No Result
View All Result
Military Families
SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
 Military Families
SUBSCRIBE FREE
Military Families
No Result
View All Result

Barley, hops and service to country

Natalie Gross
by Natalie Gross
July 10, 2020
Barley, hops and service to country

Army veteran Torie Fisher now runs Backward Flag Brewery business full time.

ShareTweetEmailWhatsApp

When Army Reserve Maj. Clay Keel is in uniform, he plans military medical operations by organizing personnel and logistics as part of the Army Medical Service Corps. Off duty, he runs the Keel and Curley Winery and Keel Farms Agrarian Ale + Cider brewery in Plant City, Florida.

In many ways, the two jobs aren’t so different. Both require problem solving and teamwork skills that service members learn early on, Keel said.

“The further up you go, the more civilian the training kind of becomes,” he said. “You start learning about how to make decisions, how to allocate resources and plan for resources, and then you go beyond that … where the Army teaches you about strategy.”

For small business owners like Keel who serve in the military part time, continuing their service while also running a brewing business can be rewarding ⁠— a way to stay connected to the military while also pursuing entrepreneurial passions.

“In my Army Reserve career, I’m never going to be a general because I’m not putting in the time and doing those really challenging jobs that are going to lead me to that. But I’m still able to serve in a role that takes a less amount of time, or at least it gives me more flexibility,” he said.

Keel’s father started the Keel and Curley Winery at Keel Farms, where Keel grew up, in 2003. In his twenties at the time, Keel owned the wine distribution part of the business while his dad ran the winery. He recently bought the entire business from his father and, after nearly two decades of service in the National Guard, active-duty Army and Reserve, including two deployments to Iraq, Keel said it’s time to focus on the company.

“Unless I get orders and I get called up and my country needs me — day to day, the business comes first,” he said.

Balancing the two careers isn’t always easy, however, and requires some difficult choices.

“Sometimes that means telling the military like, ‘Hey I can’t take that job.’ And I’ve made that decision,” Keel said.

Army Reserve Maj. Clay Keel runs Keel and Curley Winery and Keel Farms Agrarian Ale + Cider brewery in Plant City, Florida.

Army veteran Torie Fisher also faced a difficult choice in 2016 — continuing her 13-year military career or getting out of the New Jersey Army National Guard as a Black Hawk crew chief to pursue her Backward Flag Brewery business full time. After about a year of overlap, she decided to choose one instead of letting both suffer.

“It being such a new venture — and it’s a very hands-on type business — it was kind of difficult to do both,” she said.

So, Fisher found her niche by staying connected to the military in other ways as she grew her business, which supplies beer to MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and Jets.

She attended a veteran entrepreneurship training through Bunker Labs and has almost exclusively hired veterans or veteran spouses at her company, named for a patch on the Army uniform. Staff frequently donate a portion of their tips to military charities.

Veteran Torie Fisher previously served in the New Jersey Army National Guard as a Black Hawk crew chief. She now owns Backward Flag Brewery business full time.

Fisher also operates the nonprofit Arms 2 Artisans, working with post-9/11 veterans interested in artisan trades.

“Everything that we do is based and rooted in the veteran community,” she said.

Both Fisher and Keel said their military-learned skills go a long way in the brewing business.

Read: Online tools for military entrepreneurs.

“In business, things never really ever go right or the way that you expected them to,” Fisher said. “The military does a good job of teaching us how to bounce back from those failures. You never just get to screw something up and just sit there and say, ‘I guess it’s never going to work out, I give up.’”

The Army also helped both entrepreneurs be better leaders. And for Keel, staying in the military has had its perks in that regard. For times when he is activated, including recently for COVID-19 response efforts, he needs to train others to run things well in his absence.

“In the long run I think it helps you work on the business instead of in the business, which I think a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with,” he said. “The Army Reserve forces that on me a little bit, and I think there are some positives to that.”

Want to support veteran-owned businesses? Connect at https://www.facebook.com/keelandcurleyatkeelfarms/ and https://www.facebook.com/backwardflagbrewing/.

Read comments
Tags: Army ReserveBackward Flag BreweryKeel and Curley Winerymilitary entrepreneursNational GuardVeteran owned business
Share48Tweet30SendSend
Natalie Gross

Natalie Gross

Natalie Gross is a multimedia freelance journalist and host of The Spouse Angle podcast for military families. She previously covered veterans’ issues for Military Times and has also worked as a local news reporter in New Mexico and Texas. Her stories have appeared in The Washington Post Magazine, The Atlantic, The Christian Science Monitor, and elsewhere. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Georgetown University.

Related Posts

Soldiers talk about benefits of completing college on active duty
Military Career

Soldiers talk about benefits of completing college on active duty

1 week ago
Marine Corps changes policy to give new moms 1-year break from fitness, weight rules
Military Career

Marine Corps changes policy to give new moms 1-year break from fitness, weight rules

3 weeks ago
Merivis brings Salesforce training to military vets and their spouses
Military Career

Merivis brings Salesforce training to military vets and their spouses

1 month ago
Georgetown ROTC Military Families Magazine
Military Career

ROTC instructor shares lessons learned in combat

2 months ago
Coastie reflects on life under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
Military Career

Coastie reflects on life under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

2 months ago
Military 360 Military Families Magazine
Military Career

Cybersecurity professional leans on special ops skills

3 months ago

Discussion about this post

Ads

Military News, delivered to your inbox

Get a free copy of MILITARY FAMILIES delivered to your inbox each month

Let's connect!

ABOUT US

  • OUR STORY
  • OUR TEAM
  • MEET OUR WRITERS

MAGAZINE

  • GET PRINT
  • GET DIGITAL

GET RESOURCES

  • EDUCATION GUIDE

ADVERTISE

  • GET OUR MEDIA KIT
  • CFC PARTNERS
  • PRICING
  • PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT

SUBMISSIONS

  • PITCH US
  • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
  • BOOK CLUB
Never miss out on the latest stories.
© 2021 Military Families by AmeriForce. Privacy Policy | Terms | Site by Swiss Commerce

Thank you for your interest in Military Families Magazine!

Thank you for your interest in Military Families Magazine!

Thank you for your interest in Military Families Magazine!

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Military Life
    • Deployment
    • Relocation
    • Military Spouses
    • Military Kids
  • Education
  • Career
    • Transition
    • Entrepreneur
    • Veterans
  • Health
  • Money
  • Travel
  • Get Resources
    • Education Guide
  • Giveaways

© 2020 Military Families by AmeriForce. Site by SCBW.