Many of you likely know Sod Solutions Executive Marketing Manager, Justin Wallace, who has been with the company since 2007. But in case you don’t, we wanted to introduce him to our licensed sod producers by sharing a little bit about the marketing guru behind the scenes.
Wallace helps lead the company’s successful marketing team, manages all of the collateral that promotes Sod Solutions 20+ licensed turfgrass varieties, assists in the designing and planning of our many trade show booths, oversees content production from digital, print publications, video shoots and more.
The perks of the job. Looking at Celebration Bermudagrass on the 17th at TPC Sawgrass.Background
Wallace was born in Paducah in Western Kentucky where he lived until he was three years old. His father worked in the hotel industry, so his family moved every year until he was in the 5th grade.
They lived in many different east coast towns, including Hilton Head, Columbia, Richmond, Durham, Raleigh and Atlanta. In the summer before 5th grade, his family moved to Satellite Beach, Florida.
“I finally got some longevity! I was there through 9th grade and then moved to Wellington, Florida for high school. So most of my formative years were in the Sunshine State,” he shared.
When he graduated from high school, Wallace attended Florida State University where he majored in political science but worked in the sports department for the campus radio station. “Broadcasting was what I really wanted to do and PolySci was a means to graduating. That said, I did enjoy the classes for political science and my minors, communication and business,” he said.
Wallace’s interest in communication only grew from there. His parents moved to Atlanta, Georgia the day he graduated college. “By an absolute miracle for me, we moved next door to CNN Sports anchor Bob Lorenz. He brought me downtown and in I walked as an intern. I interned for a year for CNN Sports logging broadcasts, editing highlights for the CNN morning news and highlights for CNN International’s World Sport program. All the while, I was making resume tapes in the wee hours of the morning. I wanted to have an on-camera job at some point,” Wallace said.
Justin Wallace worked in broadcast television prior to Sod Solutions. Here he’s pictured at KMID Channel 2 in West Texas in 2004.Career in Television
After that year, he was hired as an editor for CNN Sports which became CNNSI. He remained editor for three years before becoming an anchor for CNN Headline Sports, where he worked another three years.
Next, he went out to West Texas to anchor sports for a local TV station for the next three years. He really enjoyed his time in the television industry, everything from interacting with local coaches, playing free rounds of golf and meeting and interviewing many celebrities, such as Serena Williams, Bobby Knight and Joe Namath, to name a few.
Justin and Sara Wallace“I have many good memories of TV. I guess meeting my wife Sara in the business has to be my best memory. She was the evening news producer at my station in Texas,” he said. The two hit it off right away and they got married at the end of his contract in Texas. Wallace brought her back to the East Coast where he took a new job as a sports anchor in Charleston. In 2010, they had their firstborn, Brooks and then 18 months later they had their daughter, Carly.
“Both are at fun ages right now. We spend most weekends at a sporting event for one of them or the other,” Wallace said.
Sod Solutions
“When my contract ended at Channel 2 in Charleston, I was ready for normal hours but didn’t want to leave Charleston. My wife actually saw a job posting in the newspaper for the Director of Communication at Sod Solutions and I applied. I was brought on in 2007 and the rest is history,” Wallace said.
Justin Wallace’s first year at Sod Solutions – Group shot taken in 2007.Like working in sports where he loved spending time with the coaches, now he loves talking with turfgrass producers and people in the industry. “The producers I have met are some of the coolest people around. I enjoy my co-workers at Sod Solutions and spending time watching grass (programs) grow,” he said.
In 2014, Wallace and Sara met someone who had started an afterschool English and learning program for disadvantaged kids in Guatemala. “I was feeling a call to go and serve and after talking to this guy for about 10 months, my wife and I went to visit to see if it was something we felt called to do. After that week, we were in love with what he was doing so we began raising support to go. After about 9 months of getting ready, we set off to live there as independent missionaries,” he said.
They spent two years in Guatemala running the program and working with other mission-oriented service groups in the area as well. When they were near the end of two years, they began discussing a return to the United States. “Tobey and LeeAnn took me back at Sod Solutions. However, we continue to run the afterschool program from afar. We hired my son’s 2nd-grade teacher at the Guatemalan school to take over teaching and working with our students while we and other supporters fund it from the U.S.,” he continued.
It’s not every day that a company hires back old employees when they move back. But fortunately for Wallace, he was welcomed back at Sod Solutions with open arms.
“I just love the company. It’s been a part of me for a long time. When I left, the Wagners said if I want to come back at some point to just let them know in advance…and sure enough, they hired me back. This company is just an extension of my family. I missed them while I was gone for two years,” he said.
Justin Wallace and his son, Brooks, enjoying a boat ride in Charleston, SC.His personal goals over the next 10 years are to continue to watch his kids grow into responsible young adults, see more of the world and he’d like to grow in his personal relationship with Christ.
If you’d like to contact Wallace for marketing needs for your farm, you can reach him via email at JWallace@SodSolutions.com.
