the scenes and operational work and really bossed me up for real. They have really helped me make that turn from a supervisor/AGM to the GM role. The two of them helped me to find the best of what they do and help make me better as a leader.

Q: When you are at work, how do you motivate yourself?

I’m always trying to improve, if it is me, the atmosphere at the store for the team and the clients, whatever it is, that’s what motivates me. Knowing that we are helping bring relief or comfort to the clients’ day and seeing the day-to-day growth of the store and the people in it.

Q: Where is your favorite destination you’ve visited, and why?

Living in Cabo was definitely cool; I’ve had some great times in the Dominican Republic; growing up the family would take trips to Myrtle Beach and Vegas is always a good time… but the world is a big place and I have a lot of traveling to do still.

Q: What is one thing you cannot live without?

Time with my family and friends. My family still spends time together, especially for the holidays. There are family friends that we try and get to see a couple times a year. I have met so many people and built so many friendships and memories in my life. Even with all the new people in my life I still have the same best friends I grew up with since elementary. I appreciate every last one of them.

Q: Who was the first concert you ever attended?

My dad took me to a Snoop Dogg concert when I was like 11 or 12. I will never forget Snoop having all these plants on stage. Knowing what I do now, we all know what kind of plants they were. 😉

Q: What is something about you that most people don’t know?

I like to draw and paint in my spare time.

Q: Who is your hero?

I have always looked up for MLK, Jr and Malcom X because both stood up and fought for what they believed was right. They went about trying to make changes that could make the world better for everyone. They had different approaches but both basically wanted the same thing, a better life for all.

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I had a dream of playing in the NFL