This is a monthly series in which the Attorney General will feature a Vermonter doing exemplary work in their community. Have someone you think should be featured? Email AGO.CAP@vermont.gov.

Julia Birnn Fields, 4^th-generation owner of Birnn Chocolates of Vermont and our April Vermonter of the Month, didn’t always know she would take over the family business. She felt called to service when her father and uncle considered retirement.

Now, almost ten years later, it’s clear that she and her husband Mel found the right path: Her love for what she does shines through in her words.

Perhaps most inspiring, she has prioritized helping her employees grow. Why? She says, “Our employees are the heartbeat of our company and we would not exist without them.”

Birnn Chocolates hire many new Americans. Because English is a second language for those employees, they started offering English lessons during the work day. It all started because they “noticed that some of the most veteran employees for whom English was a second language weren’t being promoted as quickly as native English speakers.” Now, they work with the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program to continue the lessons indefinitely.

Julia Birnn Fields exemplifies a connection to family, community, diversity and investing in employees. We’re proud to honor her as our April Vermonter of the Month.

Tell us a little about yourself (What is your official title? What has been your career path? How did you get to where you are?):

I am President and 4^th-generation owner of Birnn Chocolates of Vermont.  My degree is in Elementary Education, so the family business was not my chosen career path early on.  After I graduated from college I taught skiing at Sugarbush Resort, gave tours and repped events for Magic Hat, worked summers for Appalachian Landscaping, and managed a seasonal restaurant.  Each of those jobs taught me great life lessons on how to deal with people both internally and externally in a wide variety of businesses.  Four years after graduation, when I was skiing 100+ days in the winter and caretaking a private island on Lake Champlain, my dad asked me what my plan was.  I was a bit taken aback, as I thought I was living a pretty darn good life, but from my father’s eyes it didn’t seem like it was my forever path.  My dad and uncle co-owned the family chocolate business, and they were beginning to think about retirement.  My uncle doesn’t have kids and I’m an only child so their plan was quite simple: if I wasn’t interested they were going to sell.  I honestly had never even considered working for my family; it was always my dad and uncle’s thing.  However, the thought of them selling the multigenerational business didn’t sit right with me, and I wanted to at least explore the option before it was gone.

In 2010 my partner, Mel, and I made the life-altering decision to try the family business on for size and agreed to work for a year to see if it was a good fit for us.  We knew we wanted to work together, whatever we did so this seemed like a logical option.  Now, nine years later we are still here.  Year one flew by, along with year two.  We started in production, learning each job from the best, seasoned employees.  I worked in the business in high school, so I did have some basic knowledge, but we still took the time to learn each position. We felt this step vitally important to truly understanding the business as a whole.  Our roles evolved organically. We’d see an area that needed improvement and then help implement things to make people’s jobs easier.  In doing so we not only gained respect from our coworkers, but also helped the company become more efficient.  Year three we began talking about the future.  It was clear we were quite happy in the business and were ready to talk seriously about succession.  It took a couple of years to come up with a plan that felt really solid for all four parties involved.  Mel and I became the 4th-generation owners in 2016 and simultaneously my dad and uncle retired.  It was quite a big step but we all felt it was the right move for the company, our employees, and the bright future ahead.  We’re now expecting a baby next month, the first of the 5th-generation!

What sets Birnn Chocolates of Vermont apart from other truffle makers? What’s your mission or motto?

We exclusively make chocolate truffles, no other products.  We also only sell in bulk to the wholesale market and do not have a retail store of our own.  Our number one focus is our wholesale customers and therefore our focus is on customer service and ensuring that our customers are getting what they need in a timely manner.  We ship the same day that orders are placed, which is pretty unique in our business.  We also ship year-round and cover the cost of extra insulation and ice packs during the warmer months.  We’re family owned and operated so when you call you always get a person and we’re always willing to listen to customer requests and make a sincere effort to accommodate them.  We are extremely efficient in what we do which helps tremendously with producing a high-quality product for a very competitive price.

Our mission: Above and Beyond – Every Day, Every Way, Everyone.

Our motto: We make truffles, for people who sell truffles, to people who love truffles.

What inspired you to offer English classes to your New American employees?

Mel and I noticed that some of the most veteran employees for whom English was a second language weren’t being promoted as quickly as native English speakers.

How did you promote the opportunity to your employees? How did you ensure that these classes were utilized?

We originally tried offering English classes before and after work and no one signed up.  We were discouraged but understood why.  We then met with the Vermont Department of Economic Development and received a grant for English lessons during the work day.  The grant paid for half of the expense of hiring a teacher and paying our employees to attend the classes.  Once the grant was completed, we wanted to continue offering this benefit to our English Language Learning employees so we made arrangements with the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program to continue the lessons.  We’ve offered English lessons for two years now and plan to continue them indefinitely.

What impact did offering these classes have on your business?

With just two hours a week (plus some voluntary homework) we’ve seen a significant increase in confidence and English usage in the workplace. This also creates a more inclusive environment for others that don’t speak another language.  Previously there were a few different languages being spoken and it could feel isolating to some when a group of people spoke freely next to them in a language they did not understand.  We’ve really tried to get everyone involved with our efforts and have asked our native English speakers to help others with their vocabulary and pronunciation.  We’ve worked hard to create a safe and trusting space where people feel comfortable asking for help and guidance with the English language. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. 

Would you recommend this to other small businesses? What advice do you have for other small businesses looking to create organizational change or empower their employees?

We feel that empowering our employees is the single most important thing that we can do.  Not only does it tell them that we’re invested in their well-being, it’s very rewarding watching them learn and grow in an environment we’ve helped to cultivate.  We also hope that this will carry over to interactions with communities outside of the workplace, and to further that aim, we’ve encouraged a curriculum that isn’t solely based on chocolate or manufacturing vocabulary.  We would most certainly encourage any and all businesses to develop their own programs.  The rewards are priceless.  Our employees are the heartbeat of our company and we would not exist without them.

This is a monthly series in which the Attorney General will feature a Vermonter doing exemplary work in their community. Have someone you think should be featured? Email AGO.CAP@vermont.gov.

Through the “power of great beer” Matt Kehaya and Steve Gagner, our December Vermonters of the Month, are proving that “a company can create positive outcomes in our community and show other businesses that there is a tangible benefit to serving others before serving the bottom line.” When Matt and Steve founded their company 14^th Star Brewing Co. in 2011, they knew that they wanted their beer to be “brewed with a mission” which is why these Vermont-natives and Army veterans founded the business on the principles of “improving our communities and inspiring others to put their neighbors first.”

The business plan for 14^th Star was drawn up on the back of a notebook while Matt and Steve were deployed together in Afghanistan. When they returned home, they decided to take the leap from homebrewers to entrepreneurs with the mission of continuing to serve others. Since opening 14^th Star in 2011, the St. Albans-based business has grown to 24 employees and distributes their beer in 5 states. In keeping with their mission, the business gives back to organizations like Purple Hearts Reunited, the Josh Pallotta Fund, Make-A-Wish Vermont, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, and Martha’s Kitchen, while also hosting community events at their Taproom.

With 20(+) years of service, Matt (20 years) and Steve (23 years), attribute much of their success as business owners to skills they learned from the Army. Leadership, strategic planning, safety, mentorship and teamwork are all skills that they have applied directly to entrepreneurship. Now, Matt and Steve (along with partner Zac Fike) have made it their mission to share this knowledge with other veterans. Their latest venture, Danger Close, is a whiskey-distillery that teaches other veterans to draw on skills they learned through service to start their own businesses.

We visited Matt and Steve at 14^th Star’s Brewery and Taproom in St. Albans to learn more about the inspiring work they’re doing.

 

Tell us a little about yourselves (What are your official titles? What have been your career paths? How did you get to where you are?) 

(Matt): I’m from Burlington, Vermont and currently live in Swanton. I am married with two wonderful boys. I am a platoon sergeant in the Vermont Army National Guard’s Mountain Infantry Battalion and have served in the Army for 20 years. I have two deployments (Iraq and Afghanistan – both with Steve) and we founded 14th Star Brewing together in 2011. Steve and I met in late 2000 and we knew early on that we wanted to continue to find ways to work together. After our 2010 deployment to Afghanistan, Steve and I decided to put the brewery business plan we wrote overseas into action. We never envisioned the brewery to grow as big and as fast as we did, but we find that our military experiences have helped us grow the business.

(Steve): I am originally from Highgate, Vermont and live in St. Albans with my wife and two children. I am the executive officer for the Army’s Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vermont. I have served in the Army for almost 23 years. I think our time in the Army, and the Vermont Army National Guard in particular, has helped us as entrepreneurs. As full-time guardsmen, we assist the traditional guard leaders who work the “one weekend a month, two weeks a year” schedule in completing their goals and training objectives. Since we aren’t at the brewery full time, we use the very same tactics in leading the organization: We have a talented team of full-time staff and leaders at the brewery and simply provide them guidance and direction and let their natural talents shine.

What inspires your work with the Army, 14^th Star Brewing, and in the community?

The desire to serve others and our community not only led us to joining the military, but to continue that service through our business. We believe that leaders should show others what right looks like and inspire them to “Follow Me.” We look for those very same characteristics in our employees and partners because we know that our efforts as a company can create positive outcomes in our community and show other businesses that there is a tangible benefit to serving others before serving the bottom line.

What sets 14^th Star Brewing apart from other brewers? What’s its mission?

Well, we can start with amazing beer! But seriously, there is some fantastic beer being made throughout Vermont. We think the thing that sets us apart is that we have a reason for doing what we do—beer happens to be the product we create. This translates directly to our motto of “Brewed with a Mission.” This means that we work to improve the lives of our nation’s veterans and our local communities through the power of great beer.

You give to so many organizations, is there a cause or organization that you are most proud to support?

We are proud of all of our efforts in working with organizations dedicated to doing good and helping others. From the very beginning, we have been a supporter of Purple Hearts Reunited and their mission of return lost or stolen purple hearts and medals of valor to veterans and their families. We also have a very deep connection with the Josh Pallotta Fund, founded by Valeria Pallotta, the mother of a Soldier who deployed to Afghanistan in our Brigade and who took his own life after struggling with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. Outside of the veteran organizations, however, we are pursuing projects like Vermont’s first “The House That Beer Built.” Working with the Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity and gathering support from other Vermont Craft Brewers, we’re working to fund the building of a home for families in need – simply through the power of great beer. Helping these organizations certainly keeps us busy, but it is the kind of work that the brewery was founded on: Improving our communities and inspiring others to put their neighbors first.

What advice do you have for other businesses looking to impact their community?

It’s not as daunting as you think it is. The return on investment in terms of goodwill and community engagement you’ll receive from your efforts, no matter how big or small, is infectious and you’ll find that it eventually makes its way into your financials. The important part is not the size of your efforts or contributions, but the fact that you’re engaged. “Many hands make light work” and if every business were involved in the improvement of the community as a responsible corporate citizen, our little corner of the world would be a far better place!