From Norway to Texas: Fourteen Days of Purpose, People and Possibility

I am writing this from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, on my way home after fourteen days in Texas.

As I write this, I have a freshly baked, warm French croissant and a café au lait in front of me.

It is Paris, after all.

More importantly, I finally have a little time to think about everything that happened during two weeks at full speed.

Fourteen days of bees, Veterans, First Responders, partners, biodiversity, business, Texas hospitality and big ideas.

So this feels like a good time to tell the story.

I am Peder Aaserud, born in Hamar, in Norway’s agricultural heartland, raised mostly in Oslo, and now living just outside the capital.

I grew up around farms, fields and forests — but also with America. My grandfather loved American cars, and for a Gen Xer in Norway, American culture was everywhere.

America was far away geographically.

Culturally, not quite as far.

Maybe that is why Texas makes sense to me.

The trucks are bigger. The steaks are definitely bigger. And Texans seem to have very little interest in doing anything on a small scale.

I like that.

Being Norwegian in America

I have traveled widely across the United States over the last decade, but Houston and Texas have earned a special place in my heart.

Americans are welcoming and curious. Tell someone you are Norwegian and there is a good chance they suddenly remember a Scandinavian relative somewhere in the family tree.

These days, Norway is even easier to explain.

Haaland.

Norway spent generations building international recognition. Then Erling Haaland came along and suddenly everyone knows Norway.

He may have done more for Norwegian name recognition in America than decades of official diplomacy.

Not bad for a soccer player.

How I Found the Hive

My relationship with Hives for Heroes began through my work with Beefutures, a Norwegian-French technology company developing digital tools for beekeeping, pollinator health and biodiversity.

My first conversation with Steve Jimenez happened by phone. I was in Voss, Norway, looking out over the mountains. Steve was in Houston.

We clicked immediately and agreed there was a lot we could explore together, so we met at the North American Honey Bee Expo in Louisville, Kentucky.

Steve later welcomed me into his family, introduced me to his parents and shared barbecue with me.

For a Norwegian, that kind of immediate openness made an impression.

He quickly became a friend.

So did the mission.

I care deeply about mental health, and I know how working with bees forces you to slow down and be present.

When I understood how Hives for Heroes connects Veterans and First Responders through bees, mentorship and community, my reaction was simple:

Wow. This matters.

Fourteen Days at Full Speed

Today, I serve Hives for Heroes as Vendor Relationship Manager and European Ambassador.

Basically, I work where mission meets business.

I arrived in Texas on August 9. I am heading home August 23.

A lot happened in between.

We met vendors, partners, members and organizations across the beekeeping industry, worked with the leadership team and planned for what comes next.

We connected with the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce in Houston, continuing a long Norway–Houston relationship built around energy, maritime industries, technology and business.

At Texas Southern University, we discussed the potential for a major biodiversity initiative.

Then there was Dallas.

At Old Parkland, I saw a remarkable mix of history, architecture, business, capital and civic leadership.

For a Norwegian, the scale was slightly mind-blowing.

At the George W. Bush Presidential Center, we inspected the Hives for Heroes hives and delivered honey from the Royal Estate at Bygdøy — the Norwegian Royal Family’s summer residence — as a gift for President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush.

If the Royal Estate ever wants some Bush Center honey in return, I know a guy.

Different meetings. Different places.

But one question kept coming back:

What could we build together?

And, because this is Texas:

How do we make it happen?

Human Impact Meets Environmental Impact

Biodiversity has been part of my work for years.

I have worked where beekeeping, technology and biodiversity meet, including developing digital tools for beekeepers and working with pollinator projects in Europe and the United States.

I am also a certified beekeeper and previously served as board chair of ByBi, Oslo’s urban beekeeping and pollinator organization.

There I worked with Pollinatorpassasjen — the Pollinator Passage — an initiative connecting green spaces and food sources for bees and other pollinators across the city.

The idea behind much of this work is simple:

When we develop land, what are we removing — and what can we put back?

That question matters in fast-growing Texas.

For Hives for Heroes, it creates an exciting possibility: environmental impact and human impact at the same time.

Restore land with native plants, pollinator habitat and bees — while Veterans and First Responders help build and care for it.

Nature benefits.

Heroes do something meaningful.

That is much bigger than putting a few beehives somewhere and taking a nice picture.

And I find it pretty remarkable that experience from Norway and Europe can land in Texas and be met with:

How can we make this real?

I am happy to keep talking if they keep listening.

Why Texas Works for Me

There is something about the Texas mindset I really like.

People are direct, optimistic and interested in making things happen.

But what stays with me just as much is the hospitality. People open their doors, bring you into the family and make you feel welcome.

So I figured it was only fair to return the favor — Norwegian style.

Steve and Nila got rømmegrøt, flatbread, cured ham and blackcurrant cordial.

For the uninitiated, rømmegrøt is a traditional Norwegian sour cream porridge.

It may not sound very Texan.

But it disappeared from the table.

A Bigger, Smarter Hive

Hives for Heroes already reaches Heroes across all 50 states, and the organization is now going through a major digital evolution.

BeeXchange is an important part of that — helping connect NewBEEs, Mentors, partners and the wider organization through better technology, data and digital tools.

Technology does not replace relationships.

It helps people find them.

For me, that is a natural connection. I spent years working with technology inside the beehive.

Now I am helping strengthen the digital ecosystem around the people.

Even one of the world’s oldest professions can benefit from a software update.

The Distance Is Smaller Than It Looks

So here I am in Paris, heading home.

I miss my wife and my children, and I am ready to see them.

But I already know what I will miss about Texas: the people, Houston, the energy, the optimism and that constant drive to make things happen.

The good thing is, I will be back soon. There is more work ahead — and the Hives for Heroes gala is already on the calendar.

For now, I am heading home grateful for fourteen intense days and excited about what comes next.

And there is one image that feels like the right way to end this trip:

Steve and me standing together in Texas, both wearing red for R.E.D. Friday — Remember Everyone Deployed.

Two friends from opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Same Hive. Same mission.

The Atlantic is still wide.

It just feels a little smaller now.

People First. Bees Always.

~By Peder Aaserud, Vendor Relationship Manager & European Ambassador