Transcriber: Jen W Reviewer: David DeRuwe
At some point in our lives,
we’ve all found ourselves planning on a new beginning.
Maybe for you,
this was when you graduated from high school and you were moving on to college.
Maybe you moved to pursue a dream job.
Or maybe you followed someone you love to an entirely new city.
Now, whether this was your reality or just a dream,
you probably pictured how exciting your life would be
when this new beginning became your every day.
You’ve heard the phrase, “The grass is always greener on the other side?”
Well, I’ve been there.
I moved to Athens, Georgia, as a student,
and as I earned my master’s in food and nutrition,
I genuinely thought that my leaving Athens was my ticket to a better life,
a life that would make me happy and fulfilled.
So when I found a job opportunity involving nutritional analysis
in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
I couldn’t help but think how awesome that would be to work
on a beautiful and exotic island with blue waters and dense jungles.
Job details aside,
I was most interested in being a beach bum and using my extra time fishing.
Well, I never made the move to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
I never left Athens.
In fact, I've spent the last 32 years discovering that with a little effort,
we can all make our lives much richer right where we are.
Now I'm the head roaster at Jittery Joes,
a coffee roasting company based right here in Athens.
In my 25 years in coffee, I’ve come to realize that the process
of making a cup of Joe can be so much more than just our daily routine.
We can use the steps we follow to make our coffee
to strengthen our community and maintain our local culture.
It all starts with finding our blend.
Now in the coffee world, we blend varietals to create unique flavors.
As an example, I have a coffee from Guatemala
that has deep, rich chocolate notes.
So I’m going to use this coffee as my base.
I might add a nuttiness to this blend using a coffee from Brazil
and a little spice provided by a coffee from Sumatra.
Now this blend will create a much fuller, richer cup of coffee
than each of these alone.
The same is true with people.
If we combine our individual talents, passions, experiences, and skills,
the result is a truly unique community.
Now Athens has no shortage of uniqueness.
When I moved here in the 90s, this town was a hub for all things creative.
The local band R.E.M. was just reaching international success,
and musicians like Michael Stipe, Cindy Wilson from the B-52s,
Patti Smith could be seen around town.
An entire artistic community was built
around recording studios, house shows, garage bands.
People just got together to play music.
Now there really wasn’t a space
for these artists to gather.
So in 1994, with a couple of maxed-out credit cards,
two brothers, Keith and Karl Kortemeier,
founded the first Jittery Joe’s coffee shop.
It was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Now this shop fostered the Athens creative scene,
but I was drawn to the space
because it gave me somewhere to drink coffee and crank out my thesis.
So I learned that the brothers needed someone to roast coffee on-site.
So I went to the science library, looked up coffee roasting,
and saw that I understood the chemistry involved.
So I proposed a deal:
I would roast their coffee
in exchange for all the coffee I could drink while I wrote my thesis.
(Laughter)
It’s a good deal.
Well, they agreed,
and so I set out to learn a new trade.
And I treated this like my own science experiment.
And there was a lot of trial and error,
but as I slowly learned coffee,
I found myself discovering a new passion
and connecting with people in ways I had never imagined.
So spending time in this community hub gave me the opportunity
to meet all kinds of artists, authors, musicians, townspeople.
Much like a French press, I found myself steeping in creativity,
and my perception of Athens was changing right before my eyes.
I had found my blend.
Now, it’s only once we find our blend that we can start brewing,
and when we pour our talents, passions,
experiences, and skills into the community,
everybody benefits.
Now, as I became more and more comfortable with the business of coffee roasting,
I started to notice opportunities where I could help my community ...
one cup at a time.
Now, what’s the best thing about selling coffee?
It’s everybody drinks it.
It’s the third beverage consumed behind water
and the second commodity traded behind oil.
The global coffee market
is valued around $100 billion a year.
So to sell coffee to raise funds seems like a very easy idea.
Now, this idea first came to me when my daughter and son’s elementary school
started raising funds for a full-time Spanish teacher.
Now by this point, I had honed my coffee roasting skills,
and I had expanded the operation
to be selling to restaurants and coffee shops in town.
So I thought, “If I can do this for businesses,
why not to raise funds too?”
So I came up with a special roast called “Cafe Escolar,”
the proceeds of which went directly to my kids’ school.
Now the coffee and the good that it generated in the community were a hit,
and since then, we’ve created over 160 special roasts
that have benefited all types of organizations and causes in Athens.
Now, you don’t have to be an expert in a hot commodity like coffee
to create a positive change.
You just have to take the first step and get involved.
So with a heaping scoop of intention and a dash of creativity,
we can all give back in ways that create meaningful experiences
that enrich our lives and enrich the lives of people around us.
So now that we have our blend, and we’ve brewed our coffee,
we can sit back and enjoy.
When we engage in our community and discover our passion,
invest ourselves in the local culture,
we not only strengthen our local culture,
but we encourage others to follow in our footsteps.
So simply by being involved,
I've been able to help support
the artistic community spirit Jittery Joes has always had,
but I’ve been experiencing an Athens culture
that I never would have dreamed of when I came here as a student.
And I’ve gained a rich understanding of Athens
beyond the unique businesses,
the historic homes, and the people that live here.
Drinking coffee is letting unique flavors enrich our taste buds.
You will be amazed at what happens if you allow uniqueness
to enrich your community too.
Thank you.
(Applause) (Cheers)