The Original Woolgatherer
When I began to seek out a supplier for organic wool, Hugh Shepherd's name popped came up several times. Hugh is the wool man at Woolgatherer Carding Mill in Montague, California, about 30 miles north of Mount Shasta. I didn't know Hugh personally at the time, and he didn't know me. This was early 2005.
It's hard to ask a favor of someone you don't know--especially in business. Sometimes it feels almost impossible to separate the good guys from the “sounds like good guys." But Hugh and I struck up a great rapport from the start. We began our business relationship with phone conversations only, and we all know how unusual that is.
We often say how the heart can't distinguish whether a relationship is business or personal. In this case, it is a good mixture of both. It usually takes a considerable amount of time to develop trust and, fortunately for me, creating trust with Hugh was on a short timeline. I had just months to create Savvy Rest as we know it today, and he was pivotal at providing knowledge and support when I needed it most.
Hugh seems to always maintain a wonderful and simple perspective on the issues that naturally arise from doing anything in the physical world. Business people often go to great lengths to get every detail correct and then miss the big picture. Though Hugh might miss a step, he never misses the big picture, and is able to keep that close to heart.
He is one of the hardest-working and determined people I've met in a long time. He'll work from early in the morning until late at night to get things right. I know I can count on what Hugh says. He is the world's best wool supplier in my mind because I can always rely on him. It's not that everyone does his bidding; it's that he knows how to work with others to get things done.
Hugh is advanced at spatial orientation and is one of those people who can figure things out and crease a reasonable path through a complicated situation. How did he get these skills? He was a member of Future Farmers of America, a souped-up program of 4-H. He was selected to go through the FFA's American Chapter Degree program for his age group. Most of these graduates go on to work for large agricultural companies. Hugh's dream at the time was to become a USDA meat inspector, but he dropped it once he discovered the wonderful world of wool.
Along the way, Hugh honed an amazing variety of skills that came in handy when he took on an old wool mill. His skills are also valuable when he helps sheep growers with their wool growing and organic husbandry practices.
Hugh studied philosophy, art and business, but you'd never know it from talking with him. He is down-to-earth, practical, kind, and most of all, he communicates clearly what he wants to accomplish. If half the people in the world conducted business as earnestly as Hugh does, the world would be a safer, more inviting place.
To me, Hugh is a big guy, meaning big-minded,not egotistical, but keeping it all light-hearted. He's about 5'10" and 150 pounds, but I often ask him, How's the weather up there at 6'6"? Let's face it: every boy wants to grow up to be, physically, a big guy. But I think role models like Hugh, who is big in spirit, are the ones boys really need.
