Listen to the interview here!
Justin Spannuth
Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Justin Spannuth with me. Hi, Justin.
Justin Spannuth: Hi, Toni.
Toni: So Justin, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Justin: My name is Justin Spannuth. I work at Unique Pretzel Bakery. It’s a sixth generation family business. We’ve been in Berks County since the late 1800s making quality pretzels, and been a great regional brand.
Toni: I love your pretzels! I’m not being paid to endorse you. I absolutely love the pretzels. We’re going to go into the first question. What does inspiration mean to you?
Justin: Inspiration is having that someone or something that you truly enjoy to the fullest, and it makes you want to be better or do better at what that thing is.
Toni: Is it witnessing something, or is it being mentored by someone, or just looking at something and saying, “Wow – that’s really something. I want to do that.”?
Justin: It really can be all of the above. It depends. It could be a person’s actions that happen right in front of you. It could be something that happened many years ago that you look at and say, “Wow – I would like to accomplish something like that.”
Toni: So then it becomes a call to action for you.
Justin: Yes.
Toni: Okay. So you see something and say, “I’m going to do that,” or something similar.
Justin: Yes.
Toni: Can you give me an example? When was the last time you were inspired?
Justin: I’m inspired all the time.
Toni: Are you?
Justin: Absolutely. From family life to friendships and to work, it really is an ongoing, evolving process. My inspirations are always evolving. They make me want to be a better person. They make me want to be a better friend. They make me want to work harder, be more creative. You hate to say it, but sometimes competition inspires you. You want to take what others are doing and say, “I can do that,” or, “I can do better.” From family and friends or competition or just what I do in general, making pretzels, I’m inspired.
Toni: How do you put that into practice here in Berks County?
Justin: That could be taken different ways. Again, with family life and how I live my everyday life, I certainly like to be perceived and portray myself as being an honest and loyal person, friend, and loving father and husband – but when it comes to work and what I do, I want to be seen as creative and dedicated and good at what I do. I want to be that person that other people want to try to be.
Toni: That’s what I’m hearing. What inspiration means to you is that you’ve witnessed something that you want to do or there’s that call to action, and then how you put that into practice is that you practice that.
Justin: Correct. You got it.
Toni: I like that. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Justin: I can't say anyone in particular other than my wife and my kids, other than them showing me on an ongoing basis how to love and how to have fun. I can't say one person would inspire me; it’s more so all the actions of many people around me, from employees to people that donate their time to just other projects that you see happening. There’s a lot of great things happening in the area, and I think it’s a contribution of a large group of people that are making that happen, and as long as I can try to be a piece of it …
Toni: What a beautiful way to put that about your wife and children. When you talk about your employees or you talk about what you’re witnessed in the community and those things that you’re witnessing inspire you, do you have a recent example that you can give that we can understand why that inspires you?
Justin: There’s been a lot of negativity in Reading, a lot of poor feedback, and there’s quite a few people in the area that are driving to make it better. Part of it is the Chamber of Commerce and the economic partnerships, and even some of the other growing, thriving businesses in the area that are bringing manufacturing and jobs to the area. I think it’s really great to see, and having the ability to be a part of that. I’m inspired to be a larger piece of it, and the more I can do to become a bigger piece of it I think is very important to me.
Toni: There it is again – that call to action to continue to do. That’s the theme that I’m hearing through this interview. It’s pretty cool. What do you want your legacy to be?
Justin: That’s always a hard question. Really going back to the first question is I want to be someone that is viewed as a loyal, honest, loving person that is very capable of having strong business ethics and morals, and the drive to grow a company, create jobs, and put a nice new feel and spin on the area.
Toni: That’s very refreshing. I say this a lot in these interviews that most people don’t realize it with this question, but mostly everybody is already living their legacy; particularly the piece about the business morals and ethics, and to be in a family business as you are, and to speak to those two characteristics particularly is refreshing. Thank you very much for what you do, and also for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.
Justin: Thank you again for having me.
Toni: You’re welcome.
