12/20/2023
This gesture probably looks pretty silly to most people who look at it but most people have no idea what this picture truly means.
When I got diagnosed in 2018, Matt was devestated. I've never seen him cry like that before. He didn't know what to do so he went to work and worked for as long as his boss would allow him overtime to make sure we had enough for my treatments. He started Bacon King BBQ and started selling BBQ as a way to get even more money for our family. With a lot of work, he managed to grow his business quickly because he is AMAZING behind that smoker. He was extremely distant during my treatment and as much as it sucked and grew resentments, I now know he was just trying to cope while also trying to provide for our family.
As things calmed down with my health and COVID happened, he got the idea to start a 3D printing business for the BBQ probes that had long cords that annoyed me to no end. I didn't believe in him at first and only allowed one printer to be purchased by the business. We started with orders on Facebook, working together to keep everything organized and well, it exploded. We worked tirelessly, sometimes setting alarms through the night (with 2 little kids no less!) to start new prints to make sure we could meet the demand as we had a back log of 45 orders on any given day. I watched as Matt taught himself how to create a website, take product pictures, set up a shipping and paypal account and tie everything together so it was seamless. At the height of our production at the beginning of 2021, we had seven printers running full time. I took over most everything and without much marketing, the orders kept coming in.
We are back down to using just one printer, whom is aptly named Behemoth because he's A BIG BOY and frankly, I enjoy the slower pace and it's much less noisy! This is all to say, 1,000 orders might seem miniscule to some businesses but to us, this is huge. It's helped cover medical costs, given us a chance to take family vacations, allowed Matt to expand his BBQ prowess at RecTeq Academy with his dad and brother among many other things.
At the end of the day, we all have times where we fall short in some ways but I know Matt loves us and he'd do anything to make sure we were taken care of. So thank you, Matt for being who you are and doing what you can. Happy 1,000 orders to you and me because through it all, we are a team. And you know what they say... you can't spell team without MEAT! Keep on smokin' everyone and happy holidays from the Hewsons behind BACON KING BBQ!!!!!
