As a kid from rural Texas in the early 2000s I tried every business I could dream of from lemonade stands, (not much traffic on country roads) to painting the farmer’s fences next door, (ran out of fence) but nothing was ever quite the perfect fit. My big break came in 2002 at 12 years old when I won a scholarship that offered kids a start in beekeeping. Within days, I completely fell in love with beekeeping.

I built my first building by cutting down trees for lumber on my parent’s land. It had no electricity, water, or air conditioning but it was perfect. After my first harvest, I was sure I had made it big when a local health food store called “Mikes” actually wanted to sell my honey.

As the orders began rolling in, and my number of hives grew, I delivered each case of honey from my grandfather’s 1988 Ford truck before sunup, rushed through school, and cared for my bees late into the night.

During my senior year I had a choice to make. Do I go to college, or give beekeeping a shot full time? In the meantime I was humbled to become the president of the Texas Beekeepers Association, and a director for the American Beekeeping Federation.

I didn’t know it yet, but I had also met my future wife two years before. She didn’t know it, but by graduation I was convinced she was the girl I had to marry. That year I took the leap, and never looked back. At 20 I married Kathleen. We spent 10 days on our honeymoon- the longest I had been away from bees since I was 12.

Since then the company has grown to several thousand beehives, and I still care about each jar and beehive like they were my first. I’m also fortunate to serve on the National Honey Board to help promote honey, and the American Beekeeping Federation to help promote beekeeping. Beekeeping has been a part of me almost as long as I can remember. That’s why, even as we grow, we are always beekeepers first.

-Blake Shook