Leadership
Woody Creek Distillers began with a phone call between Patrick Scanlan and Mark Kleckner, two seasoned engineers and longtime friends. Patrick, a veteran, shared his dream of building a distillery, and Mark eagerly joined the venture, along with Pat’s wife, Mary Scanlan. Their shared vision for world-class spirits was rooted in their deep appreciation for craftsmanship and their commitment to family-owned values.
Mary Scanlan, an arts and education philanthropist and now acting CEO of our women-owned distillery, has led the brand to farm-to-bottle excellence. Her leadership has fostered the company’s growth, ensuring every bottle reflects our commitment to quality, authenticity, and the pioneering spirit of Colorado. Today, the distillery has become a powerhouse of award-winning whiskeys, vodkas, and gins.
All three co-founders, who live in Woody Creek, Colorado remain deeply connected to the land and community that inspires them. Join us in celebrating the extraordinary with every sip.
Mary Scanlan is the CEO of Woody Creek Distillers. She lives in Woody Creek, Colorado with her (mostly) fabulous husband, two (usually) wonderful children, twenty two dogs, and two cats. She grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and studied photography, English literature, and art history at Bennington College, Drake University, and Columbia College Chicago. Mary currently sits on the boards of The Loomis Chaffee School, Bennington College, and the Aspen Education Foundation. Her favorite color is purple. She loves peanut butter, sushi, chocolate bars with almonds in them (she’s a bit particular about this), blueberries… basically anything that is delicious. She loves to bake with her three sourdough starters: Doughlene, Poppy, and Bubbles. Mary also has too many shoes. Currently she is trying to decide what her next tattoo will be.
Mark Kleckner is Co-Founder & Operating Partner at Woody Creek Distillers, which sets the gold standard for Colorado spirits. Mark, a seasoned engineer, founded the company with Patrick Scanlan, a fellow engineer, and his wife, Mary Scanlan, an arts and education philanthropist. Mark oversees every aspect of the company, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, and sets its strategic direction, manages its senior management team and ensures its profitability. Under Mark’s leadership, Woody Creek Distillers has emerged as a formidable farm to bottle distillery crafting award-winning whiskeys, vodkas and gins from scratch using local Colorado ingredients and pristine Rocky Mountain water.
William H. Macy is Spokesdude and Partner at Woody Creek Distillers, which sets the gold standard for Colorado spirits. William is the beloved Oscar Award-nominated and two-time Emmy Award-winning American actor, writer and director, best known for Shameless and Fargo. He travels the U.S. with his ukulele in hand to share his love of Woody Creek Distillers’ award-winning whiskeys, vodka and gin. In William’s own words, “In all sincerity, I think Woody Creek makes the finest spirits in America. We don’t do everything, but what we do, we do as well as the best.”
From bus boy to bartender to spirits brand executive, Woody Creek’s Vice President of Sales, Keith Hemeon was born with the savvy for sales in his blood, as were his father and his grandmother before him. After graduating with a Design Degree from Syracuse University in New York, Keith decided to head west and chase the legendary winters of Colorado, falling in love with Aspen and finding a home in the Roaring Fork Valley. Ski instructor by day, bartender by night, Keith settled on the Hospitality Industry with his love for wine and spirits and embarked on a lifelong career. Following a ten-year tenure as a key account sales manager with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, in 2012, Keith met Mark Kleckner and Pat & Mary Scanlan who were launching Woody Creek Distillers and knew he had found something exceptional.
Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Joe spent his younger years playing baseball, football and working summers with the family electrical company.
He earned a B.S. in Accounting from Clarke University where he was also a captain on the baseball team.
Sticking true to his Chicago roots, Joe’s first job out of college was a union accountant for the Central States Pension and Health Funds. After 6 years of progressing through the Finance Department he accepted an opportunity as a Senior Accounting Manager at Provi, an emerging unicorn in the Tech and Alcohol Beverage industry.
Joe joined Woody Creek Distillers in 2023 and is currently the Finance and Facility Operations Manager. He moved out to beautiful Carbondale Colorado in 2024 with his wife Nichole and three dogs Cosmo, Hank and Ivy.
Joe is a constant competitor and enjoys the gym, golf, sailing and 16” softball. His favorite drink is a Woody Creek Wheated Bourbon on the rocks.
While Blaine’s Woody Creek Distillers career started in 2015, his time in the Roaring Fork Valley dates back well before. His family relocated from Sarasota, FL to Redstone when he was in 8th grade, and Blaine traded the beach for the mountains – not without some hesitation.
Blaine established roots in Colorado, graduating from Roaring Fork High School and heading to University of Colorado in Boulder. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Geology, he headed back to the place he was always most fond of, the Roaring Fork Valley.
Chasing an interest in carpentry, he picked up a job in town. His curiosity piqued one day when he decided to stop in at Woody Creek Distillers and see if they were hiring. Soon Blaine found himself on the bottling line once a week, eager to learn more. Eventually his distillery work outweighed his other job and he joined on the production floor full time. His pursuit to learn all facets of manufacturing eventually led to his position as Head Distiller.
On any given day, you can find Blaine back of house, overseeing the mashing, distillation and barreling process. When Blaine’s not on the production floor, he’s likely fishing the Fork, skiing Snowmass or hanging on his back porch with his dachshund, LD.
Scott started with Woody Creek Distillers in June of 2016. He began as a regional sales rep for the distillery but has since grown into a role that sees him managing a team of sales reps within Colorado and beyond. As a sales team leader, Scott is responsible for managing brand discovery and growth within some of Woody Creek’s top retail and bar partners. As a 3rd generation liquor salesman, some of Scott’s fondest childhood memories are of joining his father and grandfather on their sales routes in the rural mining communities of Northern Nevada. Seeing the relationships that they built with small business owners and their passion for helping them grow that business left a lasting impression on him. Scott strives to honor their legacy by taking his passion for Woody Creek Distillers spirits to our customers and providing them with the service and support that they deserve. He feels truly honored to be the individual that gets to introduce our premium products to so many of our partners.
A third generation Barman & Restaurateur, his Grandfather, Mother and Father have been pub owners and bartenders in New Jersey since the 1930’s. Over the course of his 33-year career, Sean has managed restaurants, bars and cocktail programs in New Jersey, Texas and Colorado and consulted on several national programs. In 2011, he realized a lifelong dream and opened Williams & Graham in Denver, CO. And in 2015 Williams & Graham was listed as one of the“World’s Top 50 Bars” By Drinks International magazine. National media such as Food & Wine magazine, Imbibe magazine, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Playboy, USA Today, and Esquire have recently recognized his beverage programs. At the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards 2014, Sean was honored as the American Bartender of the Year.
