Brand Building, Pecans, And The Great American Road Trip

About the Presenters:

Stephanie Stuckey is CEO of Stuckey’s, the roadside oasis famous for its pecan log rolls. The Company was founded by Stephanie’s grandfather, W.S. Stuckey, Sr. as a pecan stand in Eastman, Georgia in 1937 and grew into over 350 stores by the 1970’s. The company was sold in 1964 but is now back in family hands and poised for a comeback.

Billy Stuckey, son of the founder and former U.S. Congressman, reacquired Stuckey’s in 1985. Stephanie took over in November of 2019 and, under her leadership, Stuckey’s has purchased a healthy pecan snack company, undergone a rebranding, added three new franchised stores, expanded its B2B retail customer base, increased online sales 550% with a new website and will soon acquire a pecan processing and candy manufacturing plant.

Stephanie received both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia. She has worked as a trial lawyer, elected to seven terms as a state representative, ran an environmental nonprofit law firm that settled the largest Clean Water Act case in Georgia history, served as Director of Sustainability and Resilience for the City of Atlanta, and taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Georgia School of Law. Stephanie’s achievements include being named one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine and a graduate of Leadership Atlanta. She is active in her community, a longstanding member of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church, and serves on many nonprofit boards, including the National Sierra Club Foundation, EarthShare of Georgia, and her local zoning review board.

Kelly O’Keefe

Managing Partner of Brand Federation

Kelly O’Keefe is a nationally recognized branding thinker and educator.

He is CEO of the Brand Federation and former Managing Director, Professor, and Chair of Creative Brand Management at the VCU Brandcenter.

O’Keefe has been a strategic advisor to a wide range of clients including MIT, Disney, Capital One, Microsoft, The Home Depot, ESPN, Walmart, Kitchen Aid, Carmax, UPS, Dominion Energy, Hamilton Beach and the Colombian Coffee Federation. O’Keefe has also provided brand oversight to dozens of non-profit organizations like Virginia Humanities, Sesame Workshop, Corus International and the Kennedy Foundation. O’Keefe has also acted as advisor on marketing issues to five Virginia Governors.

O’Keefe’s commentary on brands and creativity has been featured in media outlets, like CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, PBS, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Huffington Post, Time and The Washington Post.

O’Keefe has been inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame and named Richmond Ad Person of the Year and Virginia Entrepreneur of the Year, while Adweek named his firm Southeast Agency of the Year.