Stuckey’s CEO R.G. Lamar returned to his alma mater, Oglethorpe University, to talk about lessons he learned at the liberal arts college in Brookhaven, his experience in international negotiations, and family pecan farming.
About 40 students and professors gathered in the Cousins auditorium on Oct. 7 to hear Lamar’s words of wisdom. Lamar quoted Wendell Berry, crediting the Kentucky poet, essayist, and community advocate with inspiring and shaping his education.
Recruited by an Oglethorpe golf coach, Lamar hails from Hawkinsville, GA (pop. 5,270), a town south of Warner Robbins. After earning an American studies degree from Oglethorpe in 2005, he spent two years working for the U.S. Department of State in Afghanistan. He left the government position in search of community.
“I realized that traveling all the time is not what I wanted to do,” Lamar said.
Lamar decided to move back to Hawkinsville to apprentice at his family farm, which had a fair amount of debt at the time. The economics of pecan farming were challenging, he said.
Through the process of figuring out how to improve operationally, create a strategy, and stabilize the market for pecan products, Lamar created Front Porch Pecans – the company’s first effort at a consumer-packaged product.
“Students, if you ever go out into the world and want to pioneer a consumer packaged product brand, let me tell you, it is exceedingly difficult,” Lamar advised. “I realized I needed a brand that people recognize, and I picked up the phone and called my contact with the Stuckey family.”
Lamar realized Front Porch Pecans wasn’t going to make it on its own. He needed a partner, and a new plan.
Stuckey’s was in a similar position. The family-owned business, known for roadside stores and pecan candy treats, was trying to figure out what to do with their brand.
“They didn’t have a good direction, and they were losing money, too,” Lamar said. “And so we put together a plan.”
Lamar joined Stuckey’s as the company’s president. Under his direction, Stuckey’s acquired the pecan processing facility near Augusta. Lamar said he and Stephanie Stuckey soon realized that the expense of maintaining equipment, keeping up with safety standards, and shelling pecans was not in the best interest of the business. They hired a third-party vendor and sold the plant.
“I cannot tell you how excruciating it was to admit that we had made a mistake by borrowing that money and buying that facility,” Lamar said. “There’s no question in my mind, it was the right thing to do. That’s just one example from Stuckey’s of how the habits that were formed [at Oglethorpe] helped me, and helped us make a good decision.”
Lamar said leadership style affects the ways a business is scaled and operated. There’s a method for strong leaders to cast their vision and communicate it, while empowering people in the organization, Lamar said.
He advised entrepreneurial students: “If you’ve got a good idea, grit, and a high risk tolerance, you can raise money. There are a lot of people out there, high-net-worth individuals and private equity groups. It is possible.”
It was Lamar’s entrepreneurial spirit that caught the attention of sophomore Kaelynn Agundiz-Villeda, president of the Oglethorpe Business Club. As the co-owner, with her mother, of Villeda’s Kitchen, a Latin American bakery, she said she admires Lamar for learning business skills during his internship.
“The drive for [Lamar] to be a part of the Stuckey’s family is something I admire and can relate to,” Agundiz-Villeda said.
Senior Kai Crow is a business major from Druid Hills who had a chance to speak with Lamar before the lecture.
“One thing that stuck with me was Mr. Lamar’s emphasis on being genuine, which is true to Oglethorpe culture and students,” Crow said. “It’s nice to see an institution I hold very close reflected in an alumni 20 years later.”
