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A Veteran's Day Note from Mark
Shelly SteeleNovember 11, 2025
Today, we pause to honor those who have served our country and for us at Rise Yaupon, that gratitude hits close to home.
Our tea patriarch, Mark, is a US Air Force Veteran... A former F-15 Fighter Pilot turned Delta International Captain, turned Rise Yaupon Tea Co-Founder.
Mark with the future Rise Yaupon President, Shelly
Mark "Stainless" Steele in his F-15 Fighter
Mark, the Delta International Captain
Mark, the Rise Yaupon "Token Male Spokesmodel"
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A note from Mark:
It was great being on a team that served our country, and I was proud to be ready to defend this nation.
As I turn 70, my ability to be a fighter pilot is long gone. (It truly is a young man's game.) Yet I have found another team that allows me to make a difference, and no one is more surprised than me that it is a Florida Native Tea company that few people know about.
We hire second-chance employees to harvest for us and we pay a living wage. Our factory is a job training facility (run by my daughter) that gives over-looked people a chance for dignified work as part of our family. And $1 from products we sell goes towards feeding homeless kids in Volusia County.
And so my life has evolved from Military Service to serving others at Rise Yaupon, and while the two are very different, the reward of being there for others remains.
- Mark "Stainless" Steele
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