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Hosted by SRPMIC Assistant Community Manager, Lena Jackson-Eckert, this podcast takes a closer look at the programs, services, and people that help shape our Community. From everyday resources to unique stories and conversations, we’re here to share what matters. So let’s go ahead and zoom in.
Hey. Welcome to Lena's Lens. I'm Lena Jackson Eckert, one of the Assistant Community Managers with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. From helpful resources to unique conversations, we're on a journey to explore our community. So let's go ahead and zoom in.
Lena:Hey. Welcome back to Lena's Lens where today is all about rapid fire, where the questions come fast and where we're gonna find out a little bit more about our very own President Harvier and where he stands on the really important stuff. Without further ado, welcome, President Harvier
President Harvier:Thank you, Lena. Appreciate the invite this afternoon.
Lena:How are you doing today?
President Harvier:Oh, I'm doing okay. Had some meetings earlier, but doing alright. Thank you again for the invite.
Lena:Yeah. Thanks for coming. I know you're a little nervous, but it's they're easy questions, and you should be able to answer them fast. Alright. We'll go ahead and get started.
Lena:Coke or Pepsi?
President Harvier:You know, I haven't... I don't drink soda. I haven't for quite a few years now. If I'm a drink anything, I'm probably lemonade if I'm gonna drink a drink.
Lena:Okay. Cats or dogs?
President Harvier:Dogs.
Lena:Are you a morning person or a night owl?
President Harvier:Morning.
Lena:That doesn't surprise me. Sweet or savory?
President Harvier:You know, I like savory, but you know what? There's a lot of times I'll eat my dessert first.
Lena:I noticed that about you.
President Harvier:Yeah. I mean, it seems like the sweetness brings out the salt more in the food that you that I eat.
Lena:So sweet and savory.
President Harvier:And savory.
Lena:Yeah. Curly fries or regular fries?
President Harvier:Probably regular fries.
Lena:Do you like ranch or ketchup?
President Harvier:Ranch.
Lena:Oh, yeah. How about tacos or hamburgers?
President Harvier:Depending on the mood, but if I had to choose, probably tacos.
Lena:Yeah. You don't go to Starbucks, do you?
President Harvier:No.
Lena:But if you were to go, what what would you get? Like, maybe a lemonade or iced tea, but no coffee?
President Harvier:They probably have some type of energy drink there. I'd probably get me an energy drink.
Lena:So are you a Dutch Bros guy?
President Harvier:A Dutch Bros? Well, I don't go to any of them, but that sounds pretty cool. I'd go to Dutch Bros probably first than any other one.
Lena:Just on the name? Yeah. Alright. If you were a color, which one would you be?
President Harvier:I've always liked the color of probably light blue.
Lena:Do you have a reason why?
President Harvier:I don't know.
Lena:Makes you feel good?
President Harvier:You know, I remember a trip we went to Vegas, and it seemed like it was pretty tired. And I think it was Venetian I walked into, and they have the ceiling where it looks like it's the middle of the day, and it was a blue sky.
Lena:Mhmm.
President Harvier:And it just kinda makes you, like, wide awake Yeah. And I That makes kinda like that color.
Lena:Do you have a movie that you like to quote the most?
President Harvier:You know, for a while, my favorite movie, I guess, of all times is Rocky Balboa. But for a while there, the movie Sling Blade was played in my house, so I was doing a lot of kind of sounds around my house.
Lena:What's one food you could eat forever?
President Harvier:Oh, jeez. I don't know. That's kinda tough. I do like seafood, but I guess I could probably eat spaghetti, I guess.
Lena:Oh, yeah. What was your first job?
President Harvier:My first job, I right out of high school, I had a job down at on the Gila River Indian Community as a Surveyor Aid, and I worked with the survey team that worked there on the Community in in Gila River.
Lena:Do you remember how old you were?
President Harvier:Oh, shoot. Well, 17. It was right when I I was because of my birthday, I was I graduated when I was 17, so right out of high school. Got a summer job which continued, you know, for a few years longer. But, yeah, started at 17.
Lena:That's cool. Well, do you have a favorite holiday?
President Harvier:I would have to probably say Christmas time. Yeah.
Lena:Yeah. How about favorite season? I'm assuming assuming winter winter if if you you like like Christmas.
President Harvier:Actually, I like springtime. Mhmm. It seemed like it's a nice time. The weather's nice, changing.
Lena:Yeah. Do you have a favorite word?
President Harvier:No. I don't think so. Mhmm. My wife always tells me so there was always, like, a slang. Like, she'll say, like, you look nice, and I'll say....
Lena:Mhmm.
President Harvier:I don't know if it's a word, but she kinda gets on to me because I say that every time she tries to say something nice to me, I'll just say.
Lena:Is that your version of thank you?
President Harvier:No. It's like, whatever, I guess. Like, whatever.
Lena:How about a least favorite word?
President Harvier:I don't know.
Lena:That one's kind of a tough one.
President Harvier:I guess anything that tells you you can't do something like stop, no. Mhmm. Yeah.
Lena:About a favorite sound?
President Harvier:I like the way water sounds like a stream or rain, anything with water.
Lena:Yeah. Ocean?
President Harvier:Yeah. Ocean. Yeah.
Lena:If you weren't a council member, what would you be?
President Harvier:I guess whoever would hire me. No. You know, before being elected as the Vice President, I worked in our irrigation department. I actually really liked it. Mhmm. Just being able to not only work with staff, but be able to work with the farmers that, you know, farm the land out here.
Lena:You were outside a lot, so
President Harvier:Outside. Yeah.
Lena:What was the first concert you ever attended?
President Harvier:Probably 1977 or '78 over at Tempe Diablo was the Doobie Brothers. And I think with them was War.
Lena:Uh-huh.
President Harvier:So that was my first concert I ever went to. Yeah.
President Harvier:Cool.
Lena:What was your favorite movie?
President Harvier:Again
Lena:is your favorite movie?
President Harvier:Well, yeah. My all time favorite movie, I'm gonna have to go out and just say it was Rocky.
Lena:Which one?
President Harvier:Rocky one, the first one. One and two were good. After that, it kinda
Lena:I liked three. Mister T.
President Harvier:What pity the fool. But, no, I'd say Rocky is probably my overall best movie. Yeah.
Lena:How about your favorite musician or band?
President Harvier:Oh, jeez. You know, I started well, my wife and I started listening to a lot of Bruce Springsteen Mhmm. Through Sirius radio, and we actually were able to go to Dallas, Texas a couple years ago to to a concert. And
Lena:That must have been awesome.
President Harvier:It was. But, you know, when you going now, I kinda felt like, didn't I do this long long time ago because he's he's getting up in age, and I'm sure his voice isn't as good as it was when he was younger, but it was still good. I mean yeah. So I I kinda like Bruce Springsteen, Boz Scaggs. I like Boz Scaggs music. So yeah.
Lena:Have you ever traveled abroad?
President Harvier:No.
Lena:No. Would you like to?
President Harvier:Sure.
Lena:Where would you wanna go?
President Harvier:I don't know. We were we were talking about it. I know, like, New Zealand and places like that, you hear it's really, really beautiful. But we talked about at some point just going on a cruise to The Caribbean or Yeah. Something like that.
Lena:That would be nice.
Lena:What is the kindest thing someone has ever done for you?
President Harvier:I know. There's been a lot of people, I think, in my life that have done things for me just to to choose one. I I don't know if I can. I just think I just felt like over my lifetime, I think people have been generous to me. I'll just say, you know, I I remember and it wasn't just for me.
President Harvier:It was for kinda like my family growing up. We weren't we didn't have much money. But my aunt, my my dad's last surviving sister, It seemed like when we were down to probably the last potato and the last bean Mhmm. Seemed like it never failed that she would drive up and blow the horn, and my dad would go out and come back in with some money that she just, in her heart, came by and gave him money. You know,
Lena:And she knew the right time?
President Harvier:Yeah. Mhmm. And it just kind of made us all feel good.
Lena:Mhmm. That's nice. What's the first thing you notice about someone when you meet them?
President Harvier:I don't know. You mean physically or your
Lena:Could be anything. Some people say they notice people's shoes or their eyes.
President Harvier:Well, yeah. I guess it if somebody's got, for example, dirty shoes, you might recognize that. But I guess just as a person, just how they kinda talk to you or treat you, that's kinda the first Yeah. Kinda thought I have of somebody and just really how they kinda
Lena:Interact.
President Harvier:Interact with you. Yeah.
Lena:What is success for you?
President Harvier:I guess just being happy, being content. I don't feel like I have to have a lot of money or anything like that. I just almost feel like if I can provide for my family and they're happy, then I'm happy.
Lena:Mhmm. If you could be famous for something, what would it be?
President Harvier:I've always wanted to be a professional baseball player growing up. Yeah. Yeah.
Lena:If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
President Harvier:To fly.
Lena:To fly.
President Harvier:I've had dreams where I'm flying, but also in that dream I always wonder how am I gonna land at some point? So yeah. But I always wish I could fly.
Lena:Well, that's kind of the next question. Would you have the ability would you rather have the ability to fly or be invisible? But you already answered that. You wanna fly. Do you have a bucket list?
President Harvier:I don't think so. I just kinda live day to day, I guess. Yeah.
Lena:If you could be fluent in another language, what would it be?
President Harvier:So I'm only fluent not very well even in English, but I really wish I could speak O'odham Or Piipaash, either one. You know? I really do. And it's real... my dad spoke fluent O'odham, but because my mom wasn't native, you know, he never spoke it, so we didn't learn.
President Harvier:Mhmm. But that's something I wish I could do is speak O'odham.
Lena:What song always puts you in a good mood?
President Harvier:You know, this morning, actually, heard it. Oh, actually, not yes. It was yesterday afternoon. I was waiting for my granddaughter to come back from Cub Girl Scouts, and I had my headphones on. And I don't even know who sings it, but it's called Boogie Shoes.
President Harvier:I wanna put on my mom mama's boogie shoes. It's a really upbeat song.
Lena:Get you dancing.
President Harvier:Yep. Get you dancing.
Lena:If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?
President Harvier:Master any skill. Probably just have a good conversation with somebody and not feel intimidated by maybe not understanding
Lena:Mhmm.
President Harvier:You know, certain words. Because for me, I I feel like that happens to me sometimes. People say words, and I'm like, I don't even know what that means, you know, just by being yeah.
Lena:Well, think you hide it well because you always are able to have a good conversation with people and no one can tell.
President Harvier:Thank you.
Lena:What's your guilty pleasure?
President Harvier:Oh, jeez. Probably being full and still eating sweets or something.
Lena:That's all of ours.
President Harvier:You know? Mm-mm.
Lena:Tastes too good to stop. Alright, well I have one more question. What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?
President Harvier:Oh, gee. You know, I don't want to get spiritual or anything here but, you know, I think there was a time in my life when, you know, I maybe weren't making the best choices. Not bad choices, but maybe just didn't have my have goals maybe set or my priorities set. Know there's quite a few people that know that, you know, we lost a son when he was young. And I think growing up, I've always asked, you know, myself, like, what happens to us? Why are we here? Where are we going?
Lena:Mhmm.
President Harvier:I always ask that. You know, the day after we lost our son, there was a Community member, that pulled me aside. He kinda just let me know where my son was at, and he told me now it's up to me to get to where he's at. And I really thought about that, you know, just really, like, try to be a better person, be a nicer person. Might not all believe the same, might not all feel the same, but I just think trying to be a good person doesn't hurt anybody.
Lena:Yeah.
President Harvier:You know? Yeah.
Lena:That's powerful. It reminds me of the other day, and if you weren't able to think of anything, I had one for you.
President Harvier:Uh-oh.
Lena:The other day, we were talking about a young man that came to your house who was broke down, and you helped him, and he was trying to offer you some money, and you wouldn't take told him that your dad always told you, do nice for others, hoping that they will do, you will have nice things done for you in return. I mean, you said it way better than I said it, but I thought that was good piece of advice and one to remember.
President Harvier:Well, I think you said it correctly because that that was one thing I've always appreciated, you know, just kinda having an example growing up. And, you know, I'll share something. You know, my dad was always strict with us as kids didn't allow us to do anything, and I'll just say it publicly. When we did something wrong, we got spanked. You know?
President Harvier:And but my dad was very strict. You know, a couple years ago, was at a a funeral, and a guy came up to me that was from Parker, Arizona. That's where I was born. And he goes, hey. I remember your dad.
President Harvier:And I looked at him because my dad passed away in in 1979. And I said, my dad? And he goes, yeah. In Parker, I had to stay in the hospital one time and your dad was in there too, and I remember I was crying. And your dad pulled my bed next to him and told me, don't worry about it.
President Harvier:I'll I'll watch over you tonight. And, you know, I never heard anything, you know, said to me Mhmm. Like that about my dad because, like I said, he's always been strict, but to hear that person remember that, how it made him feel that night. It made me feel good that, you know, my dad treated people like that. Right.
President Harvier:You know? So yeah.
Lena:That was nice to hear. I'm sure. Thank you, President. We appreciate you taking the time. I know you're busy, but to do something fun and kinda get people to hear another side of you is really what we what we're trying to do today.
Lena:So thank you for participating.
President Harvier:Thank you, Lena.
Lena:Thanks for listening today, and we'll see you next time on Lena's Lens.