Clearview hosts 2nd round of Zoomers vs Boomers, Jeopardy-style

Apr. 21—HENDERSON — Part one of Zoomers vs Boomers took place last month. Keynote speaker and pastor Dr. Abidan Shah gave a talk on the differences between generations and how employers can better bridge the divide between them.

Part two was a little different — local figures went head-to-head in a game styled after "Jeopardy" at Clearview Church on Wednesday, with Shah acting as the host.

The series falls under the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee and the Human Resource Council.

Vance County Commissioner Leo Kelly, Vice President of Variety Wholesalers Ronald Bennett, Vance-Granville Community College President Dr. Rachel Desmarais, 4-H Extension Agent Dr. Wykia Macon and Kerr-Tar Council of Governments Regional Program Coordinator Kenia Gomez-Jimenez represented the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen-X, Millennials and Gen-Z respectively.

Generation Alpha was excluded, due to fears of them "running around" during the game, said Shah. Members of Gen-A are also likely too young to know what Jeopardy is.

Though, the upcoming generation may be the "most educated generation of all time," noted Shah.

He reiterated the takeaways from the last Zoomers vs. Boomers talk, citing author Haydn Shaw — Employers should "acknowledge" the differences between them and their employees from other generations, "appreciate" those differences, "flex" to accommodate for their differences, "leverage" those differences and "resolve" anything that can't be accommodated.

Then, the game commenced.

The questions, organized by their worth in imaginary dollars, focused on pop culture and significant events.

When the dust settled, Shah asked each panelist which generation they considered "indispensable" in the workplace.

Kelly said millennials.

"I think, in terms of what they've experienced and what has taken place in terms of the country and everything," the commissioner said, "that they bring a lot to the table, in terms of life experiences. And, they're going to be the group that will probably make decisions that make the country a better place."

In other words, they're the best suited to this time in history. When asked why he didn't choose Generations X or Z, he said:

"Gen-Z, [Shah] said, they want everything now. I call them the fast food generation and everything... it takes time to get things accomplished, to get things to take place."

Bennett chose Generation X.

"I'm a person of averages... but it's important, that these people can learn from these people. You cannot take away life experiences... you've got a group here that brings the best of both worlds, and I think we have to tie it together," Bennett said.

Desmarais picked each generation.

"I think they're all important, because it takes a village... because everybody brings something unique to the table. That's another thing about our generation. We see from a lot of different perspectives. I can pick something positive and useful out of every generation and when you take — just like a good team — when you take all of those together, then you're going to increase your odds of having a good way forward.

"When we are in lockstep, we can work together."

Macon mirrored Desmarais' sentiment.

"I'm the youngest in my office, and so we have a lot of boomers. And, I learn a lot from them, and we have a couple of Gen-X as well. I just enjoy exchanging ideas. I think that we can all kind of learn from each other."

Millennials and Gen-X both are rule followers, "comfortable," Macon said. Zoomers are more willing to push for change when they're dissatisfied.

"I think that all different groups have something to offer and something to learn from each other," Macon said. She did appreciate Kelly choosing millennials, however.

Building off of that, Desmarais noted that the Silent Generation has a "quiet strength," Gen-Xers "question everything" and "push boundaries a little bit." Millennials want to "save the world," while zoomers have the "world on their shoulders."

Speaking of zoomers, Gomez-Jimenez said she "wasn't all about teamwork" and chose zoomers as the best in the workplace. She faked everybody out with that one.

"Just kidding!" she said, earning hearty laughs from the crowd. "To a certain extent, I do believe that every generation had its time. But, now it's our time to make change happen... you guys are certainly... the wide-legged pants to our crop tops, and together we make an awesome outfit, a.k.a, together we make awesome things happen."

"We want to make change happen," Gomez-Jimenez said, "both socially, in our workforce, in our economy, whatever it may be... we're going to go for it, and if we fail, we learn from what went wrong and we do it again and we pick ourselves up. And, that's why I believe why Gen Z has what it takes."

She reiterated her outfit metaphor, however — teamwork between generations makes things happen.

"This was better than I expected," Shah said. He was hoping the zoomer would "brag on themselves" a bit.

"And, here's the thing," Shah continued. "Business owners, church people, whoever you are, nonprofits — if you can pick that up and capture the Gen-Zs coming through your door, and appeal to that, that they have a contribution, and it's going to make a difference, then you'll be amazed at the retention rate. You'd be amazed at what that would do. And, we need that — We need that."

Desmarais and Bennett, as the first and second-place winners respectively, won two gift cards to local restaurants.

Sandra Wilkerson, the Chamber President, thanked Shah for "dressing like that."

"It, really, will never get out of mind."