Joe was born and raised right here in Carmichael. He grew up with wonderful, kind parents and he is the second of six children. He has one brother who brings out Joe’s mischievous side, four sisters who keep him on his toes, and all of whom he loves dearly. Joe and his wife, Heidi, have been married for 21 years. They have 3 amazing kids. A daughter, who is away at college in her freshman year, and two teenage sons. They consider it their greatest honor to be their parents and to get to love them and watch them grow into their own and are very proud of each of them and who they are. Joe attended UC Davis, where he received his degree in Biochemistry. At one point, he wanted to be an ER doctor, but life brought him different plans that he wouldn’t change. He has since been a Financial Advisor and a Sales Rep for CalPIA.

Life has always been full of family time, church commitments, coaching or attending his kid’s sports and musical events, serving in the community, careers, and a love of barbequing. His love of perfecting his barbequing and smoking skills has led him to create jerky that is flavorful, delicious, and without all the preservatives other jerky has. With the encouragement, support, and a lot of assistance from his wife and kids he started Pit Boss Jerky. As word spread, Joe became the neighborhood jerky guy. People began to request orders and he would leave bags of jerky on the front porch and customers would leave payment in the mail slot. His small neighborhood operation began with only six different flavors and has grown to 11. He is about to launch his 12th flavor, Spicy Island Teriyaki, and a new line of Pit Boss Beef Sticks. Pit Boss Jerky has gone from porch pickups to being sold in local stores.

One of Joe’s favorite aspects of owning a business is the opportunities to give back to a community that continues to support him in his business endeavor. When the world shut down for COVID back in 2020, Pit Boss Jerky shut down production for sales and instead, donated over 650 bags to essential workers including hospital workers, EMTs, Grocery store employees, truck drivers, law enforcement, military, etc. People on social media nominated essential workers they knew, and Joe and his family ended up shipping across the States. Additionally, Pit Boss Jerky has since been honored to be able to sponsor lMilitary and Veterans programs, several local high school programs and sports teams, a college rugby team at American River College, and even a podcast all within our local community. Joe continues to learn and grow in the business world and is humbled and grateful for all the support and encouragement he receives.