Our Story
What am I doing? What is my purpose? These were the questions I was asking myself after twenty years of a career in Information Technology. Personal time mis-management, professional leadership responsibilities and spiritual stagnation were all contributors to modern life stresses and an unhealthy lifestyle. A transformation was needed.
Our Birth
The catalyst for change came unexpectedly on September 19, 2013 while looking over the valley of Jackson Hole towards the Teton Range in Wyoming.
I have always been drawn to the outdoors surrounded by the majesty of creation and it is in that realm where I feel the most grounded. Life’s journey however, with its opportunities and challenges, had taken me in opposite directions and I had forgotten the importance of taking time for self.
A few months later, working to restore a healthy work life balance, an interest in beekeeping turned into a new found hobby.
In 2014 we purchased two packages of bees and established our first hives in the backyard of our Harris county residence in Cypress, Texas.
Our Launch
In 2015 an additional eight colonies were established on family acreage outside of Buffalo, Texas in Leon county.
The hobby evolved into the building of a small family business with responsibilities to the bees we keep, to the habitat we provide them, to the purity of the products they produce, to the communities we serve and of course, to ourselves and the reasons which led to this adventure!
We finished out 2015 with twelve colonies, some honey to dole out to family and friends, and a lot of excitement about future possibilities.
Souders Honey Company made its first public appearance and began direct sales of its honey in the fall of 2016 ending that year with seventeen hives and sold out honey inventories.
Our Growth
The spring of 2017 found us making our first hive splits and kicking off the year with thirty five colonies, high product demand, and business planning activities as we set our sights on the future.
This was a year of many lessons learned. Truly understanding what it means to manage your bees, deal with logistics, apply integrated pest management techniques, etc. It was a lot of work but also very rewarding from an educational perspective.
For 2018 we began our season with fifty colonies and have placed some of those hives across Galveston county in the cities of Alvin and Santa Fe, Texas.
“Growth” can be defined as “progressing to maturity”. We invite you to catch the buzz, support the future of bees, and watch us grow!