Annie Shull, Proprietor and C.O.O of Raptor Ridge Winery, Proprietor of Just This… Mindfulness (Oregon USA)

Years in Industry:
I segued from a career in the Tech sector, where I created marketing materials and training curricula for technical sales teams. The transition to full time in the Wine industry started in 2000 with a Marketing role at WillaKenzie Estate, I ended up going back to Tech as a Project Manager at Intel for one more year in 2001, but after 9/11 re-examined my passions and decided to dive in full time managing the growth of our then-fledgling winery Raptor Ridge. We had been a virtual winery, sharing production space across the valley, helping many friends build and fill their wineries as they cropped up across the Willamette Valley between our founding in 1995 and 2010.
 
I launched our wine club in 2001 going from 0 to 200 members in the first couple years all via email and grew our web sales and distribution until we were able to build our own bricks and mortar (well, metal and concrete actually) winery with a tasting room in 2010. I grew the winery distribution from 3 states to 30 over the next couple of decades, while keeping an eye on Direct to Consumer from afar.

I am now focused on Operations, overseeing the D to C group, all winery messaging, and serving on a couple of Wine and Arts boards in the Willamette Valley. I co-chair the Diversity, Equity, Belonging and Inclusion taskforce of the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, this kind of work has been a passion of mine since college, where I wrote a thesis on multicultural education for preschoolers.
 
In the past three years, I have completed studies in Mindfulness Meditation and one certification as a Mindfulness Meditation Instructor and will be completing another certification in the next few months as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction instructor.
 
My Top Three Challenges to Wellness:

1. Fitting it all in! I am excited by my studies and teaching of mindfulness, and I work mindfulness into my every day, but sometimes it’s not as easy to fit in longer sits.

2. I love working out, I am an avid Peloton rider, interval training works best for me, I try to ride 3x week, but I don’t always accomplish that.

3. Yoga has been much more a part of my life in the “beforetimes”, I have not shifted gracefully to Zoom Yoga, and wish I was better at attending class online, but it appears that community of in-person class was my key motivator… even though I teach meditation myself on Zoom. Ironic, I know.

How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:

• Remembering to breathe. Seriously, if you put the words ‘Take a breath’ in front of my eyeballs at any time during the day, I will respond immediately and fall back into the better habit of being mindful about breathing and making sure that I am not just reacting to things, but taking the time to thoughtfully respond.

• Laughing. I love making people laugh at stories or quips. I probably tell too many stories through the course of the day just to have an excuse to engage with people in a meaningful way beyond the work-a-day tasks.

• Routine. With the randomness of a travel schedule before covid, and the constant pivoting we have all been experiencing for the past year, its been hard to establish a routine. When I do stick to a schedule and routine, however, my body lets me know that its appreciated. I sleep better, I think better, I get more done. Part of this routine includes at least two if not four silent retreats per year. At these retreats, that span from 3 to 10 days, depending on the program, all there is to do is routine, and I find immense peace when I am participating, and residually for several weeks after.

 
What Inspires Me:
People who treat everyone with kindness and curiosity instead of judgement and negativity. I study them to see how they live their lives, what brings them joy, and why they are so committed to this wonderful approach to serving others, as well as bringing joy and peace to themselves.
 
A Quote I Love:
“Of drink and victuals and suchlike stuff, a bit too little is about enough.” - - Piet Hein
 
You can connect with Annie on Instagram @oregonannie Facebook and online at  Raptor Ridge Winery and Just This Mindfulness