Mary Anne Ketelsen, majority owner and CEO of Mister Bee Potato Chips, designed a new chip bag last year, where a portion of the proceeds go to a charity supporting Veterans and military personnel. Since then, Ketelsen has leveraged this special chip bag to contribute USD100,000 to the United Service Organizations (USO) of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore to fund multiple programs that benefit military personnel and their families. Some of the donations were from the purchases of the chips and matching contributions were made by Ketelsen herself.
“Our service personnel should be honored every day and not just one day in November each year,” said Ketelsen. “To show our deep respect and appreciation for the women and men who serve our country, we are proud to announce the company’s continued commitment to this campaign.”
During November and December, the company will be providing free shipping on online orders of the USO-branded chips. Ketelsen said West Virginia’s only potato chip company would ultimately produce 250,000 bags of chips in the special chip bag showing a young girl holding the hand of a soldier.
Elaine Rogers, president and CEO of USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore, said the 2019-20 partnership with Mister Bee Potato Chips “has made a significant impact in helping us provide the critical programs and services to support members of the military and their families. We have also enjoyed Mister Bee’s tasty potato chips and have shared them widely with the military community here in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan region.”