For anyone who’s been wondering, Kelly Campbell-Gengnagel confirmed that, yes, it is really fun to work in the beer industry.
As marketing coordinator and social media manager at Indiana Beverage, Campbell-Gengnagel serves as a liaison between suppliers and brewery partners with her sales team, and she handles the company’s social media platforms.
“We work hard and we play hard here, and I love marketing something I’m proud of—this company and the people I work with,” she said. “It is very rewarding to be able to deliver beer to the community that I love and grew up in.”
She also works directly with Jeff Leetz, whom she credits as “the artist and heart of Indiana Beverage.”
“The Leetz Family is a great family to work for,” she said.
Cambell-Gengnagel worked at a bank for 12 years before finding her passion at Indiana Beverage. When three of her colleagues left to work at Indiana Beverage, she followed in their footsteps. After moving through the company’s ranks of sales and marketing, making new connections, and securing her current role, she is forever thankful to have made the switch when she did.
“I have learned a lot at Indiana Beverage and have a whole new family from working here,” she said.
The connections that blossomed into family have been especially meaningful to Campbell-Gengnagel .
“Beer creates good relationships,” she said. “We’re all a team here, and the camaraderie that we have makes this job really special. We don’t just go to work from eight to five and go home—we enjoy spending time together and having a beer together after work.”
She laughed, confirming once again that working in the beer industry is rewarding in more ways than one. It comes with the territory and actually holds a key to certain successes. “Building relationships is all part of it, and a lot of times that happens over sharing a beer,” she said.
She met her best friend, Christine, through Indiana Beverage nearly 15 years ago. Both work in the marketing department and have stood in each other’s weddings.
“I always think to myself, ‘If it weren’t for Indiana Beverage, we wouldn’t be in each other’s lives!’” she said.
Campbell-Gengnagel married in July of 2018, and she and her husband are enjoying remodeling their new home in Chesterton. A Valparaiso native, she met her future spouse at a destination of local lore: the Popcorn Festival.
“My boss always says that 99 percent of relationships begin or end at the Popcorn Fest,” she joked.
Though her job is a passion and relationships are rich, she works hard to ensure continued success in her career and her personal aspirations. She’s currently a full-time marketing student at Purdue University Northwest.
“I received my Associate’s degree from Ivy Tech, and it’s been a big goal of mine to finish my Bachelor’s,” she said.
Campbell-Gengnagel has been pursuing a degree on a part-time basis for six years now. Moving full speed ahead, she’ll be completing her studies in the spring of 2020.
Between her schooling and training for the Chicago Marathon, she joked that she needed to buy her husband a gift for all his support.
“I’ve been very blessed,” she said. “If you have a goal in life, then you go after it! It doesn’t matter how long it takes—you can do it.”
For more information about Indiana Beverage, visit http://www.indianabev.com/.
