Bremen HS Students Inspired by Owner of RowdyDow BBQ

Bremen High School Entrepreneurship and Marketing students had a unique opportunity to meet with local entrepreneur Angela Keaveny, owner of RowdyDow BBQ. Students from Mr. Harris’ Entrepreneurship class and Mr. Strein’s Marketing classes listened as Keaveny explained how she got to where she is today. RowdyDow BBQ is a BBQ distributor that markets mainly to contracted venues. One of their most memorable accounts is having the opportunity to serve our military troops. RowdyDow BBQ smokes it’s meat for 24 hours and pre-packages it to be shipped to consumers. Barbecue lovers can purchase their famous pulled pork on line at http://rowdydowbbq.com/. However, the meet and greet was much more than just showing the students where to buy their products. Ms. Keaveny discussed how she came up with the name RowdyDow, which means to be boisterous, loud and have fun. This caught the students attention from the start. She then talked about the challenges she faced to get her business started. The students were amazed that it took her seven years to make a profit, and during that time she had to cut grass, baby sit, borrow money from friends, and whatever else to make it. After seven years she made a profit of $100,000 and was able to pay herself and friends. The students were shocked when Ms. Keaveny mentioned that she projects her business to make a $12,000,000 profit this year. Finally, Ms Keaveny talked about the social media contest that she created for the students. The students had to post a comment about what is their “Rowdydow”/passion, or talk about the pulled pork sandwich that they were treated to after the presentation on Facebook. The students with the most “likes” won a prize for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The students learned a lot during the presentation and fed off of Keaveny’s energy and passion. Stephanie Karwaczka stated “Angela Keaveny was truly excited and passionate about her business. She was thrilled to share with us her story and her success. Seeing someone so in love with what they do makes me hopeful to find something that truly makes me happy!” BHS Entrepreneur student Kenadi Ferguson stated, “She taught us many things about having your own business, such as: dealing with sacrifices, making sure you give back to your company, making sure you have people to support you and to fall back on, and to make sure your having fun while running your business.”

Bremen High School and it’s Business Department would like to thank Ms. Keaveny for taking the time to share her passion and BBQ with the students of BHS! For more information contact BHS Entrepreneurship Teacher Mr. Virgil Harris at Vharris@bhsd228.com.