Meet Gregory Garcia | Coordinator for The Dallas Five

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gregory Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gregory, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
This is a tough one, but I’m going to go with integrity: doing the right thing. I inherently care for people (regardless of what the look on my face might say), and I want to do right by them, and for them. Sometimes that’s not easy; the path to doing that is difficult, or even just unclear. Sometimes it is costly, be it financial, emotional, spiritual, or just physical. But doing the right thing is just that. It means shouldering the load, walking the longer path, and doing what has to be done, for the right reasons.

That’s important to me, and I believe its because it was modeled to me by my parents. They raised me to do something, do it right, and if you can, do it well. They taught me that there are consequences to every action, and they taught me how to sleep on a windy night.

I believe that if everyone gave a damn and did the right thing, we would be in a much different and better world than we are now. I wholeheartedly agree that there are many different ways to solve a problem, and each of those options has its own merits that might be in conflict with another. But making the right decision on the path forward? That’s leadership, and an entirely different topic.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The Dallas Five is a fundraising organization, created in honor of the five police officers who were killed in the line of duty in downtown Dallas on July 7, 2016. We raise monies to help support the families of fallen officers, via our partnership with the Dallas Chapter of the Brotherhood For The Fallen. It came into being as a way to honor their memories and their sacrifice, and a way for us to give back to those that they left behind.

When we first started out, we held a CrossFit style competition, held out of CrossFit Heat, the gym that a lot of us worked out at. The CrossFit community is a strong and caring one, and has a history of honoring fallen heroes such as soldiers and first responders with specific workouts.

I wanted to help out, and was able to be one of the first sponsors and volunteered to run their merchandise booth, through my protein ice cream company, Proletas. None of us really knew what we were doing, but we figured it our and made it happen anyway. It was cathartic to us, and felt good and right.

The next year, the original organizer and coordinator, Bodie Sartin, had retired and moved on, and “gifted” me with the job. So, armed with the knowledge that we learned from the last Dallas Five Throwdown, we did it again. And raised more money for the families. And then one of our committee members suggested that we do sporting clay shoots as well. So we added that in too.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So one of my love languages is food (I mean come on, I own an ice cream company!), and one of my favorite places to eat is in the Dallas Farmer’s Market downtown, at Beyond the Butcher’s. That’s a spot for a great burger, breakfast, and of course a great steak. They are related to American Butcher, the butcher shop two stalls down, and have some of the freshest cuts in town.

One of the best dive bars in town is Adair’s, on Commerce Street on the south end of Deep Ellum. No frills, cold beer, good music, and great burgers.

For the best cup of coffee that I’ve ever had, we’d go to the Full City Rooster on South Akard Street. Roasted in house, and made by a coffee genius.

If its in the fall, of course we are going to the State Fair of Texas.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We in America are blessed with those who willingly volunteer to serve their communities; those who walk into the burning buildings or run toward the sound of gunfire. These are the people that do their best to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe, constantly witnessing people on their worst days, when tragedy hits. These are the people who do their best to put the pieces back in the right place, even when the circumstances are beyond their control.

I dedicate this shoutout to the brave men and women of the Dallas Police Department, who do so much good in the world, often unseen, unheard, behind the scenes, sometimes in the shadows, and for the right reasons.

Website: www.thedallasfive.com

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