🔥 From Battlefield to Boardroom: Dr. Ken Thompson’s Inspiring Journey | Trendsetter Spirits 🥃

📢I talk🎙️with Dr. Ken Thompson, Army Veteran & CEO of Trendsetter Spirits, shares his powerful journey from military service to launching a Veteran-supporting liquor brand!  #Veterans #Spirits 👏🍷 🎇 🎉 ✨ 👏 🥂 😁

100% OF PROFITS GO TO VETERANS!

@ThirstyThursdaysat3PMEST Watch on Thursday, March 27th! @3PM

💥 Dr. Ken Thompson’s Inspiring Journey: From combat in Iraq to a Ph.D. in education, proving resilience against all odds.
🥃 The Birth of Trendsetter Spirits: A Veteran-owned liquor brand giving back 100% of profits to support homeless veterans.
🛠️ Breaking into Total Wine: How Trendsetter Spirits got accepted into multiple Total Wine locations in record time!
🔥 Exclusive Tastings & New Flavors: A deep dive into their Spiced Rum, Mango Pineapple, and Platinum White Rum—crafted for smooth sipping!
📢 How You Can Support: Trendsetter Spirits is on a mission! Expanding into more states & military bases. Want to help? Let’s connect!

💬 COMMENT below: Which flavor are you excited to try?
👍 LIKE & SHARE this video to support Veteran-owned businesses!
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for more exclusive interviews with game-changers in the food & beverage industry!

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Chapters

• 5:40 Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life
• 10:19 Educational Journey and Advocacy for Veterans
• 16:10 Founding Alpha Omega Phi Fraternity
• 21:27 Creating Trendsetter Spirits
• 22:00 Tasting All Three Rums
• 26:31 Future Plans
• 26:47 Introducing Platinum Rum: A New Venture
• 29:05 Mango Pineapple Rum: A Unique Flavor Profile
• 32:25 The Smooth Revolution: Changing Perceptions of Rum
• 32:25 Mango Pineapple Rum: A Unique Flavor Profile
• 34:48 Navigating the Spirits Industry: Challenges and Growth
• 37:43 Mission-Driven: Supporting Veterans Through Spirits
• 43:55 Building a Community: The Alpha Omega Phi Network
• 45:04 Programs for Veterans: Addressing Homelessness and Needs
• 48:04 Mentorship and Resources: Key to Success
• 52:15 Distribution Challenges: The Hardest Hurdle
• 54:08 Passion for Veterans: A Personal Mission
• 58:38 Produced by Fedora J Productions
• 59:00 Tune in Next Thursday & Have a Great Week!

Transcript

Jessie Ott (00:29)
Hello everybody and welcome to Thursday Thursdays. I am Jessie Yacht and I have Dr. Ken Thompson here, Chairman of Trendsetters Spirits. Welcome Dr. Ken. How are you today?

Ken  Thompson (00:43)
Hello Jessie, thanks for having me on.

Jessie Ott (00:46)
Yeah, no, I'm super stoked that I can't wait to get your story and be a part of what you guys are doing over there. You know, it's a pretty impactful messaging that what you guys are doing and I just really appreciate it so much. Where are you calling from?

Ken  Thompson (01:02)
I'm currently in Columbia, South Carolina.

Jessie Ott (01:05)
Okay, are you from there?

Ken  Thompson (01:07)
Now, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jessie Ott (01:09)
Are you serious? I think like every one in five are from Pennsylvania that I interview on the podcast. I swear. That's so funny. Yeah, bunch of entrepreneurs from there apparently. Must be in your in the water.

Ken  Thompson (01:18)
Yes, originally from Philadelphia.

Hey, the city of brotherly love.

Jessie Ott (01:29)
There you go, there you go. So I guess you're an Eagles fan. Yeah, well, I'm a Chiefs fan. And that's okay. I kind of wanted the record just for the three in a row. And then I mean, whatever after that. But you know, my brother went to the Super Bowl and it's like, he was so excited.

Ken  Thompson (01:34)
Super Bowl chance.

I'm sorry.

Jessie Ott (01:57)
He ended up being sick at the beginning of week. He's a teacher, missed school, so drove all the way down there for that. Pretty good spanked. It's not fun. I would rather lose by a point than that. I mean, at least have some entertainment.

Ken  Thompson (02:03)
wow. For a great game.

That was

probably one of the best Super Bowls in the last 10 years.

Jessie Ott (02:21)
Uh huh, I'm sure it is for you. Well, congratulations. The team was good. Yeah, we're hoping. I don't know. know Kelsey hasn't said what he's going to do, but hopefully we've, you know, I mean, he's what 35. So I don't know how much longer we'll be able to have him on the team. such, they're, they're a great duo. Mahomes and Kelsey, but you know, there are, there'll be someone else. Someone.

Ken  Thompson (02:47)
Yeah, mean,

Jessie Ott (02:48)
Someone younger.

Ken  Thompson (02:49)
change is good.

Jessie Ott (02:51)
Yeah, change is inevitable. Awesome. So, so you're from Philly. What, what, what, what did you do when you became an adult? Did you join in the service right away or?

Ken  Thompson (02:59)
So.

Yep, so I'm from Philadelphia. So that's when I graduated high school, I enlisted in the United States Army as an infantryman. My first exit from Philadelphia was going to basic training at Fort Vinny, Georgia, where I spent about 80 % of my career. After graduating basic, I stayed at Fort Vinny until for seven and half years.

Went to go be a processor at the United States Army's largest training installation at Fort Jackson, where I am now. After my injury in 2005, 2006 in Iraq, the United States Army switched me over from an infantryman over to a quartermaster where I finished my career and then I was medically retired in 2009.

Jessie Ott (03:46)
Okay, what happened? Do you want to talk about it or?

Ken  Thompson (03:50)
Um, just the normal, um, IED exposures, um, concussions, migraines, stuff like that, traumatic brain injuries. so I can no longer serve as an infantryman. and then the Army sent me through the medical reclass board where they reclass me, as a quartermaster master. and that just didn't work out. So the Army said, Hey, we're going to medically retire you. and in 2009, I medically retired.

Jessie Ott (04:13)
what's

a quartermaster?

Ken  Thompson (04:16)
A quartermaster master is just a poor element, so I was a non-commissioned officer in the 92 Sierra, which is the laundry and bath core for the United States Army.

Jessie Ott (04:28)
Okay. Okay. Wow. I didn't know... they did that, I guess.

Ken  Thompson (04:32)
No.

Yeah, yeah, that happens to a lot of people. Once the Army feels that you're no longer capable of doing your primary job, they can see it through reclassification boards or medical boards. In my instance, I wanted to go to the medical board, but they sent me to the reclassification board and reclassification board said that I was an asset to the Army. Send me to another will be called Military Occupational Specialty, MOS.

And I did that for about a year and then I went to the retirement board.

Jessie Ott (05:05)
Okay. Okay. So how many years did you serve then?

Ken  Thompson (05:10)
I affirm, you.

Jessie Ott (05:12)
Okay, well thank you for your service. I obviously have a big heart when it comes to veterans. My dad was a Veteran, had Agent Orange, served in the 9th Infantry in Vietnam, all the things. And of course my brother-in-law was a Marine and father-in-law was in the Air Force and then my wife's grandfather was in the Navy, so we've got all the branches covered.

Ken  Thompson (05:14)
Thank you.

Listen,

only thing we have to do is get you out some Trendsetter Spirits and celebrate that military history.

Jessie Ott (05:40)
Heck yeah, for sure. got it. so you retired after nine years and then what did you do?

Ken  Thompson (05:47)
I retired in 09. Then I started my recovery journey. And part of my recovery was to let myself know that just because you were injured in service, that that's not the end of the world. And I had a nurse when I was in the hospital at the Tampa VA who pretty much told us all, because we were in a traumatic brain injury clinic, that, you guys have TBI's. There's nothing else you could do. You'll never remember this. You'll never be that.

So my journey after I retired was to say, hey, I want to prove you wrong to let you know that, hey, just because we're injured, does not mean that we're slow or we're retarded or that we cannot be compliant in today's society. So I started my educational journey and where I used my GI Bill to go back and get a bachelor's degree. And then got my bachelor's degree in criminal justice. And then once I got my bachelor's degree, I have a cousin who

Jessie Ott (06:19)
Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (06:44)
is a West Point grad and he said, what are going to do next? mean, he had an MBA from the University of Michigan. So I said, I want to, I wanted to go get an MBA. So I went back to school, got my MBA and then my wife and my wife said, what are you going to do next? And I said, well, how about I go back and get another master's? So went back and got a master's in management. And then I sat down for about a couple of months to figure out what my journey would be and

Jessie Ott (06:57)
Nice.

Ken  Thompson (07:10)
I took my journey to get a doctoral degree in education. But I made sure that when I got that degree in education, that doctoral degree in education, that it meant something. So I made sure that my dissertation at Capstone was focused on our veterans. So I created a professional development to instruct instructors and teachers and professors at university and colleges and universities of how to integrate veterans.

into the classroom, from the combat field to the classroom.

Jessie Ott (07:40)
Cool!

Are they using it?

Ken  Thompson (07:42)
Yes, they are using it. Yes.

Jessie Ott (07:44)
That is awesome.

Congratulations. Wow, you are an amazing person. Wow, that is so cool.

Congratulations, Dr. Ken. That is super amazing. Do you ever want to rub it in the face of those people that said those things to you? I know you're not an evil person or anything, but you accomplished so much they said you couldn't do. Don't you just want to tell them?

Ken  Thompson (08:10)
Well,

I emailed her to make sure that I signed it, Dr. Ken Thompson

Jessie Ott (08:14)
Good. Excellent. man, that is so cool. I'm so inspired by you right now. Like that is super, super incredible. Wow. so then, so you finished your doctorate.

Ken  Thompson (08:23)
Amen.

So I finished my doctorate and I felt so that my journey of taking care of veterans wasn't over. So while in school, I came across some advertisements for military fraternity. And I said, that may be my next journey. So I took the opportunity and I tried to join a military fraternity myself. And that just didn't work out because the way I operate,

Jessie Ott (08:32)
Okay.

Ken  Thompson (08:51)
and think is different than the way other people operating from think. And then that organization just wasn't for me. So I consulted my wife and I consulted one of my best friends and I was telling them the situation I was in. And then my wife, my friend said, well, what are you going to do? And my wife came in and she said, well, we're going to start our own. Alpha Omega Phi and Alpha Omega Phi Military Fraternity and Sorority was created.

Jessie Ott (09:12)
I love that.

Ken  Thompson (09:18)
So I went from my doctoral journey to the journey of being a founder of the first coed military, fraternity and sorority, which focuses on our veterans and our active duty military, our military spouses and families who all have the vision of taking care of our veterans.

Jessie Ott (09:27)
I love it.

I love it. Yeah, it's just so amazing. Is your wife a Veteran too?

Ken  Thompson (09:44)
My wife is a Veteran. She's an Iraqi War Veteran as well.

Jessie Ott (09:47)
Okay, was she in the Army?

Ken  Thompson (09:49)
Yes, Army, we met at Fort Jackson.

Jessie Ott (09:51)
Okay.

Nice. Okay. Okay, cool. That's awesome. Yay. So how long have you all been together?

Ken  Thompson (09:58)
We've been friends for 22 years been married for 10 together for 14

Jessie Ott (10:05)
Okay, all right, nice. That's amazing. I... Uh-oh, you're good, you're good, you got it! Yeah, my wife and I celebrated 15 years last year.

Ken  Thompson (10:08)
You see, had to think of that.

congratulations.

Jessie Ott (10:18)
Yeah. It's a long time. We're in we're kind of in this entrepreneurial journey like you, you know, with through through my stuff, but she's obviously my business partner, you know, and is behind the scenes excited about what we're what I'm building. So that's good news. Like, I'm glad that, you know, like you and your wife. Does she?

Ken  Thompson (10:19)
15 years is a long time.

Okay.

Jessie Ott (10:43)
Is she still involved with the organization then?

Ken  Thompson (10:45)
Yeah, she's one of the founders. Yes, we have. We have four founders, myself, Corey Burnett, who is a United States Army. My wife, of course, United States Army and then Christian Burnett, which is Corey's wife. She's also United States Army. So we have the model two couples, one mission, and we're all one branch. So yes.

Jessie Ott (11:05)
cool, that is really cool. And so is there ever any infighting between the Army and the Marines, the Air Force and Navy or do you just unite as brothers and sisters?

Ken  Thompson (11:17)
We pretty much unite, but you know, of course we're going to have our jokes. have our jokes, our internal jokes. But everyone is here for the mission and the mission is taking care of veterans. So regardless of where branch you are, whether you're Army, Marines, Coast Guard, Navy, we all have one mission and that's to make sure that we take care of our veterans and our active duty military. So we can fight internally, but externally to the public. We're all one big happy family.

Jessie Ott (11:19)
Yeah. Yeah!

For sure.

Yeah.

Good. It is so cool. It's like I want to try to get involved somehow, but just because it's such a wonderful mission. So I guess I'm doing that as part of, you know, representing Trendsetters, brands in the military, some cruise line opportunities, and then having you on the podcast. So I'm super excited to be able to be a part of what you're doing, Dr. Ken. I'm really excited.

Ken  Thompson (12:10)
I'm excited about what's to come. There's some great things to come, especially with our partnership and you bringing awareness to not only Trendsetters Spirits, but Alpha Omega Phi, the fraternity and sorority side and letting the people know that, there are organizations out here who 100 % take care of our veterans who live their mission, eat their mission, sleep their mission, who just 100 % push their mission first.

Jessie Ott (12:38)
Yeah, I love it. That's so cool. So what, how long did you guys run that until you decided to start a spirit brand? Like how did that evolve?

Ken  Thompson (12:50)
So Alpha Omega

Phi is still in existence. We are about two and a half years away from celebrating our 10 year anniversary. So we are still 100 % boots on the ground in the local communities. And one thing I will say about the organization Alpha Omega Phi is during the pandemic, we expanded our reach, not only to our veterans and active duty, but our local communities because we noticed that there was a need during the pandemic.

Jessie Ott (12:54)
Right.

Ken  Thompson (13:17)
for support regardless if you were a service member or not. So we expanded our reach and partnering with Bamba's and Fruit of the Loom, companies like that and Pepsi to be able to put more resources back into the community to help during the pandemic. So we're gonna keep that going, but the fraternity and sorority is still strong. But how do we get the Trendsetters spirits is what you really wanna know. Well, so.

Jessie Ott (13:41)
I do,

Ken  Thompson (13:43)
So we celebrated our five year anniversary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania back in 2002. And that event was such a huge event. We wanted to figure out what can we do when we celebrate our 10 year anniversary in Atlanta, Georgia in 2027. So a guy by the name of Sean Fluat, who is an Army decorated Army infantryman Veteran.

And myself was sitting down in New York while we were celebrating our 7th year. And Sean said, well, what can we do, Ken? We have to make something that blows the 5-year out of the water. So we started talking about different commemorative things that we can do. And we was like, why don't we do a bottle? And I'm like, I'm like a bottle. And Sean said, yeah, why don't we do like some kind of like a special liquor bottle?

And I said, yeah, that's a good idea. maybe about 20 minutes later, Sean calls me over to the registration table. And there's a representative from a liquor company who was at another conference in New York who wanted to get involved with us. So you see how the stories align. 20 minutes before that, we talked about a liquor, special Alpha Omega Phi liquor bottle. And then we meet a liquor representative.

Jessie Ott (14:59)
Yeah!

Ken  Thompson (15:09)
So we so that's how we got into the ram of maybe of the alcohol spirit. Well, that didn't work out because they didn't fit the mission of what we wanted to do. So I got on the phone with Sean and Corbin Scarra, who's retired sergeant major in a. Samuel Roundtree, who is a retired Air Force guy, and we were just throwing some ideas back and forth. So we decided to start looking for.

Veteran-owned distilleries.

And we came across Dragon Distillery, guy by the name of Hirad and Mark. And we took a meeting with Dragon, and we were only supposed to do 150 bottles for our 10-year anniversary. And Dragon said they loved what we were doing. And we took another meeting with them after they produced our commemorative bottles. And we came up with the, about we create Trendsetter of Spirits because

Jessie Ott (15:44)
Nice.

Ken  Thompson (16:10)
Alpha Omega Phi's nickname is the Trendsetters because we said trends. And Haraj said, well, what do you want to do? I said, well, how about we create Trendsetter spirits and we put 100 % of the profits back into Alpha Omega Phi to help their homeless Veteran program. And Trendsetter Spirits was born.

Jessie Ott (16:15)
Yeah, I love it.

that is cool. I didn't realize that Hirad and Mark had that much involvement in it at the beginning. That's pretty cool.

Ken  Thompson (16:40)
Yes, yes.

Jessie Ott (16:41)
And what was your first

SKU then that you created?

Ken  Thompson (16:45)
Our first SKU was Spice Rum.

Jessie Ott (16:48)
spice rum. nice. Okay, and that was the commemorative bottle that you ran for the reunion.

Ken  Thompson (16:50)
Yes, spice.

Yes, yes, spice rum was our first SKU and that was that was Hirad's pick because we were still new to the game. So we went off of Hirad's suggestion, which was a great suggestion. So we started with the spice rum that was the commemorative run and then once we decided to go to retail and create Trendsetters Spirits because it wasn't Trendestters Spirits at that time. It was just.

an I offered Omega Phi for me with a 10 year bottle. Trendsetters Spirits came probably about three months later and we decided to, we got picked up by Total Wine and we decided to.

Jessie Ott (17:32)
Yeah, how did that-

can we- can we delve into that? Because that is super awesome. It's a great story.

Ken  Thompson (17:38)
we got picked up by Total Wine. so I submitted to Total Wine, an inquiry to bring on a new skill. and they love the mission. They love the brand. and at the time Total was trying to get, different kinds of spiced rums. They had their bland spiced rums. They had their sweet spiced rums. They had their spiced rums that was, being made with coconut water.

And then we provided them a spice rum that was made from all natural flavors, all natural vanilla, all natural cinnamon, all natural nutmeg, all natural everything that was double distilled locally and with a mission that gave 100 % of backs for the profits. And Total Wine responded back to us and said, hey, we would love to bring this product into our stores.

and they gave us distribution or placement in the state of Maryland, Florida, Tennessee, Delaware, South Carolina.

Jessie Ott (18:31)
Okay, so they immediately just said, let's do these five or six dates or whatever it is. Okay. And that all the stores within those states.

Ken  Thompson (18:36)
Yes.

30 stores, 30 plus stores in Florida, every store in South Carolina, four stores in South Carolina, the one store in Maryland, one store in Tennessee. Yep.

Jessie Ott (18:50)
Okay,

so that is miraculous. Like that is amazing. That tells you that you're on to something because you know people work years to try to get into Total. And so what was that conversation like? So did they kind of help you with figuring out how to get it in these states?

Ken  Thompson (19:09)
No,

the initial conversation was just a submission. And then once I submitted and they came back and they said they gave us an approval right off the back. I want to say maybe three, four days we were approved in those stores. And then the conversations were, they were individual, next it was just individual conversations with the state buyers. So it was, you know, we spoke, spoken to the South Carolina marketing team.

Jessie Ott (19:23)
Peace. That's amazing.

Ken  Thompson (19:36)
the Maryland marketing team, the Florida marketing team. And it was just so how do we build this? What do you need? And then it's like any other brand that starts off new, they're gonna test it. And they tested us at one case first, and then they came back and got two cases. Then they came back and got three cases. And then now we're at about 10 cases, reorder 10 cases or more per store.

Jessie Ott (19:44)
Yeah.

That is so great. And so you had to learn all about how to find the distributor, which seems harder than your Spirits with Total.

Ken  Thompson (20:12)
I came into this with no experience and I can tell you I'm very, grateful, very grateful to Mark and Hirad over at Dragon. Dragon as a whole, Alpha Omega Phi and Trendsetters Spirits, we're totally grateful to them for not only extending out their expertise, but their knowledge, walking us through the process, holding our hand, helping us start, helping us get where we are, because at the end of the day,

Jessie Ott (20:32)
Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (20:39)
They are a woman-owned, minority-owned, Veteran-owned business themselves. And it's a, I shake your hand, you shake my hand thing. We want to make sure that people understand that there's no Trendsetters Spirits without Dragon Distillers. And we learned everything that we needed to know from Dragon. And then some little things that I find and I researched and I learned, I make sure I go back and tell Dragon too. But getting us started.

Getting this first SKU up and running was all through the mentorship of Mark and Hirad over at Dragon Distilleries.

Jessie Ott (21:13)
Yeah, that's great. One Veteran helping another Veteran. That's really, really great. And I know that they make another Veteran owned brand there, the 22 Salute, which I'm going to have Eric on here soon on the podcast with his brand and his mission. So.

Ken  Thompson (21:27)
Great

mission, great mission. Those guys over at 22 Salute, Vodka and Coffee. They are a brother and sister brand from Dragon. yeah, Eric is a great guy. I've had some great conversations. Their mission is wonderful and awesome, and it's also a great product. So if you guys can get a chance to grab a bottle of 22 Salute, go ahead and grab a bottle. And also get a chance to grab a bottle of Dragon products. They have some awesome.

Jessie Ott (21:38)
Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (21:57)
great products also as well.

Jessie Ott (21:57)
Yeah.

Yeah, very, very cool. So should we jump into the tasting?

Ken  Thompson (22:06)
yeah. So I tasted plenty.

Jessie Ott (22:08)
Okay. Okay,

so what do we want to start with?

Ken  Thompson (22:12)
So let's start with the spiced rum

Jessie Ott (22:15)
spiced rum, okay?

Ken  Thompson (22:16)
with a spiced rum and I'm gonna get some too because I have have some bottles here too.

So I'll show them the bottle too. Oh, there you go. Yeah. And as you can see, we let you know where it's distilled from. It's distilled from Dragon Distillery out of Frederick, Maryland. And 100 of the profits goes back. Yep, that's the Alpha Omega Phi, the nonprofit that gets all the profits so they can put the money back into their home investment program.

Jessie Ott (22:21)
So here's the bottle.

Yep.

Yeah.

Alpha

Ken  Thompson (22:46)
And the label was actually created by Sean Fluat. So he was the orchestrator of getting our label created.

Jessie Ott (22:56)
And who, sorry, who is that?

Ken  Thompson (22:58)
Sean Fluat I think is a disabled Army Veteran.

Jessie Ott (23:02)
Okay, awesome. Oh, that's cool. Oh, I'm so glad. All right, so we got the color here. It's a beautiful like amber kind of Mmm citrus. Honey.

Ken  Thompson (23:08)
Yep, this is a spike.

That's good. yeah.

Jessie Ott (23:15)
Cinnamon.

That is good. Wow, that's really smooth.

Ken  Thompson (23:19)
That's good, different.

Really smooth, so that is a 35 % 70 proof, all natural flavors. You'll taste the honey, you'll taste the nutmeg, you'll taste the vanilla. So, you know, it's all natural. It's all natural flavors.

Jessie Ott (23:38)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Wow. And what do these bottles run? On average.

Ken  Thompson (23:48)
So these

on an average $29.99.

Jessie Ott (23:53)
Okay, $29.99, okay. And can they buy these online?

Ken  Thompson (23:58)
No, currently we are not online, but you can find them in Maryland, South Carolina, and Florida.

Jessie Ott (24:06)
Okay. Awesome. All right. Does that mean you need some distributor? Do you need some more help with Tennessee and?

Ken  Thompson (24:14)
Yes.

Yes, we're currently looking for a distributor to help us in some of the markets in Florida and in South Carolina. So South Carolina is a division state where only a distributor can only go in certain parts of the state. So currently right now we're only in the Columbia, Lexington, Rock Hill, Richland County, Kershaw County portion of South Carolina.

We need distribution to helping us get into the Greenville Myrtle Beach area. And then we also need some help in Florida as well. So yeah, we're looking for distributors. So if you're interested in a great tasting brand with a great cause, we can use the help.

Jessie Ott (24:50)
Okay.

Yeah, it's already got

distribution in 30 some stores in Florida. People are, yeah, we got to get you set up there.

Ken  Thompson (25:03)
yeah.

Jessie Ott (25:05)
we're going to get you connected. I have a good partner team. So Bob, Syner and I, we work together doing cruise lines duty free and export markets. And then I have the military business that you know. And then kind of our counterpart team, well, with either Green Glass Global, which you know of.

Ken  Thompson (25:18)
Hmm.

Jessie Ott (25:24)
And we're working with Sam and Alicia kind of as a partner also in they're kind of like the USA counterparts to what we do. And so we've been working together with them quite, you know, sharing brands and ideas and whatnot together. So we have a lot of synergies there. And so I will get you connected to them and hopefully they have some relationships in other states that can help you kind of connect the dots and get you up and running. So

we can get you some more sales.

Ken  Thompson (25:54)
Yeah, the more sales that we can get, the more funds we can generate to help our veterans.

Jessie Ott (25:58)
Yep. So let's taste another one, but then I want to talk about all the things that you do to your organization to fund the veterans. Which one are we going to do next?

Ken  Thompson (26:11)
I think that we should save the Mango Pineapple for last, so let's try the Platinum.

Jessie Ott (26:15)
Okay, Platinum. And now this is your most recent SKU, right?

Ken  Thompson (26:20)
Yeah, so this is our most recent SKU that we launched out in. This is only available right now. The Platinum is only available in South Carolina. And so this right now, this is only available in South Carolina. So we lost. We lost the Platinum because what we noticed that there's a lot of tequila drinkers in the world right now. And as we do our tastings in the store, a lot of people comes in for tequila.

Jessie Ott (26:31)
Okay?

Okay.

Ken  Thompson (26:47)
And there's a lot of people that come in for vodka. So we don't do a vodka because as you know, 22 Salute does a vodka. So we want to make sure that they keep that exclusive for them. So we needed to come out with something that was a natural clear that didn't have any flavor. Cause a lot of people like something without flavor so they can mix it there where they want to. So got with her ride, her ride, I Hey, how about we just do a white rum? I said, how about we call it Platinum?

He said, I like Platinum. So that's how we got Platinum. And this is a top shelf 80 proof.

Jessie Ott (27:21)
it smells like vanilla.

Yeah, that's really good. Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (27:24)
That's really good. That is amazing.

So it gives you, I've had people say it tastes like a smooth vodka, not a rum. I've heard a couple of people say it tastes like tequila. I guess the taste buds is what your taste buds are, But.

Jessie Ott (27:33)
Sure.

Really?

Yeah, they must have had COVID. They haven't fixed

their neurons yet.

Ken  Thompson (27:49)
So we launched this in the stores two weeks ago and we've already done 30 cases Platinum at one store.

Jessie Ott (27:58)
Wow, that's amazing. Wow, that's great. Wow. So with Total, are you doing like a trial with them and then once you've proven yourself, they're gonna open up more markets or?

Ken  Thompson (28:03)
Yes.

No, so we're just a national brand with them now. So Total is very selective of what they bring in. That's why they are the beast that they are. So Total only brings in certain products in certain categories as needed in their collection. So as of right now, the only thing they need from us is the spice. So we're hoping that eventually they will bring in the other two SKUs. But right now,

Jessie Ott (28:21)
Right.

Okay.

Ken  Thompson (28:39)
All they

need for us is the spice.

Jessie Ott (28:41)
Okay, okay,

that's cool. Alright, well that was very good, very smooth.

Ken  Thompson (28:44)
And we're

appreciative of that thought.

Jessie Ott (28:48)
Yes, yeah, for 100 % it's just, that's such a miraculous thing you did and obviously, you know, like I said earlier, the mission, the quality, the packaging, it's all there. Yeah, for sure. So congratulations. All right, so, bingo, Pineapple?

Ken  Thompson (29:05)
You want to, okay, so this is our special, special, special SKU, the Mango Pineapple. Me and Hirad was trying to put our heads together to figure out, we wanted to do something different outside of the spice. And we had a lot of females who would come into the table and say, we don't like a burn. We don't like spice. So we put our heads together.

Jessie Ott (29:23)
Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (29:33)
Me and Hirad and then Hirad went back and then talked with Mark a little bit and then the three of us came together and we tasted about, I think it was about maybe like 13 or 14 different versions of this Mango Pineapple. And that's how we came up with the Mango Pineapple, which is a 35 % 70 proof rum that tastes amazing, smells amazing. So right now you can get the Mango Pineapple in South Carolina and Maryland.

Jessie Ott (29:56)
That was amazing.

Ken  Thompson (30:01)
It's available in the Florida market. If any distributor wants to pick it up, it is available in the Florida market, but right now is in stores in Maryland and South Carolina.

Jessie Ott (30:12)
Okay. Okay, that's awesome. Yeah, I do. It smells delicious.

Ken  Thompson (30:13)
You wanna taste it?

Jessie Ott (30:17)
And these are all line price $29.99, right?

Ken  Thompson (30:18)
yes,

line priced yes, man.

Jessie Ott (30:23)
Mmm, I even get vanilla.

That is really amazing. you made the Mango Pineapple before the Platinum, right? So in other words, these are two different recipes.

Ken  Thompson (30:29)
Yes.

Two different recipes. three, everything is, all three, they're very different, yes.

Jessie Ott (30:34)
All three are very different.

Because a lot of times you have the blanco or the plain and then you add flavors to that. But these are definitely three very different. I mean, they taste very different. Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (30:50)
three different

unique styles of distilling. And that goes back to Dragon being one of the best distilleries out there in the business. They gave you three different unique flavors to provide one great brand with three great products.

Jessie Ott (31:15)
Yeah, no, 100%. Yeah. Yeah, no, this is really good. I really do like these SKU's They're very good. The spice is so fun. It's like nothing I've ever tasted before.

Ken  Thompson (31:29)
is different.

Jessie Ott (31:30)
Yeah, in fact,

You could do a, I don't know if you're interested in it, but you could do a taste test against other other rums and just prove instantly how amazing this product is and how worth every $29.99 it's worth. Obviously the liquid is great, it's wonderful quality, but it's for a cause. You're helping our homeless Veterans you know? So it's...

Ken  Thompson (31:58)
And it's a

great product. One thing I will say, what I've noticed is a lot of people get stuck on how rums were made back in the 80s and the 90s. And they say, I used to drink rum and it did this to me. This product has been proven to be smooth. I have no one come back and say it gave me a hangover or it made me feel sick.

Jessie Ott (32:01)
great product.

Okay?

Ken  Thompson (32:25)
Everyone that tastes it. So we had a guy that came into the store the other day and he said I don't want no room I don't like the room and I said we're just taste it. Well, he ended up buying all three SKUs You know, so, you know we flipped a lot of non rum drinkers to come over and buy a product because they say this is this is smooth, especially if you mix this with some pineapple juice I love the the Spiced Rum

Jessie Ott (32:36)
I love that!

Ken  Thompson (32:50)
with a sweet tea. I love the Mango Pineapple with a sweet tea. You can mix all of them with pineapple or mango pineapple juice. So we've been able to pull people to show them that hey, rum is not like it was in the 1980s and the 90s. This is the new rum, the Dragon Distillery Trendsetters Spirits Rum. It's a different brand, a different taste.

Jessie Ott (32:53)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, no, well done. mean, congratulations, team. mean, how long did it take for you to get the Spiced Rum flavor profile?

Ken  Thompson (33:27)
I wanna say...

I want to say that I believe that Hirad already had that in his back pocket because he he's that smart. He's that he's that smart of a guy. He knows the business. He's a very smart guy when it comes to this business. So so we relied on Hirad for the Spiced Rum, so that was something that was already in the works prior to trends in the spirit.

Jessie Ott (33:35)
He's smart. Yeah. Yeah, he's definitely very smart.

Okay.

And you said in a previous conversation that Hirad is adamant about not using any sugar.

Ken  Thompson (33:53)
Hirad is adamant in not using sugar. So I lived that and I lived that when I go tell the people, hey, look, this is a product that's all natural. There's no sugar. There's no preservatives. That's just Hirad. He believes in giving you a great product with great flavors that was naturally made and is gluten free.

Jessie Ott (34:12)
Yep. And so the base is sugar cane?

Ken  Thompson (34:16)
Sugar cane base, yeah.

Jessie Ott (34:18)
Yeah, okay.

Ken  Thompson (34:20)
I'm

learning as I go. I don't know everything about it. So, you know, I keep Hirad on my speed dial. We probably got over 2,000 text messages, but they're great messages where I'm learning how to navigate this business. We've had good navigational points and bad navigational points, but hey, every bad navigational point will lead us to the good navigational point. And we are here. And we are...

So far along more than with the average brand. If you think about it, Trendsetters Spirits is only been a thing since we came up with the idea back in March of 2024. We probably didn't launch our first retail SKU until June. And we're only in February. We have three SKUs. We're in a major brand, Total Wine. And we're in all, I want to say.

37 stores in Montgomery County, which is a controlled county. So two of our SKUs, Mango Pineapple will just reach Montgomery County, Maryland. So for us to own have not even been in the retail space for a year yet. I think we've done it. We've sold over 300 cases.

Jessie Ott (35:20)
Nice. Yeah.

Wow, yeah. You know, I guess it's so interesting how this whole process evolved because you were mission first, not even product, right? This was just how do we do something special for our veterans? So that's how it started. I mean, that's kind of the heart of the mission, right? And then helping our veterans. so, you know, most people don't, they don't think that way.

Right? And I just think it's cool that you had those conversations with Mark and Hirad. I'm glad that it worked out that you guys could do it and launch it. It's an overwhelming process and it's a difficult process to learn in our industry. It's not easy.

Ken  Thompson (36:24)
Yes, it's very long days and long nights and a lot of knowledge that needs to be gained in this business. And I don't think I would be able to do it if I didn't have the backing of Dragon. I mean, anyone can say that I'm a distillery and I'll make a product for you, but to help mold you, to guide you, and to give you the guidance that you need.

not only to make a good product, but to market a good product and bring a good product to the people. I wouldn't have done it without Hirad Mark and Dragon and all their staff, not just them two, but all their support staff who supports us and help us deliver the product, who helps us box the products, who help us label the products, who does everything, who helps us with receiving our shipments when they come in. So everyone there plays a major role.

and the success of Trendsetters Spirits and we're grateful.

Jessie Ott (37:18)
Yeah, what a great partnership. just love it. I just love this story, Dr. Ken. I just love what you're doing. mean, hats off to you and your wife for starting that sorority and fraternity for veterans just to start and then to have such a wonderful product. High quality, you're doing everything the right way. You got into Total within four days. That just is crazy. And, you know, your distribution and whatnot. I'm

Hats off to you guys, congratulations, and I'm super excited to be a part of the journey that you guys are on.

Ken  Thompson (37:49)
Yeah, we say what my wife in another couple, Corey Burnett and Christian Burnett will help start the fraternity. But if it wasn't for Dragon, but not only Dragon, we also have to thank Comer distributing down in South Carolina, who also took a chance on us, who not only picked up the spice room, but. The K that came right back and said, hey, no, we're going to take the Mango pan up with two. No, we're going to take the Platinum two.

So, Coleman Distillery out of Rock Hill, South Carolina, who distributes for us in the South Carolina area, the Richland County area, Rock Hill area, Lexington, Columbia area. thanks to distributors like that who sees a great mission, a great cause, and say, look, we're willing to the road with you to make sure that our veterans are taken care of. So, we're appreciative of...

Dragon and Colton. Thank

Jessie Ott (38:37)
Yeah, no, absolutely, 100%. That's awesome. You know, it's those people that help you get through tough days and they help you get through, you know, the weeks and months that you build on your story to help build the brand and you have those accounts that are doing well and supporting it and you have a proven record that it does sell if there's just a little bit of attention on it. And so those stories are meaningful, you know.

and they transcend, they translate to other markets. So congratulations, that's pretty awesome. Is there anything else about the brand that you want to mention before we jump over to mentors and resources?

Ken  Thompson (39:12)
Thank you.

no, I the brand speaks for itself. The brand is here and the brand is here and it's here to stay. And hopefully, if there are, like you say, like we said, if there are any, distributors, it doesn't matter what state you're in and you're interested in learning more about the brand, Hey, just reach out to us. And, we look forward. Our biggest goal and you know, is our biggest goal is to, get in this brand or military installation. So that way that not only, veterans can see that there is an organization out there who

Jessie Ott (39:24)
Hahaha

Ken  Thompson (39:47)
cares about you, who wants to put a product out there to gain revenue to take care of you, whether you're active duty, because people think that our active duty are rich or they have money. But there's a lot of active duty members of the lower rank who suffer, who struggles, who needs help. And that's what we are here for. So as long as we can provide transfer of spirits, then we'll be able to provide a cause to our mission.

That's pretty much the brand is going to be here. And if we can get our brand on the military installations so that way that we can go back and we can provide cases and you guys can see how great this product is, the mission speaks for itself, but the product also speaks for itself too.

Jessie Ott (40:30)
Yeah, you know, I thought of one more thing. You mentioned that the people, the members of your fraternity and sorority will actually go out and market and do tastings for you. That's a powerful tool. Those are the kinds of things distributors are looking for. And I mean, I just was talking to Sam and Alicia earlier today and they're

Ken  Thompson (40:44)
Yeah.

Yes.

Yes, we.

Jessie Ott (40:56)
They were talking about their trip to WSWA and distributors really aren't taking on brands. But if you come, if you're unique and you come with a plan like you, like you, you know, then, OK, we'll we'll definitely look at it, you know, kind of thing. And you have a you have a full platoon of people out there that can come in and do tastings which is really unique and really incredible.

Ken  Thompson (41:20)
I have a young lady by the name of Gwendolyn Summerville Island up in my Maryland district who heads our tastings up there. And she has done an amazing job of making sure that all of our stores in Montgomery County and our total wine up in rural stay stocked with the product and have as many tastings as they want. So we have a team.

That's out there. My team here in South Carolina, Corbin Skirid and Samuel Rowntree, Sharon Andrews, myself, who gives 100 % to our tastings here in South Carolina. That's how we're able to do 30, 40 cases in one store. And then my team down in Florida, Leslie White, Brandy Brody, and Tana Blue, who runs our tastings down in Total

in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach. So I have a team who is ready to do what needs to be done. And those guys are amazing. That's just 10 % of my team. So I...

Jessie Ott (42:17)
Ready.

Yeah, that's just

a few. How many members do you currently have?

Ken  Thompson (42:26)
We currently have 107 on the books, yes.

Jessie Ott (42:29)
Okay, that's great. And so how do they how do they become a member?

Ken  Thompson (42:35)
They can visit our website at AlphaOmegaPhi.org. And there's also a link to get to the Trendsetters Spirits website there too. But they can research as long as you are active duty, reserves, or Veteran status, you can become a member of our organization. We are an organization that I think I didn't tell you this. And some people may ask, well, why are we a fraternity and sorority? We are fraternity and sorority.

because the founders, myself, my wife, Corey, Christian, felt so that the military was changing back in 2015 when we started, 2017 when we started, sorry, 2017 when we started. And we needed to provide a space that our veterans and active duty members can come and feel a family vibe and feel at home, regardless of their race, their creed, their sexual orientation. We don't care nothing about that.

So we became a fraternity and sorority so that no one is left out and everyone has a home and we welcome them so that way they can get back to the veterans and then that we can get back to them and say, hey, you matter here. We love you whatever way that you come, as long as you come bearing the soul and the heart to take care of the mission first.

Jessie Ott (43:37)
Nice.

I love it. That is awesome. Well, you know, hopefully that'll continue to grow and you'll have you'll have more feed on the street. As the brand goes, that's so cool. Like, 107 people is a big network of people all over the U.S. That's really cool. Well, you said they're all over the world, I think.

Ken  Thompson (44:05)
Hopefully.

Yeah, we have people all the way from New York, all the way down to Florida, from Texas to Louisiana, Germany, Hawaii. We have somebody right now that's in Jordan. So we are everywhere. And it's just not Alpha Omega Phi, but we work with other military organizations to help expand our reach to help our veterans. So we work with military spouses, sorority.

find a wealth of military spouses sorority and collectively we can put our resources together to help more veterans and military spouses. So it's not just us, there are links to our chain to help us accomplish the mission.

Jessie Ott (44:59)
And what kind of programs do you support for the Veterans Homelessness?

Ken  Thompson (45:04)
Man, we support everything. support. So right now we partner with Bamba Socks and they provide socks. So we have our socks on a block program where we make sure that all of our homeless veterans or low income veterans. And like I said, we expanded to just the local community. So we work with local shelters to make sure that they have socks. And then we also partner with Fruit of the Loom and Fruit of the Loom provide us with underwear, t-shirts, sweatsuits.

sweatshirts. So we also provide those to the needy as well. And then we also work with 4imprint. And 4imprint provides us anything we need, whether it be cups, whether it be bags, or whether it be jackets, hats, to provide that to the needy, the homeless veterans, as well as the other veterans. And we also work with a couple of Veteran organizations who provide us bags, DBFN, and they provide us pre-packed

personal hygiene kits that we can give out to the veterans. So we work with a lot of different, we have a lot of different programs. We also have a youth program. A lot of people don't know that the Department of Veterans Affairs has a summer program. So we provide resources to the summer programs, whether it be scholarships, whether it be book bags, whether it be school supplies. So that's our youth program that we partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs here in Columbia, South Carolina at the Don V.A. So we have so many programs. We have our Clean Water program, where we partnered with Deer Park.

Jessie Ott (46:21)
That's awesome.

Ken  Thompson (46:24)
or we partner with Wakanda, a warder out of Hawaii. So we have so many different programs. Yes, have our scholarship program where we give scholarships back to children of disabled veterans or low income veterans. So we partner with a lot of great causes locally and nationally. So we're just not a one.

Jessie Ott (46:30)
So many. That's great.

Pass it.

You're busy.

Ken  Thompson (46:48)
We're busy. We're one stop shop. We can give you a bond and we can also write you a bond. So, you know, it doesn't matter how you look at it.

Jessie Ott (46:50)
Yeah.

That's incredible!

That is so cool. That is so, so awesome. I'm in awe, Dr. Ken, of what you guys are doing. It's been super, excellent work.

Ken  Thompson (47:07)
Yep.

So we're doing some great things and we're looking to expand our outreach. We did work with Farmers for Families during a pandemic and we gave out probably about 20,000 food boxes during the pandemic. Yep. So we're looking to see if they bring some of those programs back and we can help. know AIDS is a big thing and I was on the phone earlier talking to some different farms trying to see if I can get some AIDS donations.

Jessie Ott (47:22)
wow.

Ken  Thompson (47:36)
So that way we can help subsidize some of the costs for families who need food, who need eggs, stuff like that.

Jessie Ott (47:43)
Great idea. Yeah,

that's fantastic. Yeah. Yeah, it's sticker shock and kind of scary all at the same time.

Ken  Thompson (47:54)
Well, as long as we stick together and understand that no one makes it alone, then I think we'll be able to pull through anything.

Jessie Ott (48:04)
Yeah, agreed. So I know you talked a lot about Hirad and Mark over at Dragon. Is there any other mentors that you'd like to mention that have helped you on your journey?

Ken  Thompson (48:15)
Just

my team, my team, whether it be non-leadership members or my leadership team, my national president Kendrick Garrett, was once my assistant, Corbin Scarrett, who was instrumental in helping to start this organization. Stephanie Jones, who was my

original administrative assistant who helped me during the first, you know, first and second year of a start in the organization. Brandy Brody, who's been with me since day one. Sharon Andrews, she's been with me since day one. Sean and Ajita Fluat, who helped organize the logistical aspects of programs. So, I mean, there's so many people, I can go on and on and on, just my whole team.

My leadership down in Florida, Leslie White and Monica Brown. My leadership up in my tri-state, which is the Jita and Champaign Hall. My leadership over in my DMV, which is Gwendolyn-Several Island and Amber Certain. My leadership in my south with Corbin Scared and Sharon. So there's so many people and if I miss somebody, I'm sorry, but you know, we can't be here all day. But my whole team at Alpha Omega Phi.

Jessie Ott (49:23)
you

Ken  Thompson (49:27)
to my day ones who helped me grow this organization where it is. My founders, Corey Burnett, Christian Burnett, my wife, Lekita Thompson. So like everyone who was instrumental in helping us get to where we are today. LeDoux, who's one of my mentors. Leonard is my fraternity mentor who

who showed me the ropes, who taught me how to run. I knew nothing about running a fraternity or sorority. And I met Leonard and he has guided me where I needed to get to make sure that the organization grow. people like Leonard and this is my whole team. I'm grateful for my whole team.

Jessie Ott (50:04)
Yeah, it takes a village, doesn't it? It really does. Yeah, that's excellent. What about any resources that helped you along the way? Anything that had a major impact for you?

Ken  Thompson (50:17)
There's a Dragon. There's a Dragon. I'm grateful to the Dragon. I'm grateful to Dragon. I'm grateful to Total Wine. I'm grateful to Nimphie's Oasis Wine and Spirits, who's our local Veteran-owned liquor store here in South Carolina, who carries all of our SKUs. And of course, Comer Distributing, have to give a shout out for their resources. And I'm learning a lot from them from the...

Jessie Ott (50:20)
Yeah, it's great.

Ken  Thompson (50:45)
the distributor standpoint. you know, organizations like that, of course, I to thank, got to thank Kroger's. I got to thank Fruit of the Loom I have to thank Bomba. I got to thank Hanes. I have to thank, you know, Aki Uwada, like, Deer Park. So all these Pepsi, all these companies who took a chance on us and said, hey, want to, we want to partner with you because we love what you're doing. And I'm grateful.

Jessie Ott (51:09)
Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (51:14)
for them taking that chance on us because we have been able to help so many people, so many veterans, and we've been able to save lives because people don't understand that Veteran suicide is at its highest and that we can provide an organization like us to reach out to those veterans to provide resources, whether it's food, whether it's clothes, or whether it's our Veteran golf tournament, if anybody wanna help.

sponsor our free veterans golf tournament that we do every year. Whether it's our adaptable sports that we do, our golf tournament, where we partner with Wounded Warriors and we bring out veterans and one family member and they play golf for free, 18 holes, and we provide lunch and we provide trophies and gifts and stuff like that. That one event can save a life and if we can save one life, we've done our job.

Jessie Ott (51:44)
That's cool.

Yeah, 100%. I love it. Absolutely. You know, being new into the industry, what do you feel is your biggest pain point?

Ken  Thompson (52:16)
My biggest, I'm sorry.

Jessie Ott (52:17)
Pain point, like, or what keeps you up at night, I guess I should say.

Ken  Thompson (52:22)
Distribution. Distribution. Distribution.

Jessie Ott (52:24)
Yeah, it's hard. It is very

hard. Okay, well we're gonna help you with that. So we'll make that go away.

Ken  Thompson (52:31)
Yep. That's the distribution.

Like I said, I'm grateful to Comer because they've given us distribution. But one thing I've learned, that distribution is probably the hardest thing in this business. You can make a product, but if you don't have nobody to put the product with the shelves for you, the product is worth nothing.

Jessie Ott (52:47)
Yeah, no, 100 % has to be accessible. 100%. What about your outlook? You seem like a really positive guy, and things seem to be going great.

Ken  Thompson (52:58)
And...

I know. You know, mean, right now and everything is positive with the brand and with the organization.

Jessie Ott (53:03)
Yeah,

well, with the industry, it's been a challenge because it's being hit hard by RTDs and alternative beverages. And so I don't feel like you're going to be taking that on as much as obviously some of the bigger brands. that's kind of what that question is designed for.

You have nothing but upside. And you know, I'm sitting here thinking, why would I not email every single VFW around the country? Every single VFW needs to have your product.

Ken  Thompson (53:36)
We did, we need that. We need that to start and to put that into the atmosphere.

Jessie Ott (53:43)
Because Bob and I, Bob Syner and I, our mission is to build the biggest Veteran Owned portfolio for access to whomever, whomever. We are really excited about supporting you guys. that's a huge, huge mission for us. So whatever we can do to help, we're here.

Ken  Thompson (54:01)
Yeah, well, we can talk about that and see if we can get into those VFWs. VFWs, we're here. I am a member of the VFW.

Jessie Ott (54:06)
Yeah

Yeah,

we know when we were in Dallas, we would go as we ended up. started going twice a week to our local VFW. We had so much fun. One of the veterans wife was, what do you call it when you're when you're managing the location?

Ken  Thompson (54:26)
of the as a general date.

Jessie Ott (54:28)
Yeah,

she was doing, she did that a lot. But then she also got into line dancing and was teaching line dancing. And I'm not kidding, we'd have 50 to 70 ladies there. And so our crew would go on Fridays and dance in the dance bar area. And then on Wednesdays, we'd have access to the whole entire area with tables. And so we just set up and line dance. We had a ball.

Ken  Thompson (54:51)
Well, we need to get some Trendsetters Spirits in there to make that line dancing better.

Jessie Ott (54:55)
I agree.

Yeah. Or think they do.

Ken  Thompson (54:58)
So maybe that's

something that we can look into and trying to get into the VFW.

Jessie Ott (55:05)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. So I know you're busy working. I get it. We're entrepreneurs. It's what we do. But do you have passions that you, outside of work that you want to talk about just to get you to know you a little bit more?

Ken  Thompson (55:21)
Well, this is not work. This is love. This is not work. What I do is love. My passion is the veterans. Being a Veteran myself, being a person who's witnessed bureaucracy, being a person who's witnessed racism, I take those encounters.

Jessie Ott (55:26)
His love.

Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (55:38)
And I have to turn those into a mission. So my passion is making sure our veterans are taken care of, making sure the VA is taking care of our veterans, making sure that the military is taking care of our veterans, and making sure that our veterans have what they need. At the end of the day, I'm a Veteran myself, so I know exactly how veterans feel, especially veterans who were in combat situations. And my biggest pet peeve and my biggest passion

is that there's so many veterans here who are combat veterans who are not getting the necessary things that they need when we have veterans who, not saying that every Veteran doesn't deserve something because yes, if you signed up, you served, but we need to focus on our combat veterans to make sure that we're taking care of our combat veterans. So that's my passion is making sure that our combat veterans are taken care of and our veterans who just sit around here and tell you that I'm a Veteran and they wear a shirt.

Jessie Ott (56:09)
Yeah.

I need.

Ken  Thompson (56:31)
You know, hey, we're going to take care of it, but we need to take care of those who put their lives on the line. Those who lost limbs, those who lost life.

Jessie Ott (56:39)
Yeah, yeah, no, 100%. Dr. Ken, you are such an inspiration. I've enjoyed this interview so much. You are an amazing human, amazing man, a wonderful soul that's given everything back to the veterans and I just admire you a lot.

Ken  Thompson (56:54)
Thank you.

Thank you. And I appreciate you. Thanks for bringing us on and giving Alpha Omega Phi entrance for the spirits, the opportunity to show what we can bring to our communities and a good product that we bring into the shelves as well. And that people understand that, you know, we don't make a dime from this. None of our staff is paid. None of our tasting staff is paid.

Jessie Ott (57:18)
Yeah.

Ken  Thompson (57:26)
And we put 100 % back. And we're very, very appreciative for you allowing us to come on your platform so we can let the people know that we're here and this is what we're doing.

Jessie Ott (57:37)
Yeah, no, that's great. My mind is just racing on ideas to help to help you. So maybe maybe there's some side collaborations that, you know, just because your passion is infectious, it's making me passionate about what you're doing and spreading the word. So I just love it. So I will let you get back to it. Get back to your day and.

Thank you for the samples. I'm very excited about these. I interviewed another gentleman, Ken McKenzie, with Fresh Victor this past week, and he has cold pressed juices and he has four different flavors, and I think they're going to taste amazing together. So I will have to report back on that. Okay, will do.

Ken  Thompson (58:22)
yeah, yeah, let it.

Let us know how that tastes.

Jessie Ott (58:29)
Okay, yeah, we'll do it for sure, for sure. Yeah, it'll be fun. Alrighty, take care, Dr. Ken.

Ken  Thompson (58:37)
Alright.

Jessie Ott (58:37)
Alright, cool.