Donor Spotlight: Carol & John Gorter

Fresno State agricultural economics alumni John and Carol Maughn Gorter have found a special way to support a new generation of students by working through the campus Heritage Society to include the university in their estate planning.  

The couple grew up 25 miles apart in the tiny town Delta towns of Sloughhouse and Clarksburg, then attended Consumnes Community College in Sacramento.

It was there as livestock judging team members that they had a chance to truly size up the Fresno State campus and its agricultural programs, and lay the foundation for their successful careers.

Hear more about their backgrounds and connections to campus and the Central Valley agricultural industry in this interview. 

 

Q: What were some of the things that attracted you to Fresno State?

John Gorter: “For me it was the complete package at Fresno State. I didn’t know what to expect. It was an exciting time, and being at the fraternity with all its social events, and also walking by the new football stadium day. You had to be a hermit not to get involved with something in agriculture or on campus, and it was easy to get mainstreamed into various activities.”

Carol Gorter: “The head of the Consumnes Community College ag department, Wayne Adams, was a proud graduate of Fresno State and later an Ag One foundation member. We were on the livestock judging team, so he encouraged us to look at different universities throughout the state as we traveled around. After we got a feel for them, and we both ended up in Fresno."

 

Q: What are some of your memories that still stand out today from when you were a student? 

Carol Gorter: "As transfer students, we didn’t know a lot of people when we arrived and were a little older, but it didn’t take long to make friends. I remember we had a hog project because Jesse Bell taught that class, and we were quickly taught how it was hard to be profitable. I also remember riding my bike home after cleaning pig pens, hoping you didn’t see anybody who might stop you because you didn’t smell very great. Being involved in that class on the hands-on experience and the related costs of raising the animals was very enlightening. I really enjoyed the block and bridle activities. I also remember that since we were living away from home, we were on budgets. We ate like paupers during then week but then had a big meal together on Sunday night, something like roast beef or roast chicken. It’s a little funny to say that’s a fond memory, but it was.”

 

Q: What were some of your favorite classes?

Carol Gorter: “ Dr. Gunn had the nine-unit class that was really memorable. It was a three-block upper division classes, and we were forced to work as teams. They might involve market research so it forced you to work in a group so you also had to learn other organizational and presentational skills while balancing team members’ motivations and interests.

John Gorter: “The block class format was a novel form of education, you could plan speakers and labs together. It was three hours together, three days a week, and you could cover different things, and be super in-depth and then do it the opposite, too. He was one of the first that did it that way.”

 

Q: John, talk about any experience you got on the farm or working while a Fresno State student, and how that shaped your career.

John Gorter: “I grew up on a farm, so I had more than enough of that by the time I had arrived. I got a part-time job at an ag chemical company, so I spent a lot of my off time on Saturday and after school there. I did a lot of things there from calibration in the warehouse, customer relations at the counter, and closing the cash register since we were also a retail outlet. I also got to go into the field and check stuff, and that interested me in getting my pest control advisor (PCA) license.

John Gorter: "The PCA profession was a fairly new thing, so that started me down my 45-year career path. I worked at Kings River and at Reedley College as school farm manager. That farm is varied like Fresno State’s – it’s about 335 acres – and there was a lot happening. I interacted with instructors and taught some viticulture and tree fruit production. If someone went on sabbatical, I could also teach other classes on beef, sheep, hogs, grain production. I also helped host FFA tree and vine pruning contests, and set up farm equipment labs.”

John Gorter: “I left Kings River in 1995 and worked 24 years for Gar Tootelian Bennett. Gar himself offered me a job, and I was thinking it might be a one year deal but it worked much longer than that. It was a good family to work for. They had a good portfolio of tree fruit, grape and citrus growers, so it fit my background. I did a lot of training with the new PCA’s, and many are still active at Gar. I retired in October 2020 as a senior PCA.”

 

Q: What about your career path, Carol?

Carol Gorter: “I went the banking route. I am currently a Bank of America senior vice president for credit risk and an executive for its food & and agriculture area. I started off as a loan officer in general lending for businesses, small & commercial, and worked at local branches Dinubra, Reedley, etc. I’ve worked for 45 years in different roles, and in my current role I am responsible for its food & agriculture portfolio for the Western U.S., so it’s the best job ever. I get to deal with agriculture every day, and it’s a passion of mine. I get to work with great clients, and you’ll never find a better group than agriculture. Lending is like solving puzzles, and finding ways to help clients to grow or improve their business.”

 

Q: How did Fresno State help you decide on those career paths?

John Gorter: “For that first job, I happened to see a job posting, and I was encouraged by one of the professors to apply for it since he knew I had lots of farm experience. That’s the way things happened back then. Opportunities were presented, and if you took them and worked hard, they worked out very well. Our success is directly tied to those experiences and opportunities from Fresno State professors like Dr. Gunn, other Fresno State faculty, or Wayne Adams at Consumnes College.”

Carol Gorter: “I had an early interest in lending. To help pay the bills I had a couple part-time jobs, and I worked in the ag economics office and as a teaching assistant in the business department. I also worked part-time in the business law department for a professor and graded papers. I mentioned that I was interested in finance, but I didn’t have the prerequisites for the upper division finance classes, but that professor took an interest and called the finance professor and vouched for me. He let me in, and I did well and found that interesting. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I thought I could succeed in a banking career. Dr. Gunn also arranged an internship for me at the state legislature so I had a job in the summer, and I helped with a research project for an assembly committee. That was a great experience since I was paid, received college credits, and made a lot of job contacts that could have led a job, but I thought Sacramento and politics wasn’t a good fit for me.”

 

Q: What were your families' background in agriculture?

Carol Gorter: “My family had several hundred acres of irrigation pasture and hereford cattle. My parents had day jobs, so I helped tend to the cattle and the irrigated pastures by moving sprinklers. I also helped with our garden and had 4-H projects. Both of my parents’ families were in farming – my mother’s side in grain and hogs while they were in Illinois, and my father’s side in timber and cotton in Alabama.”

John Gorter: “We had 500 acres in the Delta. My dad had lost his father early, and he took over the ranch. With his four sisters and grandmother, it was a family operation with a big grape growing area now, and back then it was asparagus, grains and cannery tomatoes. I was involved from that growing up. Our area was agronomy-based, and we did not have livestock, but Carol’s did.”

 

Q: Are there any other ways that you have been able to connect with Fresno State since you’ve graduated?

Carol Gorter: “I’ve served on the Ag One Foundation board a number of years. I’ve also been active in college through the ag business department advisory committee chair. I’ve seen the successes they had and how competitive of a program it is. The teams have done well in marketing competition, livestock judging and in other areas. Also, the new buildings and programs are great.”

John Gorter: “Fresno State is the complete package. I’ve seen and worked with people from other colleges, and now first-hand it’s a special place. The location is one thing you can’t replicate - being in the center of the Central Valley and in middle of Fresno County agriculture – it’s the place to be. Since I’ve left a lot of people from where I’ve been have come through there. The agriculture program is tied directly to the community as well as FFA and the community colleges. Fresno State takes all these experiences and helps you figure out what’s best for you as you move you forward. We’ve done very well thanks to the foundation from those experiences.”

 

Q: What areas of the Jordan College or campus farm do you keep tabs with today?

Carol Gorter: “I always like to read about internships and mentorships - that’s near and dear to me. Mary Willis, the former career services director, used to come to our ag business meetings, and she set me up on several mentorships with students. I think there’s a commitment to outreach to campus, too, through the campus cupboard and student pantry. There is an emphasis on trying to take care of the student so they don’t have to be worried about things besides the school part, especially since so many students are the first generation from their family to attend college. Fresno State wrap its arms around students when they arrive and try to offer any guidance any way possible.”

John Gorter: “I’m really interested in the Bee Sweet Citrus packing house, since growers are becoming more involved with the automation part. I’m also interested in the viticulture greenhouse. I try to go through campus six to eight times a year. I’m also on the fraternity board and take tours. I’ve known the farm managers and have kept tabs on the program.”

 

Q: What motivated you go give back to campus through the Heritage Society through your legacy and estate planning?

Carol Gorter: “When we went to college, we could graduate with no debt after going to a community college and working part time. Today, students have a tough time doing that, so since we have benefited from what the professors did to help us get ready for a career, we wanted to give back. We realize how expensive it is now, and we want to pay it forward. As we were going through estate plans, we started talking about why waiting until later in the future, and instead we should start thinking about directing our funds to scholarships now, and things we can have a big impact on. We see it as a good investment as we help train the future leaders in agriculture."

John Gorter: “I agree. Fresno State was at the top of both of our lists when we started thinking about who we would want to give to. Seeing student have a huge amount of debt when they leave is scary, so if we can help them balance school and their jobs, that’s a good thing.”

 

Q: Talk about any memories with Ron Samuel, a former classmate who also has made a pledge to the Heritage Society?

John Gorter: “I have many fond memories with Ron, whom I first met when through the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. He was in the pledge class ahead of me, and he was really good friends with my roommate since they went to high school together. We would go to football games together and do other things socially. We were also on the advisory board together after we graduated. We’ve followed each careers in fruit sales, and have worked with area growers from the sales or production sides. We’ve also run into each other at the farm show and at the ag leadership breakfast there, too. We’ve also reconnected through social media since the pandemic changed some of our normal routines. It’s kind of neat the timing of him making his gift, too, although neither of us were aiming to do it publicly until Alcidia (Gomes, Ag One Foundation executive director) casually asked if we would be open to sharing our stories with each other.”