CALIFORNIA DIRECTOR PROFILE
Kelly Strickland Vice President of Operations Five Crowns Marketing Brawley, CA
Director Since 2018 | Member Since 1985
Injury Dooms Baseball Dream; Marriage Leads to Produce Career
By Tim Linden G rowing up in San Jose, CA, Kelly Strickland was quite the baseball player. He was heavily recruited out of high school as a pitcher and continued his planned path to the Major Leagues at Azusa Pacific University in Southern California. His selection of a course of study—business administration—ultimately proved more important in his career path than the baseball diamond he thought would lead him to post-college employment. “It is funny that I chose business administration as a major and that is the role I am filling at Five Crowns,” he said. He noted that he is part of four members of the second generation of the family operation currently in management positions. The other three slots are filled by Danny, Tyler and Billy Colace, sons of founders Joe and Bill Colace. Those three second generation Colace men are involved in sales (Danny and Tyler) and plant operations (Billy). “I am on the operations side,” said Kelly. “That was the missing piece. They didn’t have someone to step into that role and so I was the family member for that position and it does fit well with my undergraduate work.” Strickland readily admits that when he picked that major, he didn’t expect to use it. Speaking of his baseball ambitions, he said, “when I was a freshman all my eggs
were in that basket. I picked Business Administration because it was a general business degree.” After his freshman year, Strickland hurt his elbow, had reconstructive tendon surgery (“Tommy John” operation) and missed two years of action. “That derailed my baseball plans,” he said. But he soon pivoted in another direction. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he began studying theology and envisioned a career in ministry. In fact, he was a youth minister in Orange County working toward that career when he reassessed his chosen profession. He had met Kristin Colace in college and was planning to marry her. But the fact was that his ministerial position didn’t pay very much. “I quit that, moved back home and went to work with my dad,” he said. His father was a framing contractor and young Kelly did that work long enough to earn enough money to buy an engagement ring. He and Kristin did get married and began their married life in San Diego, as Kelly took a position in commercial real estate. He stayed in that industry for about six years, and then in 2011, launched a solar development company. The family connection gave the company its first major project, which was a solar installation at the Five Crown’s facility in Brawley. “In the process, I worked
10 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com MAY | JUNE 2019
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