A crackerjack team of reporters is covering youth sports at the Park this summer. Samantha Apraham is in the press box taking notes on Little League games, while Keegan Brown roams the field with his camera. The players find it easy to relate to the reporters, because both are 11 years old.
Sam is a veteran sportswriter, who has been describing soccer and baseball games for two years now. She comes up with keen observations and the occasional quote. She also showcases star players from each team. All Sam was lacking was someone to take photos for the articles.
Up stepped Keegan, who is always on the lookout for a gig. The entrepreneurial spirit runs strong in the Brown family. Keegan’s parents launched one of America’s premier ice cream parlors. Keegan works as a cone boy at Brown Cow two days a week. Before that, he was the sole proprietor of Totally Twisty Rings n’ Things.
The budding capitalist was only seven years old when he started the company. He learned how to twist pipe cleaners into jewelry in 1st Grade. “I made my first ring for my mom,” Keegan recalled, “When my dad saw it, he suggested I start the business.” Such an enterprise required an investment of capital, so Keegan went out and bought a thousand pipe cleaners.
That summer, Keegan made $600 selling rings, bracelets and necklaces. He also decorated flip-flops and headbands with pipe cleaners. To his credit, he donated half of the company’s profits to the American Cancer Society. Now, he’s working seven-hour shifts for the family business.
Scooping ice cream is “difficult but fun.” Keegan finds that the parlor is a “happy place to work” and he enjoys socializing with the customers. Keegan is so at ease with people, he doesn’t even fear public speaking. He gave a presentation about a web site he created to a class of college students at Triton.
The site is for Keegan’s newest company: Keegan Brown Photography. He first had the idea to become a professional photographer when he was ten but didn’t get started until three months ago. He had business cards printed and began recruiting local clients. One of them has him taking photographs of ice cream to be used in advertisements.
Advertisements, portraits and events are Keegan’s specialty. He has photographed parties, ceremonies and festivals for very affordable rates. To save on costs, Keegan develops his own film in a dark room. He was taught the skill by his neighbor. It was very generous of the owner of Chris Guillen.Photography to help a potential competitor.
Keegan doesn’t just do commercial shoots. He likes to photograph everyday items that catch his eye: a row of garages, a pop can, a dripping faucet. He also has some musical talent, dressing up like a Blues Brother to play sax at the Middle School talent show. Sam and Keegan are both on the school’s yearbook staff.
Sam joined the staff because she has “always liked writing.” She loves to read “realistic fiction” and has written some of her own “fun stories.” She also has fun writing for the “Review” and said it’s a lot easier now that she’s collaborating with Keegan.
Many of our readers requested that we report on Little League and soccer, because they wanted to see the names of their young athletes in the paper. Sam and Keegan are proving there’s more than one way for a kid to get their name in the Review.
John Rice is a columnist/private detective, who has seen his business and family thrive in Forest Park. He thoroughly enjoys life in the village and still gets a thrill smelling Red Hots, watching softball and strolling through cemeteries.
