Service After Service: Kentucky Leaders Will and Candy Reburn Recognized for Supporting More Than 300 Heroes

Service does not end when the uniform comes off. Sometimes, it simply takes a new form.

That spirit of continued service is alive and thriving in Kentucky, where Will and Candy Reburn, Hives for Heroes Kentucky State Leaders, Veterans, beekeepers, and mentors, were recently recognized for their extraordinary commitment to serving our nation’s Heroes.

The recognition brought Will and Candy together with Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Whitney P. Allen, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, whose own career reflects a lifetime of service. Commissioner Allen is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with 25 years of combined military service and three combat tours. He has served as Kentucky’s Commissioner of Veterans Affairs since his appointment in 2021. 

For Hives for Heroes, seeing two of our own recognized at this level represents something much bigger than an award. It represents service in action.

Will and Candy have helped build and strengthen a Kentucky Hives for Heroes community now supporting more than 300 Heroes.

They are not simply administrators or names on an organizational chart. They are Veterans themselves. They are mentors. They are leaders who have invested their time, knowledge, relationships, and energy into helping other Veterans and First Responders find connection and purpose through beekeeping.

Hives for Heroes officially lists Will and Candy among the organization's Kentucky State Leadership team. Their work embodies one of the most important principles behind our mission: Heroes supporting Heroes.

A mentor may begin by teaching someone how to inspect a hive, identify brood, understand bee behavior, or prepare a colony for winter. But somewhere along the way, something bigger happens.

Conversations begin. Relationships develop. Confidence grows.

Someone who once needed a hand eventually becomes the person extending one to the next Hero.

That is how a hive grows, and it is how a community grows.

The work happening in Kentucky represents one part of a movement that now connects more than 10,000 Heroes across all 50 states. Hives for Heroes uses beekeeping, education, community, and peer mentorship to help Veterans, Service Members, and First Responders build meaningful relationships and rediscover purpose after service. 

Kentucky's commitment also aligns naturally with the mission of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides services ranging from benefits assistance and Veterans programs to long-term care and state Veterans cemeteries throughout the Commonwealth. 

Government agencies, nonprofit organizations, local communities, beekeepers, businesses, and individual citizens all have different roles to play.

But the destination is the same: Serve our Heroes well.

That is why recognition like this matters. It shines a light on what can happen when people choose to continue serving long after their own military service has ended.

Will and Candy have given tremendously to the Hives for Heroes community, and we could not be prouder to see their efforts recognized by leadership at the highest levels of Veterans service in the Commonwealth.

Their example is also a reminder that national impact is built locally.

It is built one mentor at a time. One NewBEE at a time. One conversation at a time. One hive at a time.

From more than 300 Heroes in Kentucky to more than 10,000 nationwide, every number represents a person and behind those numbers are leaders willing to show up.

Will and Candy Reburn have shown up again and again.

If you are a Veteran, Service Member, or First Responder, you do not need beekeeping experience to become part of Hives for Heroes. If you are an experienced beekeeper, your knowledge can become the foundation for someone else's next chapter. Hives for Heroes welcomes Heroes, mentors, and supporters into its national community. 

You can also help another Hero find connection, education, mentorship, and purpose by making a donation or by purchasing Heroes Honey: real, raw, American honey that directly supports the mission. Donations and proceeds from Heroes Honeys supports programming, education, scholarships, and help fund the organization's work with Veterans and First Responders.