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Fawn Weaver

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Fawn Weaver
Born
Fawn Evette Wilson

1976 (age 47–48)
Occupation(s)Author, CEO
Notable workUncle Nearest Premium Whiskey
Spouse
Keith Weaver
​
(m. 2003)​
FatherFrank Wilson

Fawn Weaver (born in 1976) is an American entrepreneur and author who holds the position of CEO at Grant Sidney Inc. In 2017, Weaver co-founded Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey[1] where she serves as the chief historian.[2] She is the founder of the Nearest Green Foundation.[3][4] In March 2021, she was named to Endeavor's board of directors.[5][6]

Early years

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Fawn Weaver grew up in Pasadena as the daughter of Frank and Philomina Wilson. Her father, a Motown recording artist, changed career to become a Christian minister in around 1975.[7] At a young age, Weaver was introduced to Motown stars like Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, they became a part of her father's ministry rather and not because her father was a renowned writer and producer.[7]

She left home at 15, staying with school friends in Jordan Downs, the Watts projects, for a short period.[7] Later, she resided in three different homeless shelters, with Covenant House in Hollywood being her final stop.[7]

Before turning 19, Weaver established her first company, FEW Entertainment, specializing in PR and special events.[7] Early on, she secured two corporate clients, enabling the business to grow.

Career

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Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

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In 2016, Weaver went to Tennessee to interview Nearest Green's descendants for a book project.[8][9] 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,[10][11] inspiring her to found and launch the Nearest Green Distillery and the Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey brand in 2017.[8][12] 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.[12] In 2019, was the first African-American featured on the cover of American Whiskey magazine.[13]

By 2018, the brand had expanded to 12 countries,[12] and is now the best-selling African-American owned spirit ever.[14] In September 2019, Uncle Nearest opened its first distillery, set on a 270-acre ranch in Shelbyville, Tennessee.[9]

Weaver was named one of Food & Wine's Drinks Innovators of the Year in 2022, alongside Uncle Nearest master blender Victoria Eady Butler.[15]

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.[16] The foundation also provides full college scholarships for any of Green's descendants to attend the school of their choice.[17] She also helped create the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative, a joint venture between the foundation and Jack Daniel's.[18] 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.[19]

In 2020, Weaver started the Black Business Booster program, to help ten Black-owned spirits companies with branding, distribution, and capital.[9] In June 2021, Weaver and Uncle Nearest formed the $50 million Uncle Nearest Venture Fund to invest in minority-owned spirits companies.[20]

Other work

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Fawn's career began in 1994, when she formed special events and public relations company FEW Entertainment.[21] She worked as a restaurant and real estate executive through the early 2000s,[22] before founding Grant Sidney Inc. in March 2010.[5]

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, and debuted at #3 on the New York Times Nonfiction Paperback list.[23] 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.[24]

Weaver was named one of Time's "31 People Changing the South" in 2018.[25]

She was also an executive board member of Meet Each Need with Dignity and Slavery No More from January 2014 to December 2019.[5] In March 2021, she was named to Endeavor's board of directors.[5]

In 2024, Weaver was awarded the Distinguished Patriotic Award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars.[26]

Personal life

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Born in 1976 as Fawn Evette Wilson, she is the daughter of Motown Records songwriter and producer Frank Wilson.[22][27] She has been married to Keith Weaver since 2003.[28]

References

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  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. ^ "Fawn Weaver's Premium Whiskey Brand Honors the Legacy of Uncle Nearest, the Enslaved Man Who Pioneered Tennessee Whiskey". Martha Stewart. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  3. ^ "Woman tells story of slave who taught Jack Daniels whiskey". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  4. ^ Johnston, Zach (2020-06-22). "Fawn Weaver Talks About The Future Of Black Women In American Whiskey". Uproxx. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  5. ^ a b c d "Form S-1". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  6. ^ Linnane, Ciara. "William Morris parent Endeavor's IPO: 5 things to know about the entertainment giant". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  7. ^ a b c d e Stories, Local (2023-02-13). "Meet Fawn Weaver - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". voyagela.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  8. ^ a b "Fawn Weaver: The Whiskey Benefactor". Garden & Gun. 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Knutson, Jesse (27 July 2017). "Unearthing The Story Of Nearest Green, Jack Daniel's Mentor".
  11. ^ Alfs, Lizzy (July 21, 2017). "Ex-slave who trained Jack Daniel gets new recognition". USA Today. The Tennessean. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ ""Whiskey Really Is In My Blood"". Garden & Gun. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  14. ^ "Uncle Nearest is top-selling African-American-owned spirit". 10 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  15. ^ Pharms, Gabrielle Nicole (March 15, 2022). "Drinks Innovators of the Year: Fawn Weaver and Victoria Eady Butler". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  16. ^ Christen, Mike (2017-07-31). "Foundation honors ex-slave's contributions to Jack Daniel's". The Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  17. ^ "The First African American Woman Master Blender Is Here to End the White-Washing of American Whiskey". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  18. ^ "Jack Daniel's and Uncle Nearest Launch New Diversity Initiative". Whisky Advocate. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  19. ^ "Fawn Weaver: Raising Up the Next Generation of Minority Whiskey Makers". Whisky Advocate. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  20. ^ Stephenson, Cassandra. "100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, Uncle Nearest Whiskey launches fund for minority-owned spirits". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ a b Risen, Clay (15 August 2017). "When Jack Daniel's Failed to Honor a Slave, an Author Rewrote History". The New York Times – via www.nytimes.com.
  23. ^ "Paperback Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Jan. 26, 2014 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  24. ^ "How To Have An Argument-Free Marriage—We Put This Couple To The Test". Essence.com. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  25. ^ "Meet the 31 People Who Are Changing the South". Time. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  26. ^ "VFW at the Starting Gate for the 125th National Convention". vfw.org. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ "Making It Work: Meet the Woman Behind the 'Happy Wives Club' Movement and Her Hubby". Essence.com. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
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