Grant Vandever Member Spotlight - July
Name: Grant Vandever
Where do you work?: The name of the company is Oddly Natural: Digital, Branding, & PR.
What’s your job title/what do you do?: People ask this every once and a while. My official title is Co-Founder/Director of Concept Curation.
Where are you from? There is no place like home! I am Abilene, born and bred.
What is your favorite thing about living in the Big Country? Don’t even have to think twice - no traffic.
What do you do in your free time? “Treat Yo Self!”(hah) Actually, I love to create as much content, specifically about Abilene and the marketing industry, as possible: podcasts, web series, and medium posts. Oh, and movies. I watch A LOT of movies.
Do you serve on any boards in the community or participate in any other groups? If so, what do you enjoy about your participation? You know what, I do not currently serve on any boards. However, if you reading this and have a board in need of a smart, creative, intelligent, and extremely humble millennial I might be interested. Call me, maybe?
What does being an Abilene Young Professional mean to you? Mean to me? It means that I am investing my time, energy, and talents in hopes of making this community in a better place when I’m gone than when I was born. YP also gives me/us a platform to network with like-minded people and collaborate to not only do business together, but to also create a community outside the workplace. YP is and will continue to play a major role in developing the soul of our community for years to come.
What’s the last book you read or what’s your favorite book? In the last year I read a number of books but the one that sticks out is - The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power by Robert A. Caro. But, when it comes to my favorite books I have to admit I knocked out a large number of Hank the Cowdog books in my day.
What organizations (non-profit) in town do you choose to support and why? Abilene Young Life is an organization that means a whole lot to me. There may not be a organization that has had a more lasting impact in my life than Young Life. It is currently being run by two of my very dear friends, Bryan Levrets and Grant Zeller. The work and time they (and their team of volunteers) put in to reaching the youth in Abilene is truly amazing.
What’s something you’re passionate about and why? My answer will probably sound corny and cheesy because it is, but I am passionate about making Abilene as amazing as it can be. I hope if you asked other people what they think I’m passionate about they would say the same thing. It’s home and one thing I love about living here is that at 29(?) I can have an impact on my city and her future. That’s not possible in large cities. Friends in Dallas, Houston, and even San Antonio don’t know who is on their city council. I’ve talked to four of our members in the past three weeks. That’s amazing. However, I also feel the responsibility of that. I feel like because we have that access that I need to be informed and speak up for what I think the community needs and deserves. If it’s going to help our community to grow stronger and closer, let’s do it. Also, You should definitely follow me @grant_325. That’s right, I just went full millennial on you.
What’s your favorite place to travel to and why? Abilene will always be one of my favorite places on earth but if I had to pick something else I would say either Lake Brownwood or Chicago.
PS Don’t forget to read the first word in each of my answers to the questions!
