Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry is joined by Kennon Adkinson ’08, a graduate of the College of Undergraduate Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies program, who is currently serving as Sonny’s BBQ’s Chief Kindness Officer. This past fall, he received the College of Undergraduate Studies Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his commitment to UCF.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
I am Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry, and joining me today is Kennon Adkinson. Kennon is a graduate of the College of Undergraduate Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies program, and is currently serving as Sonny’s BBQ’s Chief Kindness Officer. Welcome to Academically Speaking.
Kennon Adkinson:
Yes, thank you so much for having me. Glad to be here.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
Thank you for joining us. And so, as we begin our discussion, my first question for you today is: why did you select Interdisciplinary Studies as a major?
Kennon Adkinson:
Well, funny story. I actually had 5 different majors before then. I have so many interests in life, and so many fields of study that I absolutely love. I had kind of every semester started a new venture, and I was collecting all these credits and all these classes. And so, I kind of focused more on people studies, psychology, sociology, even education, hospitality. What kind of brought it all together was marketing business, and I have an experience in operations of restaurants. And so, I was like, “why don’t I just not waste all these credits and put them all together.” And luckily, through Interdisciplinary Studies, I was able to come out with a lot of minors and use those studies for a purpose. Especially coming out at the great crash of 2008, all of a sudden, I looked very marketable because I have so many areas of studies.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
Excellent. Tell us about your first job after graduation. What was that, and give us some details around some of the things you were doing?
Kennon Adkinson:
So, interesting enough my first and only job outside of the restaurants, coming out of college, I went into a venture capitalism. There was a firm that was in Winter Park, and I was about a month out of college, and I got recruited. It was incredible. I managed about a 10-million-dollar portfolio. Then the economy hit, one of our biggest crashes, and that portfolio dried up really quick. And for a while venture capitalism kind of took a back seat; but ultimately, I got the job because of Interdisciplinary Studies and what I had in all the different areas and specifically marketing and business. I had a great time learning that whole, that whole field. But shortly after that, I’ve returned back to the restaurants.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
That sounds fascinating, and as you talk a little bit about going back to the restaurant industry, describe to us your role as the Senior Director of Catering, for iServ BBQ, which I believe is a franchise of Sonny’s BBQ. Tell us what your typical day looks like, talk about that, who you engage with, and the things that you do.
Kennon Adkinson:
Yes, so Senior Director of Catering is a day-to-day role for me. We are a franchise group. You are correct. We are 92 stores, but of my franchise group I have 27 stores, soon to be 28 next month. Of those 28 stores I run catering. But to kind of take a step back, when I came to Sony’s, I worked for corporate. And I helped develop the catering program for the entire system. Then we branched off into this franchise group, and I took my whole team, and we manage pretty much Central Florida all way up into Georgia. So, my big markets are Central Florida, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Ocala, and then up 3 stores into Georgia. We build sales, we execute catering –anywhere from pickups, deliveries, and set and serves, which we go and do the full service from start to finish –hold our clients’ hands and help them and become friends with them –basically your party planner –and then we also have a call center. So, we route, my 27 stores, through one call center with my team, and we manage all of that. And then route those orders into operations for each of the locations.
Our day to day is basically never the same. Every single day is completely different. It’s very hard to plan in the catering world, but we have incredible teams. I have some of the best stores in the franchise, and some of the best management teams and team members. So, I’m very blessed and very lucky to have a great group of people that work for me.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
So, at the start of this conversation, I introduced you as Sonny’s BBQ’s Chief Kindness Officer. What are your responsibilities in this role?
Kennon Adkinson:
Okay, CKO. That is, that is the word. That’s the that the initials there. So, Chief Kindness Officer, we started. This is actually pre pandemic, not knowing what was about to happen in the world. We have been really, since we started rebranding about 10 years ago, we have always had this conversation of we’re so community-driven, we’re involved in community. We started a Random Acts of BBQ to reward random acts of kindness for our first responders, our teachers, our nurses. We even started a student addition of Random Acts of BBQ barbecue. Then we took it to the next level, and we’re like, okay, how do we get more involved in community, because we do a lot behind the scenes, but nobody knows about it. And we’re not here for the recognition, but people, if they have a need, or they need something, they should know to come to us.
And so, we started promoting what we’re doing, and all of a sudden, it was overwhelming that there was a need specifically here in Central Florida. And we started toying around this idea of Cue the Kindness, Cue the Kindness Initiatives. Let’s talk about it. Let’s get this energy going. Let’s let one act spiral into 1 million other acts, you know. No act is too big or too small.
And so, that kind of led to the conversation –our 2020 vision was: we have to come up gates fully, you know, representing kind on our chest, and saying, this is who we are this is what we’re all about, and who we’ve always been. And so, we started to search for a. CKO. We took internal nominations. I was helping corporate with really trying to structurize what that was going to be, and what kind of traits we were looking for, never ever expecting that it would be me. So ultimately, COVID happened. We kind of put a PIN in it. We had already taken our nominations, but we finally unveiled who the CKO was on a video feed and all of a sudden, I was there to be a part of it. And then here, lo and behold, here I am, and I was the CKO.
My role is to use Cue the Kindness Initiatives to really talk about what we’re doing, internal, external, community, and really represent what Sonny’s BBQ is all about –and really what Sonny and Lucille Tillman were always about: giving back to the community.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
Thank you. So, you know, a couple of days ago, I was watching an episode of a Netflix series entitled Live to Lead, and one of the episodes features New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden. She talks a little bit about this notion of leading with kindness and empathy, and making that central to her work, because she felt as though that when you lead with those 2 things in mind, it really transforms communities. So, in thinking about that and your engagement with communities as the Chief Kindness Officer is there a particular event or a moment that really touched you in this role?
Kennon Adkinson:
There’s so many. I mean, I’ve been the CKO now for 3 years, and through some of the hardest times that we’ve experienced as a collective. And really the conversation, which was so great and –again it wasn’t as a result of Covid or anything that happened –it was more or less: okay, let’s jump in and let’s really dive in and let’s support anyone that needs to help and that kind of stuff.
So, one of the most rewarding times was, it was after you know everything was on lockdown. Everyone was being in their homes, except for our first responders, all the people on the front lines, all the people that had to keep things going. And so, one of my favorite times we got to partner with Orlando Health and go in and feed the hospital, and we had thousands of people. I had gotten plexi-glass, and we had all these protocols in place to box meals up and hand them over to the executive team, and then hand them to them so we were just safe. But it was really rewarding personally, and for my whole team to see all these people that had bruised faces from the masks, and had been in the trenches, and had been experiencing these times that we were just seeing on TV. To be able to just thank them, even if for just for a day, for a moment, just like you are seen, you are acknowledged, we appreciate the work that you’re doing. That’s what it really was all about, and that was one of my most impactful moments ever.
And then I had one other one that I just got to talk about. We have a student edition of Random Acts of BBQ and I get to meet [students.] Some of these kids are more impressive than any of us could ever be, and I met this one girl in fourth grade, and she had in her life since she was like in kindergarten, had kept going to her parents and saying, I want to send care packages to the military. I want to go help the homeless. I want to help other kids less fortunate than myself. And she had been doing this for years. We heard of a story where she had met a homeless man here in Orlando and befriended him, found out that he had relocated here, for whatever reason, and his family was in the Carolinas. And she asked her mom if she could drive him home for the holidays. And They got the car, and they took him home he visited with his family, and they bought him back. And to this day, any time I talk about it I get very emotional because that’s a fourth grader that isn’t being prompted to do anything. There is no reaction to what you’re doing other than you seriously embody that spirit of kindness, and that personally also resonates.
And I tell that story all the time because she was just absolutely incredible. And the best thing is when you find someone that does not want to be recognized. They are very shy. They do not want it. They’re very nervous, and she was, poor thing, was terrified, but she came out of her shell, and she’s an incredible individual.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
That is an incredible story, and it would be interesting to see where she is now, and the kinds of things that she’s doing in relationship to supporting community. And clearly your efforts in supporting community have been recognized, and we’re proud to have you as a graduate of the College of Undergraduate Studies.
So, when we think about this notion of community giving back, how do you believe that this notion of giving back has influenced your professional success?
Kennon Adkinson:
Well, interesting enough, I always wanted to give back. My family, we came from very little. We struggled, but we always had love as a foundation, and we were richer than most. And so for us, we always found ways to give back to others that were even less fortunate. And so, I always look for a company that really gave the ability to get involved in that way, and Sonny’s was that. They backed financially, backed with, you know, the importance of volunteerism, they backed with the importance of everything, of just really get involved in community.
And so professionally, I have grown in the past 5 years more than people grow in their whole profession. Because of the experiences I have had, the things I have seen, the things I’ve seen other people overcome, it makes me realize that sometimes we should never focus on your weaknesses and just focus on your strengths and help people to see that in themselves as well. Because if you put too much time on your weaknesses, or the things that you don’t have, or the things that you can’t do, you won’t move forward.
And so, when trying to help other people to do the same or other organizations, it’s really aided in my journey. And a lot of it, too, is my connections with UCF and the Undergrad program, and alumni, The people that met from all years, we’ve really come together and get involved in community, and we kind of make each other step it up. You know? We kind of challenge each other to do more. So, it’s really incredible, and you know, just having the ability and having a company that backs you –that wants you to be kind and wants you to be out there and it doesn’t matter what the barriers are that can really, as a leader, change you, and in the professional world, it really takes you to the next level.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
Thank you. So, when we think about all the things that you’ve taken with you, and from your own family, as an Undergrad coming to college, and then moving from college to professional career: talk to me a little bit about how you believe your major has prepared you for your career.
Kennon Adkinson:
Well, again, my major is very diverse. I grew up in the restaurants since I was 13. I started working myself. I paid for a part of my education through that. Everything I grew was through operations. Then I came to school to get the education and the understanding of what it is about those operations that’s so important and so vital. I found marketing, found the people side of sociology and psychology. All of these things just really opened the mind up to not being so tunnel vision, and you don’t always have to have just one thing you’re passionate about. You can be passionate about all things. A lot of people like to say a jack-of-all trades –you know, that whole saying –not great at one. I think that is a very old school thought. I think you could be very diverse in your education. You can be very diverse in how you present yourself, and I think that honestly the route that I ended up going at UCF is what helped me through my entire professional fear and navigate through all the different economic times that we have had. Ultimately, I found myself back at the restaurants. But that’s where my love is, and now I get to bring my people skills from my education. I get to bring my marketing from my education. I get to –I was one of the first classes at the Rosen campus and –bring that education into it. It just shapes everything, and really has helped me the entire way. My entire journey and my professional career.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
So, it sounds like You’ve learned a lot during your college career. Tell me the best advice you ever received inside or outside of college.
Kennon Adkinson:
I’m gonna go back to strength and weaknesses and the best thing that I ever learned, and advice I ever received was do not focus on your weaknesses. Focus on your strengths, hone in on your skills and you will be just fine, and the other will fix itself, or you won’t need it. It will be something that you don’t, you know, continue on in your career. And you learn to find career paths that are really excel at your strengths. So, definitely the best advice. Don’t worry about your weaknesses. Hold on to your strengths. Work with what God gave you.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
Sounds like great advice. So now, if you had the opportunity to talk to your 20-year-old self, right –so, you’re sitting in one chair, and you’re looking at your 20-year-old self –what advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
Kennon Adkinson:
I would say to my 20-year-old self… Let me see. 20 years old. At that time, yeah, I was having fun. I would say maybe focus a little bit more. But honestly, don’t worry about what place you’re in at this time. You don’t have to have all the answers, no matter what you tell yourself. No matter how many people ask what you’re gonna do after college, or what you’re gonna do in life, you don’t have to have those answers. I know so many people that did find their love or passion, or their career until their fifties, sixties, or even after they retired. So, I think it’s a journey, and I would tell myself to enjoy the journey. Have a great time, meet as many people as you can, and yeah, just appreciate every moment that you have.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
That sounds like great advice. So now I’m gonna take you slightly off track here, because one of the things that we know to be important, that we value in the College of Undergraduate Studies, is that we have a balance in our life, right? So, outside of work, what do you like to do?
Kennon Adkinson:
Oh, anything and everything. Very adventure-seeking, thrill-seeking, I love skydiving, love exhilarating things (I will try everything once, maybe twice,) and I love to travel. I work to enjoy life, and I’m lucky enough to be one of those that enjoys their work. So, I’m living at work, and I’m living outside of work and having that nice, happy balance.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
And have to tell you, I am a traveler myself. I love to travel. So, talk to me about one of the most interesting places you’ve been to visit.
Kennon Adkinson:
Iceland, hands down, is the best place I’ve been on earth. I have been very lucky to travel. Once I got into adulthood, that was very important to me, because we never got to travel. So, I worked to just go and backpack across Europe. I lived there for a couple of years. I’d stay with friends and all over the States. I’ve been to a lot more places than people, you know, have the ability to go. But ultimately, Iceland offers you everything the whole world has in one island. You can see cliffs meeting the ocean, you know? Aspects of Big Sur, in California are there. Aspects of the black sand beach from volcanic areas are there. Then you’re in, you know, a farmland. And it’s just so remote and so untouched. It is by far one of the greatest places I’ve ever been. And pretty affordable to get there. A little bit more expensive when you’re there, but it’s pretty. It’s one of the most beautiful, breath-taking places that ever been. And pretty much anytime you see a movie that seems to be filmed on another planet or another universe, it’s filmed in Iceland.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
That sounds fascinating. So, I have to add Iceland to my list of places to visit.
Kennon Adkinson:
Please. You gotta do the whole thing. I gotta go back because I’ve heard that you can do the wintertime and sleep, they call it like, I want to say it’s like one thousand stars or a one million stars, and you sleep in a dome, clear tent, and you get to sleep under the stars. But it’s like very remote and very cold. So, that might be a little bit later. But definitely go. Put it on your map.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
Put it on my list. Okay, I will put it on my list absolutely, and we will recommend to our students in the College of Undergraduate Studies to put it on their list. And so, Kennon, before we close out this conversation for this afternoon, I’m interested to know what advice that you would give to our students in the College of Undergraduate Studies. If you had an opportunity to sit in a room full of our students and share your insights with them, what would they be?
Kennon Adkinson:
Experience. Experience everything. Sometimes I’ve had friends, family people I know that rush. They have a plan, they’re on the plan, they’ve got to get through college to get on to the next thing, and sometimes you just have to live in those moments. College isn’t everyone’s best years; but for most, it is some of your best years. And during that time, you also have to experience the world around you. Not just what’s in front of you in the books. You have to get experience. You have to go out there and volunteer. You know? Have your own kind of initiative to get involved. Build your portfolio. You know? Have, every semester, have something else. Jump on a board. Become involved in your current community, which is UCF, or in the community outside. Because that’s what, for employers, that’s what we look for. Somebody that has really taken their time to become a fully evolved person that Isn’t just driven. Yes, that is important, but [someone] that takes the time to also appreciate and get involved. So definitely, build your portfolio, build your experiences, do it all.
Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry:
Sounds like excellent, excellent advice. Kennon is the Senior Director for catering, for iServ BBQ, which is a Sonny’s BBQ franchise and Chief Kindness Officer for Sonny’s BBQ. He this past fall, received the College of Undergraduate Studies, Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his commitment to UCF. Thank you for joining us this afternoon. We sincerely appreciate your words of wisdom and thanks to our audience for joining us for, Academically Speaking. I am Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry, Vice Provost and Dean for the College of Undergraduate Studies Have a great day.
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