[This article by Gary Tanner, with photo by Judith Pishnery, first appeared on the Kennesaw State University website republished with permission]
When Jeff Chassner saw the potential for two of his biggest passions to connect, he was all in to see them through to a perfect partnership.
Those passions are his alma mater Kennesaw State University and his employer New Realm Brewing Co. The partnership between the two has resulted in KSU’s first licensed beer – OWL IN, American Lager, launched just in time for the start of fall semester.
As chief sales officer for New Realm, Chassner ’00 planted the seeds of the partnership with KSU Athletics more than a year ago. The company had begun branded beer partnerships with Georgia Tech and Old Dominion University in recent years. He broached the idea with people he knew in athletics and licensing at KSU.
“I told them, ‘I’m here, and if the opportunity were able to present itself, we would love to partner with you,’” he said.
That partnership has come to fruition, with OWL IN available in shops and restaurants throughout the area, with KSU receiving a portion of the proceeds.
“Jeff is one of the Owls super fans and a great friend to the university,” said Milton Overton, KSU director of athletics. “We value the partnership with New Realm and the fact a KSU alumnus played the leading role in making it happen makes it that much more special.”
Chassner, 47, has a more than a quarter century relationship with Kennesaw State, beginning when he enrolled as a freshman in the summer of 1995 following his graduation from Cobb County’s Wheeler High School.
“I knew with my personality that if I didn’t go right to college, I probably wouldn’t go at all,” he said, later deciding to try the local option KSU, just four exits up Interstate 75 from his home. He signed up for two classes that summer, and immediately knew he was in the right place.
In high school, Chassner played trumpet in the marching band, wrestled his senior year and was an all-around sports fan. At KSU, Owls athletics quickly gained a place in his heart as well, and he found an outlet in the sports world that he thought might turn into a career.
Having walked around the gym poking his head into offices, he encountered the head athletic trainer. They talked, and soon Chassner was a student trainer, something he would continue throughout his career at KSU where he worked with the baseball and men’s basketball teams.
“I filled up water bottles, washed uniforms, taped ankles – you know, kind of got into sports medicine, but we didn’t really have a formal academic program that led to athletic training certification,” he said.
Later in his KSU career, Chassner would meet a fellow student named Kellee Hilliard ’00. For the past two decades they have been married and have three children, who they have included in outings to Owls sporting events.
Earlier this year Jeff and Kellee Chassner established a $50,000 endowed scholarship for exercise science students in the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services.
“Giving back was something that we both wanted to do, and being that Kellee works in the healthcare field and I got my start in athletic training, we decided the scholarship at Wellstar made sense for us,” Jeff Chassner said.
Another aspect of the partnership between KSU and New Realm gives Chassner a chance to give back to his alma mater by speaking to students. One of the most important lessons he passes along is the importance of building relationships.
“What I share when I talk is that I’ve never interviewed for a job,” Chassner said. “When I was in the restaurant business and met people from Miller Brewing, they approached me about joining them, which I did for a decade.”
Further, Chassner said he has built what he calls a “personal board of directors,” seven or eight people he respects and welcomes their input and advice. He recommends the same idea for students at KSU.
The bottom line for Chassner is that he loves KSU.
“I’ve had a great experience with KSU,” he said. “It’s been a journey of 20-plus years, but in a lot of ways it feels like it’s just getting started.”
