By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER

Ohio Correspondent

OXFORD, Ohio — Black Pony Kettle Corn started popping when Emma Glazier was a freshman at Talawanda High School. She needed an FFA project, so she decided to start a business venture using a family recipe for kettle corn.

What to call the business? Horses were her passion, and she had a black pony.

The business is a happy story; last year the Talawanda FFA sold $12,000 worth of Black Pony Kettle Corn, the third year it offered it in the fruit sale. “It was big,” said Kari Roberts, who, with Mike Derringer, are the Talawanda-Butler Tech FFA advisors.

“The first year was a trial,” she said. “People knew and liked the product from buying it at different festivals and local stores. We liked that – not only were we helping a local business, but one of our own FFA members. It was a huge hit; we did well, more than anybody expected.

“Each year since then we have increased the sales. This year we sold over $12,000 worth of popcorn. It was big.”

It started small. When Glazier was still considering her project, the Tough Enough to Wear Pink Horse Show got the ball rolling. She was then a member of the Miami Valley Horse Show Assoc. Youth Group, which attended the show, and they needed a fundraiser. She suggested selling the kettle corn.

“The first time, right off the bat, everybody said, ‘This is really good,’” Glazier said. “So it has grown from there. We researched; a friend had recipes that got into the gourmet end of things. The base is kettle corn, but you can use different coatings – we have caramel corn, Chicago mix, birthday cake (flavors). My whole family is involved.”

Her dad, Eric (who does most of the popping), mom, Becky, and brother, Ben, have been supportive as has her boyfriend, Jarred Dwiggins. The family is now building a new house, and the basement will be a “pop shop” set up to support the business conveniently.

Glazier graduated from Talawanda and is currently a nursing student. She originally planned to get a business degree and grow her business, but a family member had health issues, and that changed her plans.

“He was very supportive of my popcorn business and he just wanted to see me take this as far as I could,” she explained. “But seeing him in and out of hospitals, I was drawn to that setting. I want to help people in that way.”

Even after Glazier has a career of her own, she will still be involved in the business. She is excited about the walk-out basement in the new house. They can wheel in supplies – they use Amish corn from Indiana – and wheel out bags of popcorn. The caramel corn is a favorite.

“This business was started from a fundraiser, and we donate a lot throughout the year,” she said. “We like to give back to what gave me my start. We always give back to the horse show, and many other charities.”

They also give back to the FFA, and have established The Black Pony Kettle Corn Entrepreneurial Scholarship in memory of her great-uncle, Hager Fugate. The FFA students also use the popcorn to “sell” to the judges in the FFA Agricultural Sales Career Development Event (CDE). Last year they were second in the state.

And there is still a black pony. Coal was Glazier’s first, and he was special to her. He has since gone on to pony heaven, but Max has taken his place as the popcorn’s trademark.