It's been a little over a month since we launched on Wefunder and you can tell that people believe in the potential of a brewery and restaurant in Harlan County. In this post, we'll provide some updates on construction and highlight some of our early investors from Harlan County. You'll have to read to the end to learn more about the Harlan Countians who are investing. If you're already an investor, maybe the stories will warm your heart. If you're still thinking about it, maybe you'll feel inspired. Either way, enjoy this update! First, let's see what's been going on at the building the past week or so.

Construction Update

Our hard working Harlan County crew continues to replace wood rotted by years of roof leaks. They are a meticulous bunch, making sure to find every piece of rot and replace it with new wood. Of course, the building was built in the 1920s when building materials were a bit different, especially the lumber! Check out the main structural posts that will be featured prominently in the brewery. They are 10 inches by 10 inches and pretty much trees. You can even see there's still bark on some of the posts!

The beam that connects all the posts is equally impressive. Unfortunately, one of the leaks had nearly destroyed the beam as it connected into the brick of the building. Our crew spent days carefully stabilizing and reconstructing a new beam to replace the rotted wood. Over the next few weeks, they will continue to move up each floor, replacing rotted wood. We need to do this first for a number of obvious reasons, most importantly, so the building is stable enough to support a new roof. Now, let's take a look at who is investing in Harlan County Beer Company!

A Snapshot of Our Investors

As of today, March 23, 2021 we have raised $153,277 from 208 investors. That's an impressive total for a brewery in the heart of Appalachia in Harlan County! We used Geoff's hard-earned MBA skills to create a chart showing the breakdown of all our investors. You can see right away that a majority of our believers invested less than $250. About 38% of investors put in $100 and another 25% put in somewhere between $101-$250. And we appreciate these folks so much! Of course, a big thanks to the folks who could invest more. The bottom line is we need everyone from all walks of life to make this happen.

Harlan Countians Invest!

So you might want to know who are these folks and what do they think? Well, for this post we are going to focus on some people from Harlan County. After all, they would know best if the brewery was a good enough investment to put their hard-earned money in! We reached out to a few folks and asked their permission to highlight them in this update. One of our very first investors from Harlan County was none other than Colby Kirk, Executive Director of One Harlan County and Director of Harlan County Economic Development Authority. Colby is originally from Martin County, but has found a new home in Harlan. An economic development extraordinaire, Colby is one of the main reasons for the revitalization efforts in downtown Harlan. Here's what he had to say about investing:

I may not be a beer drinker, but I believe in people who invest in Harlan County. This project has the potential to spur the revitalization of downtown Harlan and I am glad to be a part of it! --Colby Kirk

Other early investors from Harlan include the dynamic duo, Richard and Kateena Haynes. Kateena is the CEO of the Cawood Ledford Boys & Girls Club of Harlan County, one of the most important providers of youth services in the region. Richard is the Director of Harlan County Public Libraries that includes a fleet of bookmobiles! If you're thinking of charitable causes to give to in Harlan County, you can't go wrong putting it in the organizations Kateena and Richard run. Here's what Kateena had to say about investing:

Happy to invest in the growth of our community! --Kateena Haynes

There are quite a few dynamic duos in Harlan County, including Ashley & Leslie Bledsoe. You might know Ashley and Leslie from their roles with Harlan Tourism, or their incredible charity work with the nonprofit they founded, With Love from Harlan. But, they are probably most famous for their amazing food truck  and catering business, Taco Holler. If you hear Taco Holler is set up somewhere in Harlan County, you better get there quick before they sell out of food! For Ashley and Leslie, investing in Harlan County Beer Company comes down to one simple statement:

To be part of history --Ashley & Leslie Bledsoe

And Ashley and Leslie aren't the only folks from Harlan Tourism investing in Harlan County Beer Company. Director Brandon Pennington, who puts in tremendous efforts to attract tourists to Harlan, is another believer. Here's what Brandon had to say:

This a project that I believe in. Harlan County has been on an upward trajectory in what it offers the to the world and the timing is right. Our tourism industry continues to grow and evolve and this is a piece of the puzzle in redefining our economy and our people. The folks involved in this project are people I know personally and they will manifest and build something Harlan County can be proud of for year's to come. --Brandon Pennington

If you're live in Harlan and don't know Cathryn Forester, you probably don't get out much. Cathryn has an incredible story about her return to Harlan County after living away from her home community for a number of years. A community leader and entrepreneur, Cathryn runs her own massage therapy business. Cathryn is a huge supporter and here's what she said about investing:

I believe in my community’s ability to rise again. HCBC is just what Harlan needs to start the momentum! --Cathryn Forester

Another community leader onboard is Mike Allison. Mike is involved with land preservation and conservation efforts in the region, and does a tremendous amount of work with Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College. With the college Mike is involved in a large scale renovation project on the building right next to the brewery! We'll share more about that in the future. Here's what Mike says about investing:

I believe in Harlan and I believe in y’all! Let’s go!! --Mike Allison

One other special story we'd like to close with is about longtime Harlan Countian Ray Doepel. Ray is a veteran and and runs his own small printing business, J & R Printing. Geoff and Ray served together for a few years on the Board of the Harlan County Industrial Development Authority. For years, Ray has wanted to see investment in Harlan, and he has done just about anything he could do to make it happen. Ray doesn't drink, but when he heard about the brewery, he went downtown to find Geoff. After locating him at the brewery building, Ray asked Geoff one question, "Who do I write the check to?" He pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check right there on the spot.

There are so many other Harlan Countians who have invested in Harlan County Beer Company and we thank them all. If we missed mentioning you here, we will be reaching out. To our investors who may not be from Harlan or have never visited, we thank you so much for believing! Harlan County is a special place and we can't wait for you to visit the brewery!