Meat+Poultry - April 2017 - 70

S M A L L B U S I N E S S M AT T E R S

The state-inspected facility
operates with a range
of six to 12 employees,
including Dave and
Maggie Haworth and
their two sons, Jake
(left) and Russ (right).

well as specialty items in 25-lb. orders. Nearly
half of the former ice plant is freezer space and
there is plenty of cooler area as well, allowing
complete separation of domestic and wild
game processing/storage.
Haworth confesses that earning a living
in an old building has its challenges. He says
recent changes in the electrical and lighting
systems were a great improvement, but
acknowledges that upcoming priorities include
a new roof later this year.
Haworth's decision to buy the facility as a
base for growing his barbecue seasoning has
paid off in spades. That venture has thrived and
the demand for Wyomin' Dave's BBQ Seasoning
and rub continues to grow.

OLD AND NEW
Clark's Meat House advertises on local radio
stations, Facebook/email, and uses delivery
trucks as mobile billboards. The delivery route
can be up to 150 miles in radius. Its website,
clarksmeathouse.com, is fact-filled, colorful,
maybe a tad boastful, but totally down-to-earth.
The importance of advertising can't be
downplayed, but the best form of advertising
remains the one the Haworths learned
from Grant Clark. It's called community
involvement. If there is an event in the area,
from chili cook-offs to the Elks, the Rotary
or even the rodeo crowd, Clark's Meat House
seems to be involved.

70

MEAT+ POULTRY | 04.17 | www.meatpoultry.com

"The Cattle Women's Association and
Cowbelles, ladies/ranchers associated with the
beef industry, used to prepare roast beef for
their annual banquet/events," Haworth says.
"They come to us to have it cooked and sliced
and they keep coming back every year. That's
the kind of endorsement you can't ever buy."
Dave and Maggie have followed the trail
blazed by Grant Clark in industry service. He
is a past-national director of the American
Association of Meat Processors, past-president
of the Wyoming Meat Processors Association,
and his wife is past-president of the chamber of
commerce and is currently secretary/treasurer
of the Wyoming Meat Processors Association.
They are regular attendees at Montana and
Colorado conventions. In fact, the Wyoming
and Colorado groups hold a combined annual
convention called "Hands Across the Rockies."
"I just love what I do, but the interaction
with other small processors I've met is more
precious than gold," he says. The willingness
to help others succeed doesn't cease to amaze.
"Imagine entering a cured meats competition
and having the folks you are competing against
share their tips with you on how they make
their products better and how you could do the
same. It might be hard work and a challenge
sometimes running a small meat processing
business, but through interfacing with others
like yourself, you realize you are not alone and
somehow the load gets lighter."
http://www.clarksmeathouse.com http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - April 2017

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