The owners of Four Brothers Mead, a mead-making business based in Festus, recently attended a meeting in Washington, D.C., to talk with federal officials about issues that affect veteran-owned small businesses.
All four of the company’s owners are veterans.
In addition, Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe visited the meadery on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, to tour the facility and welcomed the business into Buy Missouri, a program that promotes Missouri businesses.
Four Brothers Mead has a tasting room at 124B E. Main St. and it produces the mead, also called honey wine, across the street at 130 S. Second St.
D.C. meeting
The company’s owners – brothers Dan Luck and Joe Luck, as well as their brother-in-law Chris Schulte and Bryan Becker, whom they call their “brother in arms” – went to Washington, D.C., early this month to talk with members of the U.S. House of Representatives about veteran-owned small businesses. U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-St. Elizabeth), who represents a portion of Jefferson County, invited the owners to the event.
Among the notables at the meeting was House Minority Leader Kevin
McCarthy (R-California), Dan Luck said.
He said the Four Brothers Mead contingent paid its own way to travel to D.C. for the approximately five-hour-long meeting on Nov. 4 because they believe it’s important for U.S. officials to help veteran-owned businesses.
“We went out Nov. 3 and came back Friday (Nov. 5),” Luck said. “It was a veteran-owned showcase and roundtable. We were one of 14 veteran-owned small businesses there out of 350,000 in the United States. We were there to showcase our products and speak to Congress about ways they can better support veteran-owned businesses.”
Luck said many issues were covered during the meeting.
“One was about how the different COVID relief acts Congress enacted helped. We were not eligible for any of it, for various reasons,” he said. “Another discussion was a great idea brought up by veterans on the House Small Business Committee about introducing a bill to allow G.I. Bill leftover funds you had not used be applied to your veteran-owned business. That’s just an idea at this point.”
Luck said he would not hesitate to return to D.C. to participate in another meeting with Congress.
“We were honored to take part,” he said. “It was great exposure for us and for Festus.”
Luck said the Four Brothers Mead contingent could not give House members samples of their mead at the meeting.
“We weren’t allowed to open bottles of mead there,” he said. “We were invited back out to D.C. to participate in other after-hours events where our mead could be served.”
Lt. Gov. Kehoe visit
On Veterans Day, Kehoe and his wife, Claudia, toured Four Brothers Mead and officially welcomed the business into Buy Missouri, a program his office initiated to promote products that are “grown, manufactured, processed and/or made in Missouri,” according to the Buy Missouri website.
Kehoe said Four Brothers Mead is the 466th member of the Buy Missouri program.
He also said it was good timing to visit the meadery on Veterans Day.
“Because it’s veteran-owned, we wanted to come here,” Kehoe said. “I’m embarrassed to say I’d never heard of a meadery before. Their early success is inspiring.”
The Luck brothers and Becker spoke with Kehoe and his wife about their business, which has the capacity to make 40,000 bottles of mead each year.
The business makes a variety of flavors of mead and gets the honey for its product from beekeepers in the region.
Dan Luck said the Four Brothers owners want to promote veteran causes.
“We have a very strong following of our brother veterans,” he said. “We really want to be there for our veteran family.”
Dan Luck served in the Air Force, and the other three owners served in the Army.
Kehoe also made a stop at the Arnold Food Pantry on Veterans Day to present community volunteer and Vietnam veteran Vern Sullivan with a Senior Service Award.