We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeni and Mike O’Callaghan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeni and Mike, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Jeni was born in ARIZONA. Her family has owned Tres Brisas since 1963. She was raised in the outdoors by active parents that were athletes involved almost every water sport. Her mother and grandmother were artists. Jeni’s love for nature and her genes caused her to express herself in art as well. Mike was born in New York, and moved to ARIZONA on his tenth birthday with his family. Mike has been running since 1965, including marathons–including the first Tucson Marathon (1969), Boston and New York. He has also run a rim to rim of the Grand Canyon, and has coached countless high school runners.
In 1985 they married, moving to Rancho Tres Brisas in 2008 after visiting family and the property there for many years.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Jeni has been a registered nurse since 1990. She was privileged to teach nurses at the community college level and truly enjoyed seeing the light come on when book learning connected to real life learning. Mike became an educator so he could coach cross country and track and field. Over the years this seasoned teacher has taught music, mathematics, science, history, government, and economics.
Neither of these directly relate to raising beef, but the base of life knowledge helps us go forward.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We live in the Verde Valley, which is here because of the Verde River. A paddle along the river is a must; it is a great way to learn about the life that the green ribbon creates. The ribbon of green creates unique habitat for all kinds of animals. The Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival is the local premier event that allows one to learn and experience nature, learning with experts. Native Americans have lived in the Valley for over 1000 years, several ruins can be explored in the area. Native Americans still live in Valley and bring a special tone to the Verde Valley–their celebrations are amazing to enjoy and learn.
Agriculture is a major part of the Verde Valley, a tour of barley fields, corn fields, farmer’s markets and vineyards is a must–with a little tasting as you go. A trip to the Sinagua Malt facility is a possibility.
Get high. As it is a Valley, there are areas where one can hike or drive to sweeping vistas, go there.
In Camp Verde, I’d recommend Moscato’s for fine dining, Crusty’s for Pizza, Babe’s for Barbeque, and Gabriella’s for Mexican food.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Friends of the Verde River and the Nature Conservancy have both helped us to better use our property to produce sustainable beef via good water conservation. Our children are also a great support to this family venture.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tresbrisasbeef

Other: Word of mouth is our main driver of advertising.

Image Credits
Jeni O’Callaghan

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