Brandon Cherry
“Listen, learn from it, and keep adding those tools to your toolbox.”
Brandon began his career doing something very different than he does at Ferguson, yet in a role he says helped him develop the skills he uses today. Brandon got his start as a police officer in the small town of Belhaven, N.C. How did that prepare him for his career at Ferguson? In addition to growing on personal level, being a police officer really honed his communication skills and taught him about how to interact face to face with different people every day. As a product specialist at Ferguson, communication and relationships are what Brandon’s job is all about.
After spending a little more than a year as a police officer, Brandon shifted gears and worked for a company that makes Kevlar and bulletproof vests for miliary and law enforcement. He loved being in a role connected to what he did before. Then in 2018 Brandon came to Ferguson in outside sales with the industrial plastics division and found where he feels he belongs — he found a family. “Ferguson Industrial is very family-oriented,” he says. “It’s one thing I really enjoy about this company. They care about their people. It goes a long way on a personal level with me and, I think, with every other associate in our company.”
Working in a small market also gives Brandon the feeling of being part of a family, he says, in some ways making his 6 years with the company feel like 26 years — in a very good way! “We’re all in the plastics industry, and we’re really all one big family,” he says. “It doesn’t take long to learn who’s who in the zoo for plastics around the world.”
Coming up in the company, Brandon always took the opportunity to learn from the more experienced people around him. He still shares that as the best advice for someone starting out in the industrial PVF business: “We are born with two ears and one mouth, so sit back and listen. Soak that information in.” Interestingly, today he also sees the value of the flip side. Despite the fact that he has 6 years of experience, he understands the importance of listening to younger associates and their ways of doing things, which has opened his eyes to new ideas.
For Brandon, learning is a constant two-way street, and though he now has years of experience under his belt, he’s still open to listening and learning. In fact, growth is what really fuels him to be his best every day — his own continued growth as well as helping to impact the growth of those around him. “I like to see other people grow in the company,” he says. “Being able to assist and help and potentially change somebody’s life tomorrow, that’s what motivates me.”
This is an easy one for me. I’m blessed to sit around the table with very intelligent people in the company. But I’ll tell you, being the funniest person in the room sometimes makes people feel more at ease and relaxed. I like to crack jokes and do icebreakers before power points… sometimes being the smartest person is a good thing, but it can kind of feel like we underestimate or undermine the people we are talking to.
Probably Nerds the candy. I’m a big Nerds candy freak. Really those Nerd Ropes. The Twizzlers sith the Nerds on the outside.
I plan to work alongside more of our outside sales guys in the district and continue to grow with them and teach the new employees more about what plastics is. Getting out more and growing our name and business model within our company.
Anyone who knows me on a personal level, it’s hamburger steak, onion gravy, mashed potatoes, and green peas. You cannot forget the little dinner roll it comes with, the Hawaiian roll, and really just a glass of sweet tea.
Maybe 9 years ago, right when I first moved out of my parent's home and bought my own place, I had a bit too much fun that night and put a pizza in the oven, fell asleep on the couch, and woke up to the fire alarm in the house going off. Luckily everything was fine, just a little smoke in the house that took some work to get out, but you could say the pizza was done.
It kind of goes back to my competitiveness and love for sports. I think I would be a pair of Air Jordans. Specifically, the pair Michael Jordan wore when he did his famous dunk from the free throw line. To me, that's just one of the coolest shoes out there.
So this is another one that has stuck with me for the last 5, or 10 years. I’ve had this skill I’ve wanted to learn. I play a little guitar, but I really would like to learn how to efficiently play the piano. I see a lot of videos, especially guys playing the piano, and I’m like wow…it’d be really cool to sit at a public piano and start playing. Piano players are kind of rare and when you start hearing the song Interstellar played on the piano, that’s just something else.
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