Being too cheap to actually purchase the book, I checked out The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin book by Becca Dilley and James Norton last winter From the River Falls Public Library. And before I go any further, I want to make it clear that this is a book to purchase, especially if you want to know what some of the very best cheeses are in this state. In any case, there was an inset in the book about the Cheese Underground blogger, Jeanne Carpenter. I marked that page with a PostIt note. 
Not long after that, I signed up for a free upgrade from LinkedIn. I don’t know how they do this, but they guaranteed that people would respond back to an email. I had three of those to spend. So I spent one to get in touch with Jeanne. I introduced myself, included the link to the River Falls Journal article and asked if I could pick her brain. And that’s how I got to meet Jeanne Carpenter.
Here is her bio from the American Cheese Society webpage: Jeanne Carpenter is a cheese geek, but she didn’t start out that way. Raised on Velveeta on a family farm in Wisconsin, after college she worked as a journalist, a corporate manager, and finally as a communications specialist for state government. In 2007, she started her own public relations company to promote artisan cheese. In 2009, Jeanne launched Wisconsin Cheese Originals, a member-based organization dedicated to discovering, tasting, and learning about artisan cheeses through a variety of events, including an annual festival every November. She authors the blog, Cheese Underground, and has served on the ACS Marketing Committee since 2008.
Jeanne Carpenter
All I think I knew at the time is that she wrote the blog and had a background in journalism. Not long after we had our initial phone conversation, I emailed her a press release that I made for the indiegogo campaign. I took a journalism class in high school so I knew that there was a proper form that the media liked to see those things in. I asked her to help me with that formatting. Next thing I knew, I received an entirely revamped press release that was WAY better than mine and she offered to send it to all of her contacts that she had collected in the industry. Turns out this is another thing that Jeanne does for a living. And as you can see from WeatherVane Creamery’s News page, that press release got a ton of mileage including a call from a journalist in New Jersey who freelances for Entrepreneur and Gourmet Retailer magazines who wanted my exclusive story (when I raised the $100,000 of course). You’ll note that Jeanne also blogged about WeatherVane Creamery. It’s kind of funny to be blogging back at her now. She called me spunky…what do I get to call her? Sharp and passionate. Also generous and committed to the specialty cheese industry.
Jeanne has given me great advice and even gave me a list of cheeses that WeatherVane must carry. This list is in my business plan. Other things that I came across as a result of Jeanne is the scholarship info for the American Cheese Society conference. And while at that conference, she helped introduce me to other cheese retailers. I was very relieved that she was there. I didn’t know anyone and it made a difference to know that I had a friend out there. She also turned me on to the Dairy Business Innovation Center and the Specialty Cheese Institute. I even employed her for my last press release and highly recommend her to anyone.
Jeanne is truly a gem, not just to me but for the entire specialty cheese industry, and most importantly our industry here in Wisconsin. I am very grateful to have her acquaintance and support.