Kelly lives in Eagan with her electrical engineer husband, Brian, and two children (Stone, 2 and Kennedy, 3 months). Having received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa, she holds active CPA and CMA licenses and credits passing the CPA and CMA exams on her first try as some of the proudest professional accomplishments of her life.

Biggest challenge in the next 3-6 months:

The worldwide hop crisis of 2008 has made maintaining gross margins a top challenge for Summit. “Last year was really about planning and now the focus is on managing through the long-term buying strategy we put in place. Fortunately, we are having a great year!”

Exciting things happening:

In April, Summit introduced its first new beer in three years called Horizon Red Ale. The brand has been a huge success, becoming their second highest selling beer behind their flagship, Extra Pale Ale.

Professional accomplishments of note:

Behind passing the CPA and CMA exams on the first try, Kelly is extremely proud of having established an employee stock purchase plan for brewery employees five years ago. “I am still amazed by the fact that people want to buy stock in a private company but that really speaks to the strength of our company culture. Summit employees take a lot of pride in their work and love having an ownership stake in the business.” Over 21% of the company is employee owned and a continuing goal is to increase that employee percentage.

Favorite free-time activity:

Kelly loves to run and has completed two full marathons (Twin Cities and the Mad City in Madison, Wisconsin), and many half marathons. “I started running the same time I went into public accounting. It was the best cardio exercise I could find in the little time I had available. Although it is getting harder to squeeze in with two small children, I will continue to train for races when I can.”

If I didn’t have to work…

“I honestly can’t imagine not working because I love my job. The small company experience at Summit feels like family to me plus I help create a product that makes people happy. I guess if I could work less, I would enjoy more spa days and spend more time cooking good meals for my family.”

Best vacation:

Kelly goes on a “surprise” vacation with three girlfriends every year. “We started doing this almost 10 years ago because it was so difficult to agree on a place to go. We rotate who plans the vacation and that person is responsible for purchasing airline tickets, transportation, and hotel. The only information the other three women know is what kinds of clothes to pack.” Some of their destinations have included New York City, Las Vegas, Montreal, the Bahamas, Charleston, Boston, Toronto, and Portland (Maine).

That being said, the greatest place she has visited was Reykjavik, Iceland. “Everyone should go there. The people are very well educated and kind. The land is incredibly green and picturesque. It truly is the most beautiful place I have ever visited.”

Something that would surprise people:

Kelly broke her arm at a Twins baseball game years ago when Chuck Knoblauch hit a line-drive foul ball into her elbow. “It really didn’t hurt that badly at the time, but I knew I had to go in after I still couldn’t straighten my arm a week later!”

Motto to live by:

Work hard. Play hard.

Obstacles overcome in life:

“I had my second child a few weeks after my husband had major knee surgery. He was on crutches and couldn’t walk or drive, so I had to drive us to the hospital. When we arrived, he was immediately placed in a wheelchair to make the long walk from the emergency room to the maternity ward. So while I was 8.5 months pregnant, I had to push my husband while also carrying our luggage. Having a toddler, a newborn, and a husband who couldn’t walk or drive, all while recovering from a c-section, was one crazy experience!”

What I’ve enjoyed most about FEWnet:

Summit Brewing Company is a 50+ person company and many of the employees are male, so Kelly enjoys knowing that at least once a month she will be having lunch with other females. “I have enjoyed learning from the way that others deal with various challenges at their respective companies and getting to incorporate some of their best practices into to my own company. But what I have enjoyed most is getting to know the other women in my small group on both a personal and professional level.”

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