Gather Around: The founders of Company Distilling continue their passion for the state of Tennessee, its rich history, and education by hosting the “Distilling Greatness” podcast. Recorded inside the beautiful Tennessee Theatre, listeners can Gather Around with the Company Distilling team and a few of their friends to get a taste of the people and places that make up the rich stories of whiskey in Tennessee.
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Jeff Arnett
Master Distiller & Founder
Company Distilling
Kris Tatum
President & Founder
Company Distilling
Lee Kennedy
President
Leiper’s Fork Distillery
Matt Maxey
Director of Public Relations
Visit Franklin
Bios
Lee Kennedy
Lee Kennedy graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, TN and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Auburn University. Before opening Leiper’s Fork Distillery in 2016, he founded and operated Oakwood Wealth Management, an independent financial services firm, in Nashville, TN. Lee was an avid home distiller for fifteen years prior to the founding of Leiper’s Fork Distillery in 2016. He has navigated the commercial spirits industry since 2012 and successfully amended a law in Williamson County to allow distilleries to operate in the county for the first time since 1910.
Matt Maxey
Matthew Maxey is the Director of Public Relations at Visit Franklin, the Williamson County Tennessee Convention & Visitors Bureau. In his role, he oversees traditional media relations, influencer relations, and content creators.
Matthew is a seven-year veteran of the tourism industry and currently serves on the national executive committee for the Public Relations Society of America’s Travel & Tourism section.
Before Visit Franklin, Matthew came from the worlds of sports and politics. In college, he managed multiple successful campaigns for elected office and served in field staff roles for campaigns for Governor of Tennessee and US Congress. After college Matthew began his career with the American Junior Golf Association before serving as a sports information director at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee at Martin, for six years.
After his time at UT Martin, Matthew was a freelance writer and photographer for Sports & Entertainment Magazine in Nashville and had a public relations consulting business with clients, including non-profits and small businesses. He also served in various communications and political advisory roles for candidates for local elected offices and for Governor of Tennessee.
When not working in tourism these days, Maxey is still living the freelancer life as a contributing photographer to ICON Sportswire, shooting college and professional sporting events across the Southeast.
