Vernon Bewley, President
As the driving force behind Hill Shepherd, Vernon's role is to help your business achieve bottom-line results, cost effectively and on deadline. Whether you already have marketing programs in place or whether you are starting from scratch, Vernon will work with you to develop and implement a plan of action to meet your current business goals though web development, media planning, brand identity, public relations, sponsorships, advertising, packaging or collateral design. Upon your approval of the project direction and estimated cost, Hill Shepherd Marketing Group's team moves forward to make your new marketing strategies reality.

With a strong background in the production agriculture and equine industries, Vernon's experience ranges beyond marketing to animal nutrition (he holds a BS in Dairy Science with a Ruminant Nutrition emphasis from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX and spent many years as a Ruminant Nutritionist), ranch management (3,500 acres, commercial cow/calf and registered Longhorns) and programming (Visual Basic and SQL). Special interests: wine, photography, fly fishing and training working Border Collies to herd sheep and cattle.

Sara Bewley, Partner
An energetic, results oriented management professional with extensive experience in operations management and marketing, Sara works hand-in-hand with clients on a wide variety of projects, including strategic consulting that ties marketing to the bigger picture presented by their P&L Statement - because lets face it...its not worth doing if it doesn't put money in your pocket!

With a three year tenure as the Vice President of Clinton Anderson's Downunder Horsemanship (with an additional 4 years prior as a client/agency overseeing all marketing), Sara was responsible for strategic oversight of daily operations for the multi-channel retailer; including hands-on management of call center, inventory, fulfillment, in-house catalog production and graphic design, television production, product manufacturing, web site management, accounting, sponsorship solicitation/relations, public relations and management of on-the-road events and staff. This dynamic role required a large degree of agility to address evolving priorities and needs of a rapidly growing celebrity-centric multi-channel business as well as careful analysis of short and long term revenue and profitability goals. She led financial oversight, budgeting, strategic planning, professional development of staff and marketing strategy/production. In addition to managing a staff of 35 with nine direct reports, she spearheaded inception of a monthly subscription based club with over 6,000 members in its first year, developed sales and marketing strategies responsible for double digit growth, personally solicited and serviced sponsorship agreements with such industry leaders as Wahl Clipper, 3M Animal Health, Featherlite Trailers and Primedia and coordinated logistics for thirty special events per year.

Prior to her leadership of Dowunder Horsemanship, Sara was actively involved in Hill Shepherd Marketing Group, responsible for overseeing the national advertising, pr and web development for tack manufacturer Weaver Leather and led internet initiatives for Horse Health USA/PBS Animal Health that were responsible for skyrocketing growth in an otherwise flat animal health supply market. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a Journalism/News Editorial Emphasis and Animal Science minor, Sara is a regular attendee at Direct Marketing Association Conferences and has attended the week long Influence and Negotiation Strategies Program at Stanford University instructed by Maggie Neale and Thomas Lys. She is a member of the Cross Timbers Business and Professional Womens Club (CTBPW). Special interests: raising Angora Goats, riding (her non-Pro reiners Snickers and Holly), kayaking, travel and reading (business strategy, leadership, history).

Erik "Mack" McGowan, Graphic Designer
Mack is a family man, a musician, a self-described goofball. and Hill Shepherd's multi-talented graphic designer. His experience in the advertising, signage and new media industries gives him the foundation from which to produce unique, forward-thinking designs for Hill Shepherd's clients. A fellow Tarleton State University alum, Mack holds a degree in Communications.

Danielle C. Monroe, Media Coordinator
Growing up in Indiana, Danielle says she has always had a passion for animals. From club involvement in 4-H Horse and Pony to "Hoosier Hounds" to FFA and a score of jobs including veterinary clinics, a Thoroughbred breeding farm, a trail riding facility and an equestrian YMCA camp, Danielle has an array of experience in the equine industry. With a BS degree from Purdue University in Agricultural Communications and a minor in animal science, she also has the knowledge and education to back her passion. It is through her combined experiences and talents that she has come to the role of writer, public relations agent and media planner for Hill Shepherd Marketing Group. Special interests: riding, singing, watching movies and spending time outdoors.

Adjunct Staff
Graphic design, writing, photography and software development professionals are all part of the Hill Shepherd Marketing Group team. Many of our team members have rich backgrounds in the agriculture and equine fields, in addition to their respective specialties. Each has been hand selected because of their talent and commitment to accuracy and excellence.

The Hill Shepherd Marketing Group team, shown here on site at the 2008 Road to the Horse.