You are Never Alone on this Journey
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Meet the Home Office Staff
Paul Lyons
President & Co-Founder
Favorite Jerky:
Cherry Maple Smoked Beef
Scott Parker
CEO & Co-Founder
Favorite Jerky:
Prime Rib Traditional Beef
Lawson Sharp
CFO
Favorite Jerky:
Honey BBQ Smoked Beef
Jenn Szlachta
- Operations Officer -
Marketing | Training | Data
Favorite Jerky:
Cherry Maple Smoked Beef
Steve Lyons
- Operations Officer -
Franchise Development | Finance
Favorite Jerky:
Honey BBQ Smoked Beef
Tori Monghi
- Operations Officer -
Vendor Relations | Communications
Favorite Jerky:
Roasted Garlic Traditional Beef
Brittany Pardue
- Operations Officer -
Franchise Development
Marketing | IT
Favorite Jerky:
Honey Jalapeño Traditional Beef
Calvin Choe
Chief Technology Officer
Favorite Jerky:
Cherry Maple Smoked Beef
Bill Szlachta
Director of Franchise Development
Favorite Jerky:
Roasted Garlic Traditional Beef
Scott Christ
Store Experience Operations Manager
Favorite Jerky:
The Reaper Smoked Beef
Kassandra Segars
Marketing & Training Support Manager
Favorite Jerky:
Honey Jalapeño Traditional Beef
Moe Kassem
Senior IT Manager
Favorite Jerky:
Peppercorn Smoked Beef
Rob Lemons
Guest & Vendor Experience Manager
Favorite Jerky:
Boiled Crawfish Traditional Beef
Frances Murn
Accounting Controller
Favorite Jerky:
Lemon Pepper Traditional Beef
Stephanie Licata
Records Administrative Director
Favorite Jerky:
Honey BBQ Smoked Beef
Andria Hanning
Graphic Designer | Marketing
Favorite Jerky:
Mango Habanero Classic Beef
Training & Support
Our training and support staff will guide new franchisees with weekly virtual meetings through the opening and buildout process.
We provide coaching on product mix, pricing, staffing, text and email marketing and daily operations of a Beef Jerky Experience store.
Staff will be on-site a few days prior and after opening to continue training and initial support.
Your training does not end there; we will continue to follow your business and provide additional development opportunities to keep you updated on the most relevant retail strategies.
Owner Advocacy Team (O.A.T.)
The Owner Advocacy Team, lovingly referred to as “The O.A.T.”, is a team of owners who volunteered and were selected by their peers to engage with the Home Office on behalf of the rest of the owner community.
This amazing group of owners joins the home office staff on calls each month, help to guide other owners with their business and discuss the owner community’s questions and concerns.
They are truly dedicated to making the owner’s voice heard.
O.A.T. members serve a 2 year term, after which they can volunteer again and may be re-elected by their fellow jerky enthusiasts.
Donna Schankweiler
Gettysburg, PA
Favorite Jerky:
Cajun BBQ Smoked Beef
About
Along with my husband Tom, I am the owner/operator of the Beef Jerky Outlet in Gettysburg PA. The store began operations in September 2016 and is located in The Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg. The Gettysburg National Military Park, which draws 1.6 -million visitors less than 2 miles away and there are numerous campgrounds in the area along with other year-round activities. The store has enjoyed many successes including multiple-appearances in BJO’s Top-25 ranking, and I won the award for Most Engaged in 2018 and our store won Store of the Month in December, 2018.
After graduating high school, I spent several years working in various industries and attending college, my primary focuses were in accounting as well as broadcasting. These experiences led me to a career with ADT as a top-performing commercial sales representative in the country and earned Club Excellence recognition several years in a row. While on a family vacation in Tennessee, 2015, me and my husband, Tom discovered the BJO Franchise and we determined quickly that I could leverage my skills to own and operate a store.
Since opening, I have worked with the corporate office, OAT members, and our regional field reps to expand and improve the services and profits for the store. A favorite for me, is working with the sales and marketing aspects of the business. As a result, our store now has a well-defined and established marketing strategy that includes billboards, regional radio-station advertising, local advertising, along
with the use of campaigner, and several social media sites. Likewise, we have implemented a sales-incentive program this year which has led to increased AT and sales-performance by our staff. My varied business experience has led me to have a thorough understanding of business operations, sales and customer service.
We are the proud parents of two sons, Tommy and Brad and his wife, Ashlee and the grandparents of Ogdan. I enjoy golf, travel and visiting my grandson in my free time (when there is some!)
John Schemm
Destin, FL | Pensacola, FL | Syracuse, NY
Favorite Jerky:
Prime Rib Traditional Beef
About
In March of 2019 my family and I opened the Beef Jerky Experience in Destiny USA Mall, one of the top 10 malls in America. As owners of 2 other businesses in town, my wife, Karen and I instantly knew opening the Beef Jerky Experience would be a great adventure.
We came across our first Beef Jerky Outlet while on a family vacation in Lake George, N.Y. From that first experience alone, I knew I wanted to be a part of the Beef Jerky Outlet team. After a few phone calls with franchise development and some of the owners, I knew I made the right choice!
Having experience owning a small business for almost 30 years, a thriving auto detail shop, I have learned how to navigate through the tough times and appreciate the easy times even more. Part of owning a business is having the privilege of mentoring other members of the community. Because of this, I have had the benefit of entrusting my current manager to overlook the day-to-day operations at the auto detail shop in order to focus more of my time and energy into making the Beef Jerky Experience a memorable experience for every customer who enters our store.
Family has always been important to me. I have two beautiful daughters with my wife of almost 30 years. My girls, Anna and Kara, have been huge assets to the success of the Beef Jerky Experience Store. Each of them have volunteered their time to work at the store during breaks from school or during the holidays. Being able to have my daughters work alongside me is one of the best experiences and is just another benefit of franchising the Beef Jerky Experience. I have also had the privilege of watching my wife’s business thrive and grow over the last 18 years that we have owned it. Her childcare center employs 25 staff members and care for up to 100 children at a time. As the handiman at the childcare center and helping out with the paperwork, all of my past experiences have prepared me for running a highly successful Beef Jerky Experience store.
I am thrilled to be considered as an OAT team member. I believe with that, my understanding and experience of running multiple successful businesses within my community, and with my love of trying new things, that I will ensure each of my businesses are constantly heading in the right direction for everyone involved.
Connie & Mark Ostern
Hill City, SD | Deadwood, SD | Keystone, SD
Favorite Jerky:
Cherry Maple Smoked Beef
About
Connie & Mark Ostern
Married in 1986, two children ages 29 and 26. Originally from Fargo, ND now residing in Rapid City, SD since 2018. Multi store owners. First store opened in 2019 in Hill City, SD; second store opened in 2020 Deadwood, SD. Working as a team has helped with the success of our stores. We are frequently present in our stores and stress the importance of communication with our employees.
Connie Ostern
Education: Bachelorette of Science - Nursing, Master’s degree in Nursing Education. Connie retired from the Veterans Health Administration in May 2022 after 37 years of service as a Registered Nurse.
Mark Ostern
Education: Bachelorette of Arts - Criminal Justice, Master’s degree in Organizational Management.
Retired, Airman and Family Readiness Program Manager - North Dakota Air National Guard.
Retired, Lieutenant Colonel - United States.
Brian Smith
4 Stores in Myrtle Beach, SC | Hilton Head, SC
Favorite Jerky:
Boiled Crawfish Traditional Beef
About
My wife, Hope and I are the owners of the tourist stores in Myrtle Beach (4), Charleston, and our newest in Hilton Head in 2022. That makes 6 total, which I could never have believed just a few short years ago. After 20+ years as the Head of Small Business Lending for national banks it was time to follow our dreams and become a small business ourselves. This has been the most exciting and fulfilling decision of my professional life. I know Hope feels the same way.
I was born and raised in South Florida before spending 10 years in Richmond, VA, and now in my forever home of South Carolina. I met my wife at the University of Florida and we have been married for 22 years with 3 children (2 in college). We love our business, our beaches, our church, and our staff. We are passionate sports fans too. I even coached high school football our first year here before realizing 24 hours in a day are not enough!
I am excited and honored to be considered for the OAT team. I bring a mixture of experiences that I believe can be useful to us as owners. For 20 years I have been immersed in the financial aspects of small businesses. In my last role I spent years developing national franchise relationships (no, not with BJE!) Cash flow analysis and projections are my strength. But probably the most valuable lessons I learned were in motivating and hiring great people. We succeed because of our people. It allows us to branch out and look for new opportunities we could not otherwise pursue (like Hilton Head). As owners, we’ve had a Christmas pop-up store, moved to a new location, and taken over existing stores. Hope brings a special touch to our Internet Sales and Marketing. We’ve seen enormous gains there we’d be happy to share.
I bring a factual, data centered approach to the business. And if I’ve ever been on a call with you, you’ve heard me ask questions and probe our great franchise team. I believe in accountability, transparency, hard work, and positive outcomes. That is why I am a part of this great BJE team, and that is why I would like to represent you even further on the OAT team.
With or without the OAT, the sun always rises on Myrtle Beach and you are always welcome to join me here, or just give me a call if that’s easier.
Kristie & Thomas Veitch
Bucks County, PA | Cape May, NJ | St. Augustine, FL
Favorite Jerky:
Peppercorn Smoked Beef
About
Growing up as a daughter of an entrepreneur my father owned 2 family style restaurants in the Baltimore area. It was always expected that you would help and be a part of the family business and my brother and I were no exception. We worked in every area from making pizzas, to washing dishes to management. Fast forward several years, while living in NYC, I travelled the country working for a model management company.
I developed and executed a world-renowned model and talent scout program, providing talent for the industries top agencies. After marrying and having 2 children, I found myself in the fitness industry where I became a group fitness instructor and manager to a team of 35 instructors. I guess you could say entrepreneurship is in my blood. The thrill of marketing and implementing a plan and watching the success and sometimes failures are what I enjoy the most.
It didn’t take long for our family to realize that Beef Jerky Experience was the right fit for our adventure together. While traveling to a reunion with my brother’s family we came across the Lewisburg, West Virginia location. While leaving the store with $200 worth of delicious jerky, we thought this would be a great business to be a part of. Fast forward three years and we were embarking on our own joint venture. We opened our first store in Cape May, New Jersey, followed by Ocean City, New Jersey, and soon to be up and running, our store in Wildwood, New Jersey. Though we are mainly a tourist destination with seasonal hours, our Cape May store is open year-round for locals and visitors alike. With history having a way of repeating itself our children became very involved in our business. Our son Hunter is our district manager and our younger son Noel and cousins have worked MANY hours in our stores.
At the current time I’m involved in many aspects of our business, with a focus on social media and marketing. I also enjoy figuring out set up and product placement in our stores. I believe that social media has a profound effect on the success of any business and loyalty customers can greatly impact sales. I look forward to continuing to educate myself on these endeavors as well as keeping up with the ever-changing social media platforms.
Cindy & Doug Eby
Hershey, PA
Favorite Jerky:
Honey Jalapeño Traditional Beef
About
We are Doug and Cindy Eby, and we started our Beef Jerky Experience journey back in 2017. After a long build out journey, we opened our first store in downtown Hershey, PA in September 2018 and our second permanent location at Hershey Tanger Outlets in 2021! We have two sons Drew (age 21) and Tyler (age 19) that have both worked at our stores.
As owners of two Beef Jerky Experience franchises, we have experienced the highs of a relatively fast starting first year and the lows we experienced with COVID. We are in a tourist destination and meet people from all over the world in our stores in “The Sweetest Place On Earth” in Hershey PA. We love it when people come into our stores and say “this is heaven” – and we feel the same way about our BJE stores.
We work as a team and Doug heads up managing both of our stores in person on a day-to-day basis. I work at the store as needed, but mainly focus on behind the scenes inventory management, scheduling, and paying the bills!
In addition to my behind-the-scenes BJE duties, I continue to hold a full-time job in the Pharmaceutical Industry. I have a degree in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and have approximately 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical testing and consulting. Currently, I work on developing corporate trainings’ for employees and consult with my company’s clients on pharmaceutical regulations as needed. I have a busy life in addition to BJE and my full-time job. I am currently on our local school board and have been the president of the board for the last 4 years. Additionally, I have been involved with youth soccer both as a soccer mom and registrar of our local soccer club for the past 15 years. I love to stay busy.
Doug’s life prior to becoming a BJE franchisee entailed being the Northeast Territory Sales Manager for a $30 million independently owned plastics manufacturer in central PA for nearly 19 years. He covered the northeast US and for a time the Ontario Canada region. Outside the store, Doug is a soccer referee, president of our local soccer club, president of a soccer referee chapter, as well as president of an educational foundation. He loves to hunt deer, ducks, and geese (when he gets a chance) – he’ll say it’s not enough! He has found a long-lost passion cycling over the last few years and rides between 500 – 1500 miles per year.
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