Katie Cecil handles social media marketing for Cecil Farms Produce and serves local farmers’ markets and as part of Community Support Agriculture (CSA). She is also the agriculture director at the Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club.
Why did you choose Wesleyan?
“I was recruited as an athlete, and I played tennis. I’ll never forget that on one of my visits the spring before my freshman year Dean Kramer, who I had never met before, greeted me by my first name. That moment has always stood out to me and is a great example of what Wesleyan is. My major was business administration and marketing management.”
Tell us about your life and career following graduation?
“I was honestly not sure what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go. I moved to Bowling Green, Ky., and worked for The Medical Center for a few years until I was offered a part-time marketing position at the local Chick-fil-A restaurant.
“I took a leap of faith, giving up my full-time benefits for this part-time marketing position, hoping it would turn into the marketing job of my dreams. Little did I know that this quick service restaurant job would take me to a full-time marketing position with Chick-fil-A in Nashville, Tenn., for five years, allowing me to travel the nation promoting an amazing brand with fantastic people, even taking me to Ukraine with Chick-fil-A’s Lifeshape program.
“After six years with Chick-fil-A, I moved back home to Owensboro to be a part of my family’s farm, Cecil Farms Produce. I handle social media marketing for Cecil Farms Produce and serve local farmers’ markets and as part of Community Support Agriculture (CSA).
“Coming in 2019 is the White Chateau at Cecil Farms, a French country-style event venue overlooking hundreds of acres of farmland, where I will be a part of our on-farm event planning. Our vision for the White Chateau is to host authentic educational experiences on a traditional farm.
“Along with my position at Cecil Farms Produce, I am the agriculture director at the Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club. Cecil Farms Produce partners with the Boys and Girls Club to give kids a year-round experience on the farm, learning to grow, harvest and prepare locally grown foods as part of The Academy at Cecil Farms.”
Why do you give to Wesleyan?
“I give because someone else once gave to create the experience I had at Kentucky Wesleyan College. Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy said, ‘Nearly every moment of every day, we have the opportunity to give something to someone else – our time, our love, our resources.’”