How it all started
Matt and Darlyn met 3 years ago when Matt needed some help from the State of Ohio to expand his Paper Mill and from MAGNET to scope him out a Paper Machine. Darlyn was the Director of Field Operations who led that effort and the two became friends and did some freaking great business. The many successes called for drinking a few darn good local craft beers. After laughing about the good business and good beer interest for well over a year, the two finally got serious about opening THEIR OWN Brewery. The choice was clear- it would be in beautiful Forgotten Coast Port St Joe in Gulf County Florida. The Corporation’s name was clear- it would be Saint Joe Brewing Company. Too much history not to be! The beer needed to be brewed on-site, be from Port St Joe and be a big part of the community comeback post-Michael and the local livelihood. But, what to call it?
And then one day, a big story hit the local papers about a terrific cat named Sarge who was tattered, cut, beat and broken. Some idiots cut his ears off, broke his tail and threw him out to starve and walk the tough city streets of area code 216. A quick phone call between Darlyn and Matt confirmed she would visit him in the ER clinic since she worked in Cleveland. The rest is history. His bills were paid, donations were made to the Forever Friends Able Animal Clinic, and Sargent’s life was rebuilt. He was renamed Prince Sargent of Vicary (PSV) the BeachCat of Port St Joe (PSJ). Today, he’s a loving, happy, friendly, come-from-behind, never-give-up kitty cat who became our mascot the PSJ BeachCat. We prayed hard for his recovery and he did! We promised him his name in lights, in a beautiful paradise and with constant attention, love and affection. He can’t drink the beer, though– he’s too young!
Matt fell in love with the PSJ area decades ago as a boy from Florence, Alabama and has been playing on CSB ever since. He’s been dreaming of a brewery since graduating from Westpoint and getting busy starting a family as a new Chemical Engineer. He has been taking the Paper Industry by storm, moving all over the country. Last stop- Massillon, Ohio- where he led the plant thru considerable growth and expansion. Nearly 30 years of leading Paper Mills and being the GM of several Paper Mill related Plants was good practice for running the steam, pressure, chemicals, and temps correctly in the Brewery. Isn’t it ironic Port St Joe has a Paper Mill history, too!
Darlyn and her family fell in love with the Forgotten Coast as soon as the plane landed in ECP airport. See photo from seat 2A on that maiden voyage! Living all over the US in Corporate relocations, Darlyn is originally a Buckeye from Canton, Ohio, and has spent the last 25 years as a successful Insurance and Risk Management professional. But she is no stranger to entrepreneurial start-ups. In her spare time, Darlyn has launched two successful companies and is passionate about building business, building communities, growing people, and growing profits. Darlyn is a VP for the second-largest Global Reinsurer in the world. She continues to assist OH and FL with Economic Development in the Manufacturing sector on key projects. Darlyn has always wanted to partner in a brewery for her next start-up. Her MBA thesis on building successful retail businesses is going to come in handy for launching this Brewery!