We are Steve and Cathy Sweeney. The backstory you are about to read is true.
We believe in the power of music to speak to the heart
Here are a couple of fun musical facts:
- Steve skipped the auditions for the Longhorn Band. He sent an audio recording of his material one week before marching tryouts. Then he packed his bags and confidently waited for the directors to call. If they hadn’t called, none of the rest of what you are about to read would have occurred.
- Cathy is a musician’s musician. She played clarinet in concert band, electric bass in jazz band, and marched with a “big flag” in Longhorn Band. She helped our daughter with piano lessons. Cathy sang in the choir (as a youth & adult), started our children’s choir, and then directed it for seven years. She once played a rock concert to a packed house at a Las Vegas venue after not touching an electric bass in over 20 years!
We are the sum total of our experiences
B.J. Neblett
Our company’s backstory is intertwined with, and couldn’t exist without, the sum total of our lived experiences. So, we will tell the backstory of our company using the lyrics from one of our favorite songs.
We selected Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World as the first dance at our wedding. It was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and continues to pop up in our lives at unexpected moments.
“I see trees of green, red roses too; I see them bloom for me and you”
A salt-of-the-earth boy grew up in the Midwest as part of a stable family that kept to its roots. His parents were the first generation of their families to attend college. His Dad took a job in the booming Texas oil industry in 1980 (just prior to the bust), and the family packed up, left their Midwestern roots, and moved to Houston. The boy was introverted, awkward, and painfully shy outside of a few close friends. Running cross-country provided him space, but in the band, he found his place.
In Longhorn Band, he felt drawn to an energetic girl with an old soul (actually, he fell in love — he just didn’t know it yet).
His friends said she was out of his league.
“And I think to myself; What a wonderful life”
“I see skies of blue and clouds of white; The bright blessed days, the dark sacred nights”
A spiritual girl spent several formative years in Virginia as part of a military family that moved around often. Her Dad was a non-commissioned officer in the Air Force, and her Mom was a military wife and working mother. Even post-military, the family continued to move, and she graduated from high school in Colorado. The girl’s energy and enthusiasm for life naturally drew people to her, and she made friends easily. She was most at home in the church (youth & choir) and in the band.
In Longhorn Band, she met and fell in love with the awkward boy, and she knew that he loved her too (even though he remained unaware).
Her friends said that he wouldn’t be good for her.
“And I think to myself; What a wonderful life”
In time, the girl became an accountant and the boy became a management consultant.
“The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky; Are also in the faces of the people going by”
The boy (coming to his senses) professed his love for the girl, and they were married. They proceeded along the traditional route: a house, two kids, and a dog. They hosted dinner parties, attended sporting events, and enjoyed concerts.
Then she moved into commercial real estate while he continued with consulting. They both grew personally and professionally. As they developed skills & experience, they earned promotions and started to settle into what they viewed as their “forever careers.”
And they were happy. Until they weren’t.
“I see friends shaking hands, saying ‘how do you do”; They’re really saying ‘I love you’”
She was very involved at the church: children’s choir director, children’s pageant director, committee member (multiple), choir member, adult class leader.
He was very involved at the university: recruiting, alumni relations, fundraising, program development, enrollment management, event planning, champion of endowments.
She kept connecting and assembling disparate groups of people for the common good.
He had assembled a band of brothers focused on the craft of barbecue.
These experiences led them to think differently about happiness.
He was drawn into community & economic development while she was drawn into ministry.
Their lives were about to change forever.
“I hear babies cry, I watch them grow; They’ll learn more than I’ll ever know”
And in the interim, life happened.
She joined with colleagues to start a real estate firm where she worked days while attending seminary at night.
He consciously chose to become a full-time dad and husband so that she could focus on her studies. He made sure their family ate healthy meals together. In addition to being the chief cook & bottle washer, he was also a mentor, coach, counselor, taxi driver, event planner, supply-chain manager, and more! He became deeply involved in youth development organizations like the YMCA, UMYF, and Scouts. He co-founded the C.H.I.E.F.S., a Dad-driven organization that supported the local elementary school. And in his spare time, he dove further into his barbecue hobby (which had now become a small side-gig). When she was ready to graduate and their youngest child was in middle school, he re-entered the professional workforce as a counselor and advocate for small business startup & growth.
With him by her side, she fought through spinal surgery, colon surgery, and time itself to earn her master’s in theology.
He suffered double pneumonia while hiking at 11,000 feet in the mountains of New Mexico, resulting in a care flight and time in the ICU. With her by his side, he lived to tell about it.
Both kids finished high school and went on to attend the college(s) of their choice.
Steve & Cathy are strong supporters of higher education. Chronologically, they have supported longhorns, mustangs, pirates, terriers, longhorns (2nd generation), and hawkeyes (2nd generation).
“And I think to myself; What a wonderful world.“
Although 2020 was essentially a dumpster fire, there were many reasons to be thankful. The two that have the most direct bearing on this company are:
- Her ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church (connecting church with community and world)
- His departure from a toxic workplace
The boy and girl are still in love. In 2022 they celebrated their 31st Anniversary (and 38 years together).
- You can find more about Cathy’s ministry at SweeneysOnTheCreek.com
- And Steve will be focused on helping small business owners here on the Sweeney Interests website.
“Yes, I think to myself; What a wonderful world.“
Their story is better than anything the salt of the earth boy or spiritual girl imagined for their lives.
God is always better than the plans we imagine for our lives
Bob Goff, Live in Grace, Walk in Love