Fawn Weaver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fawn Weaver
Born1976
OccupationAuthor, CEO
Notable work
Happy Wives Club, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey
Spouse(s)Keith Weaver

Fawn Weaver (born 1976) is an American entrepreneur, historian, and New York Times-bestselling author. She is currently the CEO of Grant Sidney Inc. and Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey (which she founded in 2017),[1] and is the founder of the Nearest Green Foundation.[2][3] In March 2021, she was named to Endeavor's board of directors.[4][5]

Career[]

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey[]

In 2016, Weaver went to Tennessee to interview Nearest Green's descendants for a book project.[6][7] Weaver's work helped reveal the history of Jack Daniel Distillery included Nearest Green as its first master distiller and mentor to a young Jack Daniel,[8][9][10]inspiring her to found and launch the Nearest Green Distillery and the Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey brand in 2017.[6][11] This made Weaver the first African-American woman to head a major spirits brand, and also the first American spirit brand with an all-female executive team.[11]In 2019, she became the first African-American to be featured on the cover of American Whiskey magazine.[12]

By 2018, the brand had expanded into all 50 states and 12 countries,[11] and is now the best-selling African-American owned spirit ever.[13] In September 2019, Uncle Nearest opened its first distillery, set on a 270-acre ranch in Shelbyville, Tennessee.[7]

Before establishing the distillery, Weaver also founded the Nearest Green Foundation, which honors the legacy of Green with a scholarship program, a museum, a memorial park, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and a book.[14]The foundation also provides full college scholarships for any of Green's descendants to attend the school of their choice.[15]She also helped create the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative, a joint venture between the foundation and Jack Daniel's.[16] It includes the Nearest Green School of Distilling certification program at Motlow State Community College, a Leadership Acceleration Program that offers apprenticeships to African-Americans, and a business incubation program for black micro distillers.[17]

In 2020, Weaver started the Black Business Booster program, to help 10 Black-owned spirits companies with branding, distribution, and capital.[7]In June 2021, Weaver and Uncle Nearest formed the $50 million Uncle Nearest Venture Fund to invest in minority-owned spirits companies.[18]

Other work[]

Fawn's career began in 1994, when she formed special events and public relations company FEW Entertainment.[19] She worked as a restaurant and real estate executive through the early 2000s,[8] before founding Grant Sidney Inc. in March 2010.[4]

Weaver's first book, Happy Wives Club: One Woman's Worldwide Search for the Secrets of a Great Marriage was published in 2014 by Thomas Nelson.[20] In 2015, she wrote The Argument-Free Marriage: 28 Days to Creating the Marriage You've Always Wanted with the Spouse You Already Have, which offers a 28-day plan for marital happiness using conflict management.[21]

She was also an executive board member of Meet Each Need with Dignity and Slavery No More from January 2014 to December 2019.[4] In March 2021, she was named to Endeavor's board of directors, alongside Elon Musk.[4]

Personal life[]

Born in 1976 as Fawn Evette Wilson of African-American ancestry, she is the daughter of Motown Records songwriter and producer Frank Wilson.[8][22] She has been married to Keith Weaver since 2003.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ DeCiccio, Emily (2021-03-09). "CEO Fawn Weaver and her all-female leadership team are piloting one of America's fastest-growing whiskey companies to historic growth". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  2. ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "Woman tells story of slave who taught Jack Daniels whiskey". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  3. ^ JohnstonTwitter, Zach (2020-06-22). "Fawn Weaver Talks About The Future Of Black Women In American Whiskey". UPROXX. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Form S-1". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  5. ^ Linnane, Ciara. "William Morris parent Endeavor's IPO: 5 things to know about the entertainment giant". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Fawn Weaver: The Whiskey Benefactor". Garden & Gun. 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c Clemence, Sara (2020-12-03). "How Black-Owned Spirits Brand Uncle Nearest Answered the Call of 2020". Inc.com. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Risen, Clay (15 August 2017). "When Jack Daniel's Failed to Honor a Slave, an Author Rewrote History" – via www.nytimes.com.
  9. ^ Knutson, Jesse (27 July 2017). "Unearthing The Story Of Nearest Green, Jack Daniel's Mentor".
  10. ^ Alfs, Lizzy (July 21, 2017). "Ex-slave who trained Jack Daniel gets new recognition". USA Today. The Tennessean. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c DeCiccio, Emily (2021-03-09). "CEO Fawn Weaver and her all-female leadership team are piloting one of America's fastest-growing whiskey companies to historic growth". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  12. ^ ""Whiskey Really Is In My Blood"". Garden & Gun. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  13. ^ "Uncle Nearest is top-selling African-American-owned spirit". Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  14. ^ Christen, Mike (2017-07-31). "Foundation honors ex-slave's contributions to Jack Daniel's". The Daily Herald. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  15. ^ "The First African American Woman Master Blender Is Here to End the White-Washing of American Whiskey". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  16. ^ "Jack Daniel's and Uncle Nearest Launch New Diversity Initiative". Whisky Advocate. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  17. ^ "Fawn Weaver: Raising Up the Next Generation of Minority Whiskey Makers". Whisky Advocate. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  18. ^ Stephenson, Cassandra. "100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, Uncle Nearest Whiskey launches fund for minority-owned spirits". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  19. ^ Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (2021-05-10). "How Fawn Weaver Built Wildly Successful Whiskey Brand Uncle Nearest to Cement a Legacy". Inc.com. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b "Making It Work: Meet the Woman Behind the 'Happy Wives Club' Movement and Her Hubby". Essence.com. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  21. ^ "How To Have An Argument-Free Marriage—We Put This Couple To The Test". Essence.com. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  22. ^ Kaufman, Leslie (2012-10-03). "Frank Wilson, Motown Songwriter and Producer, Dies at 71". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-11-01.

External links[]

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