Using The Legacy of "Tater Tots" to Fight Child Abuse

Summary

The Living Your Legacy Podcast: Episode Summary

Title: Using The Legacy of "Tater Tots" to Fight Child Abuse
Host: Rudy Mawer
Guest: Leslie Grigg
Release Date: August 4, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Living Your Legacy Podcast, host Rudy Mawer sits down with Leslie Grigg, a remarkable individual deeply rooted in the legacy of the beloved snack, Tater Tots. Leslie shares his unique family history, the transformation of a cherished family invention into a force for good, and his ongoing mission to combat child abuse through innovative initiatives.

The Tater Tots Legacy

Leslie Grigg was born into a family with a rich heritage in the food industry. "I was born in 1952, the year that Orijen Foods was founded, and the founders of Orijen Foods were my grandfather's brothers and brothers-in-law," Leslie explains (00:34). His father played a pivotal role at Orijen Foods Corporation as one of the company's controllers. From a young age, Leslie was immersed in the family business, even filling vending machines at the Orijen plant as a fourth-grader (02:34).

The Tater Tots legacy began in 1954 when Leslie's family invented this iconic snack. Over the years, the brand became synonymous with deliciousness and nostalgia. However, Leslie always envisioned the legacy having a greater impact beyond just being a popular food item.

Protect Your Tots Initiative

Driven by a desire to transform the Tater Tots legacy into a powerful force for social good, Leslie co-founded the F Neefy and Golden Grigg Legacy Foundation. This foundation aims to honor his family's invention while addressing critical social issues. One of their flagship programs, "Protect Your Tots," leverages the familiar brand to raise awareness and support for child abuse prevention.

Leslie elaborates on his mission: "I just had this dream that someday, if I ever had the time, I wanted to do something spectacular with this legacy. I just saw it as an existence, but not as a force" (04:24). This vision led to collaborative efforts to rebrand Tater Tots as a symbol of protection for children, thus intertwining the legacy with a meaningful cause.

Combating Child Abuse

Child abuse prevention has been a cornerstone of Leslie's civic engagement for decades. He joined the National Exchange Club in 1985, an organization that adopted childhood abuse prevention as its national program of service in 1978. "I looked at, you know, Kiwanis and Rotary and all the service clubs. But my heart was attracted to the whole child abuse prevention movement," Leslie shares (05:03).

Leslie is actively involved as a district director for the Yellowstone District of the National Exchange Club and serves on the board of the fundraising board for the National Exchange Club Foundation. His dedication is evident in his efforts to establish a Family Justice Center in Idaho Falls, aiming to enhance the processing and prevention of childhood abuse cases in the community. "We're trying to build a Family Justice Center so we can improve on the case processing of childhood prevention" (07:34).

Transforming a Legacy into Action

Leslie emphasizes the importance of transforming a legacy from a mere existence into a force for positive change. "I saw it as an existence, but not as a force," he reiterates (04:24). By rebranding Tater Tots through the "Protect Your Tots" campaign, Leslie and his team have created a platform that not only honors the past but also paves the way for a brighter future.

The upcoming documentary on Tater Tots aims to shed light on the untold stories behind the iconic snack and its connection to the foundation's mission. Leslie explains, "That documentary is currently in its funding stage… we hope to have that release sometime in early '26" (21:30).

Insights on Trading and Markets

Beyond his philanthropic endeavors, Leslie shares his passion for the stock market, a field he entered in 1978 inspired by his entrepreneurial spirit. Initially unfamiliar with trading, he quickly developed a deep fascination. "The more I understood it, the more fascinated it became. And it became my passionate hobby to understand and to try to figure out what makes the markets work" (09:16).

Leslie offers valuable insights for aspiring traders:

• Find a Consistent Process: "The key is having a disciplined, consistent process" (12:05).
• Adapt Templates to Fit Yourself: "You can't buy a process… you adapt the template" (14:06).
• Understand Market Laws: "Understanding the law of supply and demand and applying those laws to the market increases trading efficiency" (16:02).
• Long-Term Investment: Emphasizing the importance of time in the market, Leslie states, "Time in the market always has and I believe always will produce a winning result" (16:35).

Leslie also touches on the impact of technology and AI in trading, noting that despite advancements, the fundamental principles of market behavior remain consistent across different types of markets.

Reflections on Legacy

When asked about the meaning of legacy, Leslie shares a profound perspective: "A legacy is more like an identifier of who I am" (19:06). He believes that legacies, whether visible like Tater Tots or non-visible, keep individuals grounded and connected to their higher purpose.

Leslie highlights that legacies often begin as simple ideas that, through dedication and common practices, grow into influential movements. "Every one of them have commonalities that if you do those commonalities, you're increasing the probability of creating that legacy" (20:35).

Connecting with Leslie and Supporting the Cause

Leslie encourages listeners to engage with his initiatives and support the fight against child abuse. Interested individuals can join the National Tater Tot Fan Club on Facebook, which currently boasts around 180 members. For more information and to support the Protect Your Tots campaign, visit protectyourtots.com.

Additionally, those interested in contributing to the documentary or collaborating on future projects can reach out through the foundation's primary web page.

Conclusion

This episode of The Living Your Legacy Podcast offers an inspiring narrative of how a family legacy can evolve into a powerful tool for societal good. Leslie Grigg's story underscores the importance of leveraging personal heritage to address critical issues like child abuse prevention. Through the "Protect Your Tots" initiative and other philanthropic efforts, Leslie exemplifies how enduring legacies can create meaningful and lasting impacts.

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Notable Quotes:

• Leslie Grigg (04:24): "I saw it as an existence, but not as a force."
• Leslie Grigg (12:05): "The key is having a disciplined, consistent process."
• Leslie Grigg (16:02): "Understanding the law of supply and demand and applying those laws to the market increases trading efficiency."
• Leslie Grigg (19:06): "A legacy is more like an identifier of who I am."

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For a deeper dive into Leslie Grigg's journey and his impactful work, listen to the full episode on Legacy Makers TV and explore more about the Protect Your Tots initiative at protectyourtots.com.

Transcript

[A]

I'm sat with a very unique individual with a very unique family history and legacy here with Leslie, who's part of the Tater Tots legacy.

[B]

Thank you, Rudy. Leslie Grigg is the co founder of the F neefy and Golden Grigg Legacy foundation, created to honor his family's invention of Tater Tots. Through their Protect your Tots campaign and upcoming documentary, Leslie is working to share the untold story behind this iconic snack while using it as a platform to raise awareness and and support for child abuse prevention. I just had this dream that someday, if I ever had the time, I wanted to do something spectacular with this legacy. I just, I saw it as an existence, but not as a force.

[A]

So let's talk about. Because trading's interesting too. Like I see it, maybe it's because I was younger, but 20 years ago, it was more of a profession.

[B]

One of the things I really love about the markets is that when markets function, everybody wins.

[A]

How the heck does someone stop?

[B]

I think the important thing is it.

[A]

Spans the globe like a super high cold Internet Elvis Presley.

[B]

Today, Apple is going to reinvent Lefong. It's not over until I win.

[A]

The Living your Legacy podcast.

[B]

For those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, Open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.

[A]

What's up, guys? Welcome back to another episode of Legacy Makers. I'm sat with a very unique individual with a very unique family history and legacy here with Leslie, who's part of the Tater Tots legacy, like the Tater Tots. And we're going to dive into all of it. And, you know, he's on a very important mission now with a new company called Protect yout Tots. And I don't mean the Tater Tots you eat. It's really focused on a great cause, which is, you know, child abuse and a bunch of really, really important causes. So excited to be here and talk about the Tater Tots legacy and the legacy he's building and all the good causes he's supporting. So welcome to the show, buddy.

[B]

Thank you, Rudy.

[A]

So I never thought I'd be sat with the Tater Tots legacy here in Legacy Makers, but you never know what's going to happen in this chair. Let's talk about that first. Right? What's the story behind that?

[B]

So I was born in 1952, the year that Oreda Foods was founded, and the founders of Oreda Foods was my Grandfather's brother, brothers and brother in law. My dad was a key employee of Or Ida Foods Corporation. He was one of the company's controllers.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

My first job as a fourth grader was filling vending machines with. Vending. With vending food at the Ore Ida plant. And so I have spent my entire life emerged in the orida experience. In 1965, orida was acquired by Heinz Ketchup Corporation.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so from 65 forward, it was our family legacy. I entered the workforce in 1978 because of my. One of the reasons I decided to become a stockbroker in 1978 when. When the stockbroker industry was just emerging was because I wanted to be an entrepreneur like my family. And the best place I could find to do that was as a stockbroker.

[A]

Yeah. Well, it must be like a fascinating kind of life to like, you know, you just going through all aspects of life, right. And you see a tater tot. Right. It's like. So it's like if you're, you know, if your family descent invented Heinz, like ketchup. Right. You see it everywhere. Right. So. So what do you think when you've gone through your life and you get into these conversations? You see, you see. You know, in a diner, it was.

[B]

Always a conversation piece to. To build a client. A clientele.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In the stockbrokeries business.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I would prospect potato farmers. And that was a great.

[A]

That's a great. It's a great entrance. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

And it was just our fun family story. And. And so all these years of wondering and being so fascinated with this story and watching it develop into what it has become, I just had this dream that someday, if I ever had the time, I wanted to do something spectacular with this legacy. I just. I saw it as an existence, but not as a force.

[A]

Yeah, well, it's kind of. It was becoming more of your past, and now you've made it more your future. Right. Which I love. And you're doing it for a great cause too.

[B]

And I spent. I joined an organization in 1985 for my civic commitment called the National Exchange club. And in 1978, National Exchange Club adopted childhood abuse prevention as their national program of service. And so as I was looking in the community to find a service club to join, I looked at, you know, Kiwanis and Rotary and all the service clubs. But my heart was attacked, attached to the whole child abuse prevention movement. So I spent 38 years in that cause. I'm currently a district president for the Yellowstone District of National Exchange. Not a district president, excuse me, a district director for the Yellowstone District of National Exchange. I serve on the board of the fundraising board for the National Exchange Club foundation as part of their fundraising board. And I've been just an involvement with that. So when we were discussing how to make Tater Tots a force in the community for doing good, we stormed, brainstormed about how we could do this, what we could do as a brand name. And through a kind of a committee of people that I assembled the name Protector Tots.

[A]

I love it. It's great. Yeah, it's great.

[B]

It just surfaced out of that brainstorming.

[A]

Well, the Tots is like the toddler kind of.

[B]

Right. But you've got the Totter Tots because they're delicious food and we want to protect our children because they'.

[A]

Yeah, it's great. And I mean it's so important. Like so many people that sit in this chair that are now very successful entrepreneurs and change makers, they came from a history of child abuse. You know, it's like luckily I had a great upbringing and didn't have anything like that. So I didn't realize. I think America, people are more open about it to England. No one shares that story, but it was so. It wasn't until I got to America and you really hear about how many children. Do you know the statistic? I'm sure it's 1 in 10, 2 in 10 something crazy that are affected by.

[B]

I forgo gotten them, but they're.

[A]

It's probably high. It's probably 1 in 10.

[B]

Statistics are, are gradually beginning. I saw a graph just recently that showed the reported child abuse cases is declining.

[A]

I think it's probably like the Internet and it's more maybe accessible like for children to get help and people to be aware of it now. You know, I can imagine 30 years ago there's no Internet, it's closed families. Right. So stuff was, was contained. So it's good that it's declining at least. And that's because of the work of the organizations you're part of, I imagine.

[B]

And, and I hope that. Yeah. And as, as we grow. I. I was telling them in the other room that in spite of what's been done in my community at home in Idaho Falls, I can identify right now one to two million dollars of needed projects. We're trying to build a family justice center so we can improve on the, the case processing of childhood prevention.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We'Ve had, there's. The National Exchange Club has I think 20 what they call childhood abuse prevention Centers around the country, and they focus primarily on a program called Parent Aid, which teaches parents how to be parents. And to set up a facility like that in Idaho Falls, we probably need half a million dollars to make it work.

[A]

And then you need one in every city.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like, that's the big thing. Yeah. So let's talk about, you know, your life a little more. So you born into this legacy. You grew up into this legacy. Right. And then you got into the trading and stuff. But what's the. Like, what have you been up to the last couple of decades? What.

[B]

Last couple of decades? I've just basically the. My profession became my hobby. It was one of those things I. When I got started in the. As a broker, I didn't know a thing about the stock market. But the more I understood it, the more fascinated it became. And it became my passionate hobby to understand and to try to figure out what makes the markets work.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And how are they?

[A]

It's fascinating, the markets, because I don't do too much in the stock market, but I have friends. That's all they do. Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And really, if you want, I think if you understand the stock market, you understand the world because the stock market is changed by the world. Right. There's a war the other side of the world. The markets will change. Right. There's an announcement from the president. The markets change. The president changes, the markets changes.

[B]

And it's been a fun, a fun journey to wake up every business day and go to work and watch the world unfold from the perspective of the market.

[A]

Yeah. It's driven by it. It's intermingled. Yeah. And I see someone was a big trader, he said, you know, I kind of realize why so many people read the newspaper like they're in trading. Because that's basically like you. You can read this and analyze what's probably going to happen today in. Once the trading floor opens, Right? Yeah, yeah.

[B]

And it's a simple thing. The world tries to make it complicated and unfortunately, that's how.

[A]

Well, that. That's how you make money, right? Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah. You complicate something, then you can sell it. Right. Because I mean, it's the healthcare systems the same way, you know, if you just add vegetables, lean foods and exercise all the time and you need a lot less medication. Right. And all these obesity drugs and all these things. But yeah, that's commercialization for you.

[B]

But we don't have to be a part of that complication. We can simplify things and make it more productive.

[A]

Totally. So let's talk about because trading is interesting too. Like I see it, maybe it's because I was younger, but 20 years ago, it was more of a profession. Now with the Internet and social media, everyone's trading. Everyone's right. So why is it, Is that just because it's more accessible? Do you think most people are still losing money and just playing around with it?

[B]

I think most people are average.

[A]

Yeah. They just average it out. Because what I notice with my friends, they post their wins, but I always joke, you never see that. They don't ever post their losses.

[B]

Right. I have a very good friend who has been making his living trading as a trader since about 1998.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And one of the interesting things about him is what he has taught me is that there are so many different ways to be a successful trader. The. The key is having a disciplined, consistent process.

[A]

Yeah. And I think everyone that loses money from all my friends that are experts, it's like if you bring emotion into it.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Right. Or you need the money, that's when it's game over. You know, if you gotta cash out or you get emotional and you gotta have a good resilience to go through the dips too.

[B]

And one of the, one of the aha moments I had in this journey was there was always this effort to what we call chase the holy grail. And I realized that the holy grail was realizing that there isn't a holy grail.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. That's the same in business. Right. You're always. I've been in business 15 years. You always think you're going to hit this one thing that will take off, but really it's all the little chips. Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

It's the chips and processes. It's having a simple, consistent process in business.

[A]

You gotta be like a woodpecker. Chip, chip, chip, chip. I guess stock trading is the same, right? Chip, chip, chip. Yeah. Interesting. So what tips would you get? Let's talk. Because obviously you have done it for a long time. Someone's interested in getting into trading, the industry. How do you learn? How do you start? There's so many types of trading, day trading and buying in at different points. How the heck does someone start?

[B]

I think the important thing is find a good process. But you can't buy a process. And statistically speaking, if you buy somebody's process and you start to put it to work, it's not you're going to change the process because that process probably doesn't fit you as a person.

[A]

So it's like you buy a bit of a template but you adapt the template. Really? Yeah, I like that.

[B]

And then you consistently wash and repeat the template.

[A]

Because I have friends where they sell like, hey, these are the trades to do. This is how I analyze it. Right. So you're saying you can take those courses and templates but you're going to find your own rhythm.

[B]

What I used to tell my clients is the number one rule of markets. Markets will always do what they have to do to prove the greatest number of people wrong.

[A]

Interesting. It's a good rule. Good rule. And what about like I see a trading, you know, you've been in it a long time. Nowadays there's all these AI bots, trading bots where they're doing hundreds of micro trades a day. What do you think about the future? How's that going to roll out?

[B]

Well, what's one of the things I really love about the markets is that when markets function, everybody wins. When markets dysfunction because of, I'm going to say legislative or regulatory oversight, markets fail. Markets are designed to. But what is really interesting is it doesn't really matter whether it's, whether you're talking about gold or currencies or stocks or futures or Bitcoin. All markets have the same trading patterns, the same trading consistencies. And so it doesn't really matter what market. If you really understand the markets, all the markets trade the same in terms of actual price action. Yeah, yeah, there's difference. Like for the currency markets, there's a different structure in the market, but the trading pattern is the same with currencies as it is with stocks. And so it's understanding cause and effect. Understanding the law of supply and demand.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And understanding how to apply those laws to the market. When we understand the laws of the market, we apply those laws, then our trading efficiency goes up, our winning percentages go up. If we don't learn those, we're always average or below.

[A]

And what do you think about people that aren't into it but they want to get into it? Like you know, obviously this is an investment advice but like is it maybe easier though just throw a bunch of money in the main funds and the S P? Yeah.

[B]

What the big, the big trade off is, is your goal. If you are happy being average, then.

[A]

That'S the path it's going to match inflation. Right.

[B]

So statistically speaking, if you take a market on a, on a rolling, on a rolling measurement, let's say it's seven years, you take calculate the return on investment on a seven year time frame. The winning percentage of the average is about 70%.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

If you stretch that out to 14 years, the winning percentage is 100%.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So time in the market always have and I believe always will produce a winning result.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But when you shorten that town time frame down, then it becomes more of a 50, 50 bet.

[A]

Well, that's what I got into real estate when I was 19, 20. I still own those properties. I bought investment properties and I've always believed in real estate. It's hard to lose as long as you don't need the money out. The time you'll lose is like one year you need the money and you're in a dip that year. Covid or whatever. Right. New, new, new presidents in and the market's crashed and you need the money. It's like you're gonna screw yourself because you're being dictated by the market. But if you can wait for. Even if you want to get rid of it, if you can wait four more years, you maybe can get rid of it then. And now you're in profit again. It's pretty much the same, you would say in principle.

[B]

And it. Yeah, same. And, and no one would have thought, you know, when, oh, I'm trying to think of a name at let's say McDonald's or whatever. Pick your name. Three years ago, they were trading at all time highs and very few people thought that they could double from there, but they did.

[A]

Wow. Yeah. Because I've heard some of my friends at big traders, they'll do some more risky stuff, but a lot of it, they're putting it in Apple, Tesla, Facebook, Coca Cola. These big brands that are like, they're like, it's never gonna really fail. It's gonna just go up. Do you think that's a pretty decent strategy for the average person that's over time.

[B]

It does.

[A]

Yeah, I can see that. Because it's like I can't really see Apple going bankrupt.

[B]

No.

[A]

Like, it's going to be pretty hard. Right. Like, Right. So interesting. So last couple of questions for you. I know we talked a lot about, you know, trading and some insights there and everything you've done in the child side and the top side. But what does a legacy mean to you and what do you want people to get from your episode?

[B]

I think a legacy is more like a. It's a, it's identified. It's an identifier of who I am.

[A]

Well, you were really born into it. Legacy, which is. No, most people can't say that. Right. Like, that's very cool.

[B]

Let's assume that I wasn't born into the legacy. I think everybody has a legacy of some type.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's either a visible legacy like Tater Tots, or it's a non visible legacy. But I think legacies keep us grounded in our relationship with our higher power. I think is very important in terms of what type of person we are. And I think that's very important. But it's also just in terms of, if you look at the way that people kind of pop out of the averages, those that have been able to establish a legacy, I think back, you know, I'm going to talk about the Hershey Foundation.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

For example, back in 1900 or whenever it was that the Hershey Company set up Hershey, Pennsylvania and started this thing. At that point in time, Hershey wasn't a brand.

[A]

Who knows, Right? Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

And the same thing with Tater Tots. In 1954, Tater Tots was not a brand. It was. It was an emergency.

[A]

An idea. It was an idea. Yeah.

[B]

Today there are the same things that are ideas and in 20 years, 10 years, things emerge of there. They become those legacy things. And I don't think that there's an identifiable step that you can say that this is what I'm going to do to create it. But every one of them have commonalities that if you do those commonalities, you're increasing the probability of creating that legacy.

[A]

Yeah. And last question. There's so much to your story. Right. You're obviously an expert. You're doing amazing things. People want to learn more about you, visit your site, get involved in the child side. Where can they find you?

[B]

We have a Facebook page. It's the national Tater Tot fan club and we now have about 180 members.

[A]

There you go. And what about the. The child abuse side?

[B]

Child abuse, yeah. And so we're producing a documentary on the Tater Tot. That documentary is currently in its funding stage. So we are looking for collaborators and investors to help us to finance the trailers and the sizzle reels and also to be looking for a producer. We get the sizzle reels and the trailers done and then we get a producer hired and we hope to have that release sometime in early 26.

[A]

Love it. Well, there you go, guys. Have a look out for his legacy makers episode, the full doc. Go. Obviously check out the foundation and support everything.

[B]

You know that our primary web page is protectyourtas.com protect your top.

[A]

Yeah. Protect your tots. Love it. Check that out. Really awesome. Story, awesome legacy and obviously amazing things you're doing. Check out the full episode on Legacy Makers tv. And I'll see you guys very soon. As always, keep building a legacy. Take care.