South Brunswick Magazine Winter Issue 2020/21

Winter 2020-21 Winter 2020-21 || SouthBrunswickMagazine.com SouthBrunswickMagazine.com

FUTURE 10 MEET 10 OF THE TALENTED YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

WHO ARE THE FUTURE LEADERS OF BRUNSWICK COUNTY. C O M PL IM E N TA RY

SEA BISCUIT WILDLIFE SHELTER

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25 YEARS OF CIS

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ARCHAEOLOGY IN SOUTHPORT

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A light at the end.

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Who Needs a Hand, Elbow & Shoulder Specialist?

Welcome To Our Orthopedic Specialists Team, Kelly Esposito, MD, MBA Hand, Upper Extremity & Microvascular Surgery EmergeOrtho offers residents of Brunswick and surrounding counties the expertise of highly trained physicians, including fellowship-trained, board-certified and board-eligible experts in every orthopedic specialty.

Advanced MRI, same-day appointments and telemedicine are also available at most locations. So if your bone, joint or muscle pain is getting out of hand, see the specialists at EmergeOrtho.

BACK, NECK & SPINE | SHOULDER | ELBOW & ARM | HAND & WRIST | JOINT REPLACEMENT | HIP & KNEE

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COMPLETE

D E N TA L

FOUR Great REASONS TO LIST YOUR HOME 1. Buyers Are Actively Searching Now is the time to take advantage of the buyer activity currently in the market so you can sell your house in the most favorable terms.

2. There Are Not Enough Homes for Sale Compared to this time last year, Active Listings are down. Brunswick -35.6% 3. The Process Is Going Quickly According to the latest Origination Insights Report from Ellie Mae, the time needed to close a loan is just 49 days.

4. Its Time to Move Up You’ve likely spent much of the last six months in your current home.

Perhaps you now realize how small it is, and you need more space.

Bottom Line: The housing market is primed for sellers in our area. Now is the time to connect with your Intracoastal Realty Neighborhood Specialist. If the timing is right for you and your family...

The market is calling your name!

I N T R A C O A S T A L R E A L T Y. C O M | O C E A N I S L E B E A C H O F F I C E : 9 1 0 - 5 7 9 - 3 0 5 0 | L E L A N D O F F I C E : 9 1 0 - 2 0 1 - 2 2 0 0

TABLE OF CONTENTS

D FEATURES

FEATURES

WINTER 2020-21 D VOLUME 12, ISSUE 2

48 48 FUTURE 10

Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce and South Brunswick Magazine recognize Brunswick County’s young professionals and future leaders.

By Melissa Slaven Warren

66 SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS

Communities In Schools of Brunswick County celebrates 25 years of helping local students succeed.

By Jo Ann Mathews

76 WHAT IS RESILIENCY?

An effort is underway to educate the Brunswick County community about the effects of childhood trauma and resiliency.

By Jo Ann Mathews

90 A FRIEND OF WILDLIFE

Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter on Oak Island is expanding to rehabilitate more wild birds and animals.

By Ed Beckley

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South Brunswick Magazine

Winter 2020-21

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

IN EVERY ISSUE

DEPARTMENTS

16 PUBLISHER’S NOTE

27 SPIRITS

18 CONTRIBUTORS 21 WHAT’S HAPPENED

What’s been going on around town

32 ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

Extras you’ll only find online

35 UP NORTH

Finds in the Winter 2020-21 edition of North Brunswick Magazine

103 BUSINESS PROFILES Private Italy Tours

104 SHALLOTTE INLET TIDE CHART 105 ADVERTISERS INDEX 106 TAGGED

B-52

By Sandi Grigg

28 WHAT’S COOKIN’ Beer Cheese Soup

By Sandi Grigg

37 BEHIND THE BUSINESS

The Gathering Place: Farm Tables & Furniture, Inc. is a place for custom furniture.

By Claire Lynch

43 SPORTS

Wild Tide Lacrosse offers boys and girls in grades 8 through 12 the chance to build confidence and have fun.

By Beth A. Klahre

61 AROUND TOWN

The Southport Drum Circle extends an open invitation to anyone who would like to share in the art of drumming.

By Carolyn Bowers

PHOTO BY BILL RITENOUR

97

PHOTO BY CLAIRE LYNCH

PHOTO BY JAMES STEFIUK

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D IN EVERY ISSUE D DEPARTMENTS

43 81 REAL ESTATE

A compact home in Oak Island is changing people’s perceptions about homebuilding.

By Annesophia Richards

85 NONPROFIT

Public Archeology Corps unearths artifacts that tell the forgotten story of a place, as happened at their recent dig at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Southport.

By Carolyn Bowers

97 FOOD AND DRINK

The Boynton family bakes with love at Sweetcakes Tbc in Ocean Isle Beach.

By Claire Lynch

61

71 PEOPLE

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South Brunswick Magazine

PHOTO BY CAROLYN BOWERS

Retired electrician Ralph Lilley has spent the last 17 years volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and has no plans of slowing down.

By Jo Ann Mathews

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Winter 2020-21

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South Brunswick Magazine – Winter 2020-21 Volume 12, Issue 2 OWNER/PUBLISHER: Justin Williams DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Sandi Grigg COPY EDITOR: Molly Harrison CONTRIBUTING GRAPHICS: Paula Knorr Teresa Kramer Eliza Dale Niemann

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Brian Wilner George Jacob

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ed Beckley Carolyn Bowers Megan Deitz Jo Ann Mathews Bill Ritenour James Stefiuk CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Ed Beckley Carolyn Bowers Sandi Grigg Beth A. Klahre Claire Lynch Michelle Macken Jo Ann Mathews Annesophia Richards Melissa Slaven Warren

PUBLISHED BY:

CAROLINA MARKETING COMPANY, INC. PO Box 1361, Leland, NC 28451 (910) 207-0156 • info@northbrunswickmagazine.com Reproduction or use of the contents in this magazine is prohibited.

© 2020 Carolina Marketing Company, Inc. Carolina Marketing Company, Inc. strives to bring correct, accurate information that is published in the magazine. However, Carolina Marketing Company, Inc. cannot be held responsible for any consequences resulting from errors or absences. Carolina Marketing Company, Inc. also cannot be held responsible for the services provided by any and all advertisers in our publications.

All material in this magazine is property of Carolina Marketing Company, Inc. and may not be reproduced without authorization from the publisher. South Brunswick Magazine – A Carolina Marketing Company, Inc. publication is published four times per year and is distributed to residents and businesses in South Brunswick County, NC, to subscribers and to select areas of New Hanover County, NC and Horry County, SC.

About the cover: Winter 2020-21 | SouthBrunswickMagazine.com

FUTURE 10 MEET 10 OF THE TALENTED YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

WHO ARE THE FUTURE LEADERS OF BRUNSWICK COUNTY. C O M PL IM E N TA RY

SEA BISCUIT WILDLIFE SHELTER

12

South Brunswick Magazine

|

25 YEARS OF CIS

|

ARCHAEOLOGY IN SOUTHPORT

South Brunswick Magazine and Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce are proud to present ten of Brunswick County’s future leaders for the eighth year in a row. Photographer Megan Deitz captured our cover images (there are two different covers distributed) and the story images, and writer Melissa Slaven Warren wrote about each recipient.

See the story starting on page 48.

Winter 2020-21

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Want to subscribe to SBM? Subscriptions are $15.99 per year and include 4 issues of SBM. Subscribe safely online using PayPal, credit or debit card at www.

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Back Issues When available, back issues of SBM can be purchased for $5. Call or email us for information.

Letters We welcome your letters and comments about SBM. Send your letters to PO Box 1361, Leland, NC 28451 or email them to info@SouthBrunswickMagazine.com. When sending your letters, keep in mind they may or may not be published in a future issue of SBM. The publisher reserves the right to make the final decision.

Writing Opportunities We are always willing to consider freelance writers and article ideas. Please send suggestions or inquiries to South Brunswick Magazine, Attn: Editor, PO Box 1361, Leland, NC 28451. Or email us at edit@SouthBrunswickMagazine.com.

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Advertising Interested in advertising in SBM? Please contact us to set up a meeting with an Account Executive. Our main office number is (910) 207-0156, or you can email us at advertise@SouthBrunswickMagazine.com.

Marketing Services Carolina Marketing Company, Inc. provides a wide range of marketing services. This includes advertising design services, custom publications, mailing services and more.

Contact our office for additional information or to set up a meeting with a Marketing Consultant.

SouthBrunswickMagazine.com Visit us online at the above website. With any additional questions, call us at (910) 207-0156.

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South Brunswick Magazine

When It Comes to Your Healthcare, Everyone Deserves a Team of Experts.

Primary Care, Women’s Health, General Surgery, and More, Across Southern Brunswick County

Every Patient. Every Time.

Visit Dosher.org/Clinics Dosher is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Winter 2020-21

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Focused on the Positive As we close out 2020, I know I am not alone in saying that this has been an unpredictable and interesting year. I could go on and on about all the difficulties that have happened and will continue to happen, but you already know what those would be. So, to focus on the positive, I think it’s better to bring up how awesome it is to see our communities coming together, to see people helping each other and checking in on one another in these difficult times.

It has been refreshing this year to see people offering their support for nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofits rely heavily on big, in-person fundraising events such as dinners, lunches, galas and festivals, all which have not been possible this year. I was curious as to how some of these organizations were going to handle this predicament, and each one has seemed to figure it out with new ideas like virtual events, comedic t-shirts and online auctions, to name a few. Of course these organizations did not raise the money this year that they have in previous years, which is why right now it’s so important to give what you can. Whether you give money or time, pick an organization that means something to you and help them. They need it now more than ever.

We have had a challenging year here at South Brunswick Magazine. Our small staff has stepped into various roles outside of our regular duties to keep us going. Lots of learning, understanding and growing has taken place. We are ecstatic to be here bringing you local stories from our community, and we hope that you feel the same. The key to us staying around is that our readers support our advertisers. Tell them you saw them in South Brunswick Magazine. Tell them you appreciate them supporting the magazine so that we can bring these stories and information to you. Without them we can’t produce this print publication, run our online stories or post on our social media (please follow us on Facebook and Instagram if you haven’t already!).

We hope you enjoy this issue of South Brunswick Magazine.

From 10 profiles about the young professionals making a difference in Brunswick County to one about a retired engineer’s legacy with Habitat for Humanity, from a look at an archaeological dig into Southport’s history to a peek into a very small home in Oak Island and so much more, this issue is packed with stories that reflect the history, culture, people and natural beauty of the South Brunswick area and the information you need to best enjoy your time here.

We love the South Brunswick communities and appreciate everyone’s ongoing support.

Publisher@SouthBrunswickMagazine.com

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South Brunswick Magazine

PHOTO BY MEGAN DEITZ

Justin Williams Owner/Publisher

HOME Home Is Where The Heart Is. It's Where Love And Laughter Abound.

It's Where Memories Are Made.

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We've been the firm that you’ve trusted for more than 30 years and we are committed to serving the real estate needs of Brunswick County. Â

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Winter 2020-21

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CONTRIBUTORS

Megan Deitz CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

I turned my love of photography into a full-time career in 2003 when I began traveling up and down the East Coast as a sports photographer. Today, I specialize in portrait and commercial photography but can be found fueling my true passion for landscape and wildlife photography through my travels around the world. My work can be viewed at megandeitz.com and @megandeitz_photography on Instagram.

Sandi Grigg DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT / FOOD EDITOR

Growing up in a small town in the foothills of North Carolina and attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, I always dreamed of living on the coast.

After earning my degree in Marketing/Branding I moved to Wilmington, and the life my spouse and I have created for ourselves is a blessing beyond words. Together and with our son, we enjoy fishing the shores of Carolina Beach and picking up seashells and shark’s teeth. At home I love to cook and write recipes, spend time with our son and take on DIY home improvement endeavors. Being a part of the Carolina Marketing Company team has showed me that you really can enjoy your job, and we feel like a family. I am truly grateful to have a career I love in the city I aspired to be in. Life is grand!

Beth A. Klahre CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Two years ago, after retiring from a career at a major food-manufacturing corporation in Pennsylvania, with technical and leadership roles in engineering, information technology and global shared services, my husband Jeff and I moved to Southport. While he’s golfing, I spend time on my new passions, including writing stories about the amazing people I meet and walking the beach with our dog, Betsy.

I am learning to play the harp, and my love of books has led me to join the board of directors of the Friends of the Library of Southport and Oak Island. Our son, Matthew, and his fiancé, Angie, live in Philadelphia, where both are lawyers.

18

South Brunswick Magazine

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South Brunswick Magazine

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WHAT'S HAPPENED

Shallotte Rotary Club Hosts Ribbon Cutting for Little Library

his co-workers are sad to see him go, everyone hopes that he enjoys retirement and the next stage of his life. Parks and Recreation Director Aaron Perkins says, “Bill has been a valuable staff member for these past 30 plus years.

He’s well known in the Winnabow community and took great pride in keeping Town Creek Park beautiful.”

On September 10 Shallotte Rotary Club gathered for lunch and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Little Library that was recently installed at Mulberry Park in Shallotte. Time, talent and materials donated by the community members was most appreciated. Social distancing, masks and individual lunch boxes were used for safety.

Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce Announces Winners of the Summer and Fall 2020 Golden Pineapple Awards

Browns Outdoor Headquarters Establishes Brunswick Community College Foundation Scholarship Program

Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce’s Golden Pineapple Awards are given quarterly to those businesses nominated by their customers for providing consistent and exceptional customer service. The businesses are recognized at a ceremony held at the chamber. Winners can be found at southportoakisland.com

Brunswick County Schools Principal, Assistant Principal and Teacher of the Year Announced Brown’s Outdoor Headquarters in Delco has started an annual scholarship through the Brunswick Community College Foundation. Irvin Brown, owner of Brown’s Outdoor Headquarters, is a native of Columbus County. He believes that “students are our greatest assets” and says, “They should all have a chance to further their education, and I am excited to help them by providing this scholarship.” This scholarship will be distributed to two students who graduate from either North Brunswick High School or East Columbus High School.

Bill Brown Retires from Brunswick County Norris “Bill” Brown is retiring from Brunswick County after 35 years of employment. The Brunswick County Parks and Recreation Department would like to thank Brown for his years of service and dedication. Brown worked in several departments and had several roles throughout his time working for Brunswick County. While

Brunswick County Schools is proud to recognized the following: Beverly Eury (left) of Bolivia Elementary, 2020-21 BCS Principal of the Year Allie Dixon (center) of Belville Elementary, 2020-2021 BCS Assistant Principal of the Year Jennie Bryan (right) of South Brunswick High, 2020-2021 BCS Teacher of the Year

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WHAT'S HAPPENED

New Surgeon Joins Novant Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine - Brunswick Novant Health is pleased to welcome Dr. Benjamin Browning to Novant Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine - Brunswick. Browning joined the clinic in September 2020 and is accepting new patients.

Browning received a bachelor of health science from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, New York, and his orthopedic sports medicine fellowship from Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. Browning has three years of experience working as the team orthopedic surgeon for high schools and a community college as the team orthopedic surgeon. Prior to that, he served as the assistant team orthopedic surgeon for the New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans and local high school football teams. The Novant Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine – Brunswick office is located at 6 Doctors Circle, Suite 5, in Supply and is open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm. The office offers same-day appointments and online scheduling.

Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Opens in Southport

Marriott’s first property in Brunswick County is the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott. It is located at 5181 Southport-Supply Road in Southport. Gordon Lovingood, owner of the new hotel, also owns the Hampton Inn & Suites in Southport.

Calabash Elks Donates to Good Shepherd Center The Calabash Elks Lodge Veteran’s Affairs Committee recently donated $2,500 to the SGT Eugene Ashley Memorial Center under the Good Shepherd Center in Wilmington. SGT Ashley Center provides transitional residence and recovery programs for homeless veterans. The Elks National Foundation, the charitable arm of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, provided the funds to the VAC under a special Freedom Grant that permits direct donations to needy veterans organizations during the COVID-19 crisis. The SGT Ashley Center will use 22

South Brunswick Magazine

WHAT'S HAPPENED

the funds to help stock their food pantry, provide cleaning and maintenance supplies and assist the resident veterans.

Wilmington Native Kelly R. Esposito, MD, MBA Joins EmergeOrtho Team EmergeOrtho announces the addition of a new fellowship-trained hand, upper extremity and microvascular surgeon to their medical staff. Kelly R. Esposito, MD, MBA, is now seeing patients for hand and upper extremity conditions and injuries as well as general orthopedics at these EmergeOrtho locations: 2716 Ashton Drive in Wilmington; 1168 East Cutlar Crossing in The Villages at Brunswick Forest in Leland; and 5160 Ocean Highway West in Shallotte. A Wilmington native, Dr. Esposito earned a Bachelor of Arts with highest distinction in Journalism and Mass Communication and Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She then continued her education at UNC, completing her Doctor of Medicine and Master of Business Administration with an enrichment concentration in healthcare. At Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, she completed a general and orthopedic surgery internship followed by her orthopedic surgery residency. In 2020 she completed a fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at Columbia University Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Brunswick County Habitat Announces First Homeowner of the 2020–21 Fiscal Year Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity is proud to announce the first homeowner of the 2020–21 fiscal year. Sade Walker closed on her home with Brunswick County Habitat at the end of September after completing the Habitat program. By completing the program Walker will purchase the home with a 0% interest loan. In order to qualify for a Habitat home, applicants must commit at least 300 hours of sweat equity.

These hours may involve working at a Habitat ReStore, volunteering in community outreach events and fundraisers, helping with administrative duties and working onsite. One hundred of these hours are required before construction begins on a home. The remaining hours must be completed before the official closing. Family and friends may assist in meeting these requirements.

42nd Anniversary U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament Announces Winners The 42nd Annual U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament was held October 1, 2 and 3 at Dutchman Creek Park. It attracted its second largest turnout with 521 boats from more than 10 states. Anglers competed for more than $371,000 in cash prizes,

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WHAT'S HAPPENED

which included an additional $16,320 added to the prizes by the tournament board because of the large turnout. Top honors and $80,506 went to Captain Andy Broadwell from Southport aboard Nauti Lady for their 38.85-pound king mackerel. Second place went to Captain Tracy Aman of Southport on the Sling N’ Bait for their 37.75-pound king, and third place honors and $85,382 went to Captain D Logan aboard Logan’s Run from Belville for their 36.60-pound king. The U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament is one of the largest king mackerel tournaments on the East Coast and has a $2 million economic impact.

Ocean Isle Museum Foundation Receives International Paper Foundation Grant Ocean Isle Museum Foundation, Inc. has been awarded a $2,000 grant from International Paper Foundation to support the second year of the Sea to Tree program. This program offers Brunswick County students (PreK to grade 3) the opportunity to visit the Museum of Coastal Carolina and learn about the importance of trees to our seas. In addition to touring the museum, the children will receive a program designed especially for them on the Sea to Tree topic. Upon leaving the museum, the children will receive a pine seedling that they can plant as a group to help sustain our trees. The seedlings are provided through the N.C. Forestry Service by Claridge Nursery in Goldsboro.

Ocean Ridge Charities Association Raises $25,000 for COVID-19 Relief Campaign

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South Brunswick Magazine

Ocean Ridge Charities Association (ORCA) started its COVID-19 Relief Campaign on April 16 with everyone wondering how it would take off and if they could raise enough funds to make a difference to hard-hit residents in Brunswick County. As always, they hit a homerun this time around, raising more than $25,000, a record-breaking amount. Within the first six days, residents donated $10,000, enabling ORCA to send its first set of checks to Brunswick Family Assistance (BFA), New Hope Clinic, South Brunswick Interchurch Council (SBIC) and Brunswick Homeless Coalition. Up until the close of the campaign on May 8, generous residents donated another $15,000, which was distributed to the following local charities: BFA, SBIC, New Hope Clinic, Brunswick Community College, Carousel Center and WARM. ORCA also benefitted from Ocean Ridge’s Merry Maskateers — Mary Perno, Patti Elsen, Nancy Doukakis and Sue Kemmerer, who sewed a total of 2,625 masks and donated $1,540 to ORCA from their project. Due to the generosity of George Briggs and his 26.2-mile walking marathon, ORCA received more than $5,000 in donations.

Once again, ORCA thanks the Ocean Ridge Plantation residents for helping the neediest in our county by donating to the 40 Brunswick County charities supported by ORCA.

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Winter 2020-21

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A T R U S S T- W O R T H Y B U I L D E R

of Fine Homes

Trusst Builder Group is a locally owned and operated builder and developer of quality homes and neighborhoods throughout New Hanover and Brunswick counties. Since 1992, we have built more than 3,000 homes in the Cape Fear region. Trusst is unique in our ability to build value-priced, custom-quality homes where premier finishes are standard.

Our developments include Whiskey Branch, a gated community just outside the Wilmington city limits off of South College Road; and Hearthstone, a charming neighborhood of brick homes off of Lanvale Road in Leland.

Trusst is also now building in select neighborhoods in Brunswick Forest, Compass Pointe, Magnolia Greens, Palmetto Creek, Riverlights, RiverSea, St. James Plantation, Waterford and Winding River.

To Learn More Visit 26

T R U S S T B U I L D E R G R O U P. C O M or Call 9 1 0 . 3 7 1 . 0 3 0 4

South Brunswick Magazine

I

SPIRITS

Layer It Up Practice your cocktail layering skills on this retro shot with a distinct presentation and a smooth, creamy taste.

BY SANDI GRIGG

I

The B-52 cocktail could be named after the ‘80s rock band known for their songs “Rock Lobster” and “The Love Shack” or it could be named after the long-range bomber used by the Americans during the Vietnam War. I have no idea where the name came from, but the layered shot sure is tasty and pretty to look at.

The classic B-52 is served neat in a shot glass, while the variation known as Flaming B-52 typically is served with a top layer of rum, which is then ignited with a f lame. Some versions replace Grand Marnier with triple sec, Amaretto or even absinthe. My version offers a unique twist.

The shot is already pleasing to the eye with its colorful layers, but to make it extra special I like to include the sense of smell by sprinkling cinnamon over the top. I love the smell of cinnamon, orange and coffee together; it really reminds me of the holidays.

Take the time to layer each ingredient into the shot glass and offers cheers to your loved ones. If you get the notion you might want to sing in honor of the B-52s: “The Love Shack is a little old place where, we can get together … Love Shack, baby.”

B-52 Makes 1 shot

INGREDIENTS ½ ounce coffee liqueur (Kahlua) ½ ounce Irish cream liqueur (Baileys) ½ ounce orange liqueur (Grand Marnier) Ground cinnamon

METHOD Start by pouring the Kahlua in the shot glass.

Gently pour the Baileys over the back of a spoon into the shot glass to form a layer on top of the Kahlua.

Finally pour the Grand Marnier over the back of a spoon into the shot glass to form a layer on top of the Baileys. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

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WHAT’S COOKIN’

Beer and Cheese?

Yes, Please!

Dark beer and bone broth add rich, earthy flavors to this ultra-satisfying, velvety smooth cheese soup.

W

BY SANDI GRIGG PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES STEFIUK

When I lived in western North Carolina, I worked for a brewery part-time. This was almost 10 years ago, when the brewery industry was just taking off. We attended many festivals and music events where we would have a booth selling our beer. I was at such a beer event in Asheville when I took a few minutes to step away from our booth and grab something to eat from another vendor. I was led by my nose to a booth offering beer cheese soup.

You could smell the melty cheese and beer as it wafted through the air. The vendor sold the soup in little bitty bread bowls with a plastic spoon. Maybe it was the cool, crisp air blowing through the mountains or the altitude, but it was the best soup I had ever tasted.

I asked the vendor what was in there that made it so extra delicious, and he said that bone broth was the secret ingredient.

I went back home and immediately tried to mimic this recipe. In all the versions that I found, the recipe said to use beef or chicken stock, but I knew I wanted to use bone broth.

Bone broth has become very popular recently, especially among those who are health conscious. Bone broth provides vitamin A, vitamin K2, minerals like zinc, iron, boron, manganese and selenium as well as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. There are many other health benefits to cooking with bone broth, but when mixed with beer and cheese, you forget it is healthy for you.

You don’t have to serve this soup in a bread bowl as I have suggested, but I would recommend, at a bare minimum, serving it alongside a soft pretzel. The thick, velvety texture of the soup demands to be sopped up with a bread source.

This hearty soup can be a main dish or an appetizer, but either way, I highly suggest that you use bone broth for a delectable flavor.

Enjoy!

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WHAT’S COOKIN’

Beer Cheese Soup Serves 6

INGREDIENTS 4 Tablespoons butter 6 slices thick-cut bacon 2 medium carrots, diced small 2 medium celery stalks, diced small 2 cloves of garlic, minced ½ an onion, diced small ½ teaspoon salt ¾ cup flour 4 cups chicken bone broth 1 cup whole milk 12 ounces dark wheat beer (such as Guinness) 2½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon dry mustard ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 6 bread bowls Parsley for garnish

METHOD In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon on medium high heat until crispy.

Remove bacon from pan and drain on a paper towel–lined plate. When cool, crumble the bacon.

Reduce heat to medium and drop the butter into the bacon drippings. Add onion, garlic, celery and carrots to the pot and cook until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir in flour and dry mustard. Cook 1 to 2 minutes. It will become thick.

Slowly add the beer, a little at a time, whisking after each addition until all the beer is incorporated. Then add the chicken bone broth in the same way, whisking after each pour. Repeat with the milk. The consistency should be smooth after all the liquid is added.

Add Worcestershire sauce, thyme and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes until thick and bubbly.

Reserve ¼ cup of cheese for topping. Stir the remaining cheese into the soup until melted.

Ladle the soup into bread bowls. Top with reserved cheese, parsley and crumbled cooked bacon. Serve immediately.

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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

D EXTRAS YOU WILL ONLY FIND ONLINE D LIFEINBRUNSWICKCOUNTY.COM

SALT MAKES SIGNS

by Jo Ann Mathews

Teens have fun combining sign language, dance and worship at New Beginnings Community Church in Shallotte.

Haylie Long teaches SALT to the youth at New Beginnings Community Church in Shallotte, and it has everything to do with salt for the soul.

HOPE FOR A HEALTHY COMMUNITY

by Beth A. Klahre

New Hope Clinic offers free medical and dental care and pharmacy services to those in need.

Hidden in the town of Boiling Spring Lakes is an institute that survives on a mix of community civic organizations and volunteer healthcare professionals. New Hope Clinic was founded in 1998 as a one-room medical facility by people with huge hearts and big vision. It has come a long way from treating 28 patients the first year to serving nearly 1,000 patients annually in a 4,000-square-foot medical facility and at their satellite clinic in Shallotte today. | CONTINUE READING ONLINE

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SALT, a combination of the words service and alternative, refers to the Biblical passage from Matthew 5:13-14: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” | CONTINUE READING ONLINE

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EVEN FAGIN WOULD LIKE THIS PLACE

by Kurt Epps, The PubScout

MAINTAIN DON’T GAIN

Oliver’s on the Cape Fear in Southport is universally pleasing.

Contributed content

The reprehensible villain of Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist seemed to smile only when his evil was being unleashed on his prey. But I’m betting Oliver’s in Southport would generate a smile or two from Fagin, especially after enjoying some of the exceptional food and drink offered there.

N.C. Cooperation Extension’s statewide and local programs can help prevent holiday weight gain.

The first thing he’d see upon entering is the beautiful bar, and, if he could refrain from pilfering anything from it, he’d likely enjoy one of the brews from a modest but respectable beer tap list.

Many Americans gain between one and five pounds each year between Thanksgiving and the New Year.

| CONTINUE READING ONLINE

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North Carolina State University and N.C. Cooperative Extension are offering some help to prevent this annual problem. Their 14th annual Eat Smart, Move More, Maintain … Don’t Gain! Holiday Challenge is a free, seven-week challenge that provides you with strategies and resources to maintain your weight throughout the holiday season. The Holiday Challenge starts November 16 and runs through December 31. | CONTINUE READING ONLINE 32

South Brunswick Magazine

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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

D EXTRAS YOU WILL ONLY FIND ONLINE D LIFEINBRUNSWICKCOUNTY.COM

BUCKS 4 BIKES Contributed content

Brunswick County Association of Realtors partners with Brunswick Family Assistance to provides bicycles for kids.

Brunswick County Association of REALTORS® (BCAR) once again partnered with Brunswick Family Assistance (BFA) to help less fortunate children through the annual Bucks 4 Bikes fundraiser. The program, which began in 2011, raises funds to purchase gifts such as bicycles, tricycles and wagons. | CONTINUE READING ONLINE

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ARTISANS Contributed content

Pure Markets’ OIB Black Friday Market was held on November 27.

Pure Markets’ OIB Black Friday Market brightened the holiday season at Silver Coast Winery in Ocean Isle Beach on November 27.

Market Manager Chris Wilson says that the move to Silver Coast Winery is temporary due to the COVID-19 virus.

“Because of the generosity of Mary Azzato, owner of the winery, shoppers were able to shop safely in wide open space,” Wilson says, to which Azzato replies: “This is a hard time for all. It’s up to all of us to support each other.”

A COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER

Pure Markets and Silver Coast winery followed N.C. Governor Cooper’s guidelines regarding social distancing and wearing masks. Hand sanitizers were available throughout the market.

by Jo Ann Mathews

With new owners and help from the community, Brick Landing Golf Course is set to open again.

| CONTINUE READING ONLINE

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Five Brick Landing Plantation residents bent over to dig up the host of weeds populating the 7th green of the golf course in Ocean Isle Beach.

“We love this community,” Rick Coltharp says to explain why he and the others were exposing themselves to the 80-plus-degree temperature on a July morning. “The golf course is an integral part of it for all these years, and we couldn’t bear to let it go away.”

Larry Doyle, owner of the golf course since 2011, closed it on January 1, 2020. He had bought it after it had been closed through 2010. | CONTINUE READING ONLINE

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UP NORTH

NORTH BRUNSWICK MAGAZINE WHAT’S GOING ON IN OUR SISTER PUBLICATION

Pick up NBM at grocery stores in the Northern Brunswick County area.

Or view stories online at LifeinBrunswickCounty.com/nbm | E 

ANSWERING THE CALL: WOMEN IN FIRE Whatever the motivation, following in family footsteps or living a childhood dream, women in Leland are stepping up to firefighting service.

By Chris G. Layt

Nationwide, about 4 percent of fulltime firefighters are women, but in Leland, the percentage is higher, about 16 percent. Of Leland’s 30some firefighters, five are women.

Gabby Cooksey and Whitley Lovette, two of Leland’s female firefighters, share what it’s like in the demanding job of saving lives in what formerly has been seen as a man’s world.

SHAPING LELAND’S BUSINESS LANDSCAPE Leland Innovation Park will promote economic development and create new and better jobs.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE COUNTRY STORE Brown’s Outdoor Headquarters is a social hub of the Delco community.

By Kathy Blake

By the time most of us get our first cup of coffee, Sue Pridgen has already waited on several customers in need of worms or crickets for fishing or a bag of food for a hungry dog. As the manager of Brown’s Outdoor Headquarters in Delco for the past five years, she has catered to the outdoor provision needs of much of western Brunswick County and eastern Columbus County.

In the ever-expanding Town of Leland, where shopping centers, subdivisions and housing developments overflow the borders and retail trade is the number one economic contributor, a newly annexed area near I-140 and Highway 74/76 is giving city officials a chance to plant industries that shape the city’s future identity.

By Teresa A. McLamb

WE HAVE A WINNER! Local teenager Whitney Meggs makes Charger Division racing history.

By Brian Wilner

Imagine driving in just your sixth Charger Division car race. Now imagine you are a 16-year-old girl racing against men of all ages. And on a track in Myrtle Beach where some of the all-time greats have competed, including Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr., Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Ned Jarrett, Elliot Sadler and many others. Imagine you have the fastest qualifying time and start the race on the pole. And then in an exciting finish, you cross the finish line first to get the checkered flag!

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BEHIND THE BUSINESS

Gather ’Round The Gathering Place: Farm Tables & Furniture, Inc. is a place for custom furniture.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLAIRE LYNCH

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When looking for the perfect location for a furniture store in 2015, Gerry Moore and her husband, Steve Moore, chose Calabash. Steve was battling cancer at time, but he wanted Gerry to establish a business that she could run with her nephew, Matt Moore, for years to come.

Gerry and Steve, who were high school sweethearts, were married for 36 years. Steve’s vision for designing furniture with reclaimed wood and his goal of having Gerry be a store owner are part of his lasting legacy. The Moores decided to purchase Morgan’s Body Shop in the fall of 2015. The auto

Gerry and Matt Moore in The Gathering Place.

body business had been closed for eight years, but the owner sold them the property and they fixed up the space. Steve passed away in December 2015. Just a month later, in January 2016, Gerry opened The Gathering Place: Farm Tables & Furniture, Inc. “Before Steve’s death we’d talked about the store’s name, and we liked the idea of people gathering around their kitchen and dining room tables to relax and chat with each other over meals about the day’s events,” she says.

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BEHIND THE BUSINESS

“

Salvaged wood from barns, old houses, churches, sheds, silos and warehouses is ideal.

Tables & Furniture, and Matt came on board Above, Matt Moore displays as the store’s designer and production a piece of manager. The 7,500-square-foot store has reclaimed wood three sections: the showroom, the from a barn or old woodworking shop and the painting and house, destined finishing area. for use in a Gerry and Matt pride themselves on using piece of custom reclaimed wood for the furniture they make at furniture.

The Gathering Place.

“Four times a year we get deliveries of reclaimed wood from the Finger Lakes region of New York State,” Gerry says. “Salvaged wood from barns, old houses, churches, sheds, silos and warehouses is ideal.”

The vintage, reclaimed wood is mostly eastern white pine, hemlock, oak and chestnut. Occasionally they use maple, cherry, walnut and river cypress. Each piece of wood is special because of its unique, identifiable marks and wear.

Gerry does most of the painting as well as the ordering, bookkeeping and advertising. Matt and another full-time employee, Efren, build the 38

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BEHIND THE BUSINESS

tables and other pieces of furniture. Part-timer Sue assists in the showroom.

Matt notes that they have a large demand for custom-made pieces.

“Eighty percent of our customers come here with a picture in their minds of what they want the finished product to look like,” he says.

“We work closely with them to make their dreams come true.”

The store sells large and small pieces of furniture plus artwork and unique gifts as well. Matt estimates the other 20 percent of their customers are locals or vacationers shopping for smaller pieces of furniture and homedecorating items.”

An upstate New York native, Gerry was used to the area’s cold winters, but in 1996 she and Steve moved to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for its warmer climate and more reasonable taxes.

“My late husband has a sister who lives in Myrtle Beach, so

we’d vacationed in the area for many years and liked it,” Gerry says. “Also, Steve and I ran a custom kitchen cabinet business in Calabash for 10 years but shifted gears in order to focus more specifically on furniture.”

Now a Myrtle Beach resident, Gerry has two sons and two granddaughters. On her days off she helps with her granddaughters, who live with her and her son. She has an Eskipoo dog, a combination American Eskimo dog and Poodle named Loki, who likes going for long walks.

Matt, also an upstate New York native, moved to Carolina Shores in 2011. He has an associate’s degree in architectural engineering from the New England Institute of Technology.

“As a boy I got a lot of carpentry and woodworking pointers from watching my father work on home projects,” he says. “He wouldn’t let me use the equipment, but I watched closely to see how furniture was assembled. Then I taught myself to use power tools.”

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BEHIND THE BUSINESS

For custom furniture orders, Matt does much of the customer service. He says today people want unique pieces that are functional and stand out design-wise. “They want the woodwork to be aesthetically pleasing,” Matt says.

For example, he recently built what looked like a cabinet for a condo, but

when you open the piece it becomes a spacious table for meals. After eating, the couple folds it back up and that gives them more room in their combination living room/dining room.

Another interesting piece was a pop-up TV stand with an electronic mechanism to raise and lower the TV.

Coffee tables, cabinets and banquettes are very popular, and so is furniture for mudrooms, including benches and coat racks.

Large, wooden tables are in style, and Matt says they seal the wood on their furniture with a finish that’s low sheen.

“It’s a high-quality finish that’s water resistant, so people don’t have to worry about the glasses leaving water rings on their wooden tables,” Matt says.

Gerry and Matt see trends in terms of what people want in furniture and home decor.

“In 2005 and 2006 all shades of red were in,” Matt says. “Now people like grays and antique white.

Monochromatic design is also popular, so their couches, carpeting and drapes or curtains all may be white, for example.”

In his off-time Matt likes playing his guitar, walking along the beach and spending time relaxing at home with his two rescue animals, Chili, who’s a mellow mutt, and Keevo, a black and white tuxedo cat. He rescued Chili and Keevo from a Tennessee animal shelter and made Brunswick County their home 10 years ago.

Gerry and Matt have a motto at The Gathering Place: “From custom furniture to small decor items, we’re here to create items you’ll cherish for a lifetime.” 

Want to go?

The Gathering Place: Farm Tables & Furniture, Inc. 9501 Ocean Highway W., Calabash (across from Southwest Brunswick Branch Public Library) (910) 579-5560 gatheringplacefurniture.com The store is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.

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South Brunswick Magazine

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SPORTS

A Wild Ride with Wild Tide

Wild Tide Lacrosse offers for boys and girls in grades 8 through 12 the chance to build confidence and have fun.

STORY BY BETH A. KLAHRE

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL RITENOUR

Rebecca Allen coaches the women’s Wild Tide Lacrosse team at West Brunswick High School.

Sticks up!

Head on a swivel!

Look for your options!

Take the lane!

T

That’s lacrosse speak. And well understood by the players, parents and fans of Wild Tide Lacrosse in Brunswick County.

Wild Tide is a youth travel lacrosse organization for boys and girls in grades 8 through 12. Started in 2018, the program was the collective idea of Brunswick County parents and players who wanted to grow the sport. Wild Tide is part of the Brunswick County Youth Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed by Steve Corbett and funded through sponsors, fundraising, scholarships and grants.

According to Anne Dotson, director of Wild Tide, “It was important to us to be able to provide financially feasible opportunities to the youth in our county.” Wild Tide has two teams, one for boys and one for girls, with 25 players maximum on each team.

“We went through a lot of possibilities when naming our team,” Dotson says. “It was a wild two-month ride getting to where we are today. It took incredible teamwork, parent support and community sponsorships. Wild Tide fit us best.”

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SPORTS

growing sports in America. Dotson says, “There are many programs being added in colleges, particularly in the South, which presents a great vehicle for our athletes to pay for college. Lacrosse is fairly new in our area, so it provides an equal playing ground for kids to learn together. And it’s fun to play and watch.”

The teams practice twice each week under coaches Rebecca Allen and Dale Oehler at Ocean Isle Beach Park. Practices prepare them for tournament play against teams from all over the South. This season, Wild Tide will play in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Allen, who grew up in Maryland, played Olympic developmental soccer and premier travel lacrosse in high school and college. Ever since, she has been coaching both sports, including the women’s team at West Brunswick High School.

Prior to moving to Brunswick County, Allen coached men and women’s high school soccer in Asheville, North Carolina. She also played traditional Native American stickball, the origins of lacrosse, on an all Native American women’s team in Cherokee, North Carolina.

“Stickball was played by many American Indian tribes and has always been near and dear to my heart because I am of Choctaw descent,” Allen says. “It’s in my blood.”

Allen, who has been in law enforcement for 20 years, recognizes the positive impact of lacrosse on young girls in Brunswick County. “Lacrosse is an opportunity to empower the next generation of strong women in this community,” she says. “If we can teach the young generation of women to support each other, we will be better off in the long run. There is no better way than through sports.”

Oehler, known as “Coach 0,” joined the Wild Tide coaching staff last year after moving from New Jersey. Like Allen, his list 44

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Wild Tide has two teams, one for boys and one for girls, with 25 players maximum on each team. The girls team, below, is coached by Rebecca Allen.

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SPORTS

of credentials is impressive. He played lacrosse in high school and college, coached high school teams and founded elitelevel and all-star tournament clubs. He is actively involved with U.S. Lacrosse, the national governing body of men’s and women’s lacrosse. He currently coaches men’s lacrosse at South Brunswick High School.

Oehler’s players call him GOAT, a reference to Greatest of All Time. Oehler loves coaching at the high school level where there is exposure to college scouts and ultimately scholarships. He encourages the players to become better individual players while contributing to the team’s success, developing friendships and having fun. Oehler, similar to Allen, shares an even bigger purpose. “I want my players to learn how to honor the game that North American Indian tribes called the Creator’s Game,” he says. “I tell my players to honor it and themselves as young men.”

Dotson feels lucky to have both Allen and Oehler as coaches.

“Rebecca practices what she preaches and is an amazing

Top left, Assistant Coach John Lloyd; top right, Head Coach Dale Oehler; middle and below, the Wild Tide Lacrosse men’s team for boys in grades 8 through 12.

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role model for our female athletes,” Dotson says. “Dale is an amazing coach, and the boys absolutely love him. He gets right in there with them at practice. Both work hard to instill fair play and respect. Both encourage players to work on developing skill plus lacrosse IQ.” COVID-19 has added player restrictions including screenings before every practice, use of hand sanitizer, maintaining separate spaces for personal belongings, and individual clearly marked water bottles brought from home.

Even drills have been altered to minimize contact.

Dotson says, “It is so important for kids to have as much normalcy as safely possible. Playing sports isn’t just about physical health. It is about mental and emotional health as well.”

Keith Hanson, whose son has played on the team since the inception says, “Bobby immediately took an interest in the physical nature of the sport. It’s a lot of cardio and a fun way for the kids to get in shape without even noticing how hard

SPORTS

they are truly working.” directors and even her daughter, Kristi Hansen’s son, Myles, has who first showed interest in been playing lacrosse since 7th lacrosse. Dotson does everything grade after attending a summer in the best interests of players and camp where he fell in love with parents. She along with Oehler lacrosse. Hansen says, “Team and Allen are developing sports teach so much more programs for elementary and than the game. Cooperation, middle school students “to get working for a common goal, sticks in hands at earlier ages.”

COVID precautions are taken before a practice. commitment, the joys of winning.

She does what she can to keep And how to pick yourself up and costs reasonable, like reserving keep going when you lose.” blocks of hotel rooms and obtaining grants. This past fall, Brandie Price sees many benefits from her daughter Wild Tide was awarded $1,000 from Dicks Sporting Goods. playing lacrosse. “Olivia’s confidence has grown both on and Hanson speaks for all the parents when he says, “Lacrosse off the field,” Price says. “She has made lifelong friends. And is more than a sport. We are a family. And a tight-knit one at the scholarship opportunity is great.” Price can’t say enough that. Parents and children alike get back tenfold of what they about Coach Allen. “She loves our girls like her own. Her put into this game in lasting memories and great friends.” mentoring doesn’t stop off the field. Our girls know they can Dotson tears up when talking about her players. She reach out to her for anything and it stays confidential. We concludes, “I am so proud of them. They are the pioneers of just love Rebecca.” lacrosse in Brunswick County.”

Parents call Dotson the glue that holds Wild Tide together.

For more information about youth lacrosse in Brunswick But she is quick to credit others including her board of County, visit wildtidelacrosse.com. 

love at

First bite Ocean Isle Beach’s Artisinal Pizzeria full bar | Catering & Special events

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FUTURE 10 Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce and South Brunswick Magazine recognize Brunswick County’s young professionals and future leaders.

BY MELISSA SLAVEN WARREN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MEGAN DEITZ

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Leaders come from all walks of life, and they lead with optimism and determination. They have a passion for learning and growing and passing on the tools of success to others. In this annual issue, we share the stories of those in our communities who are doing just that. We present, the Future 10 under 40.

Marilou Smith survived a childhood of abuse and homelessness to serve others. Justin Wittkofsky discovered his own field of dreams. Alister Chick realized you don’t have to be a doctor to help people. Shane Britt took a leap of faith and started his own businesses. Janie Torbich found the confidence she didn’t know she had. Kasey Robinson felt called to healing through touch and intention. Stephanie McMullan nursed a failing restaurant back to health. Samantha Youmell founded a business that helps the homebound and disabled. Brent Gallant turned a hobby into a passion job. Will Ivey turned his appreciation for safety into a career.

Eight years ago Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce and South Brunswick Magazine introduced the first Future 10 leaders under 40. Each year since we’ve continued to recognize

10 new leaders as part of this esteemed group, all of whom live up to the chamber’s motto of “Building Community and Supporting Business.”

Future 10 isn’t a competition, but a nomination-based search in which we invite coworkers, supervisors, employees, business owners, friends and family to recommend exceptional men and women under the age of 40, who not only contribute to the current and future success of our county with a proven commitment to excellence in their careers, but also provide inspiration and leadership for other young people.

In the following pages you’ll learn their personal stories, dreams and goals and come to see that they, like the Future 10 nominees before them, are champions for their communities and committed to making a positive impact on Brunswick County.

MEET THE 2020 FUTURE LEADERS OF BRUNSWICK COUNTY

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SHANE BRITT

OWNER, FIN-FISHER CHARTER SERVICES AGE: 35

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ould you sign up for a career that requires you to start your day at 4:30 in the morning?

Captain Shane Britt did — especially since he is working for himself and fulfilling a dream.

For 12 years, Britt worked for Duke Energy.

By his own admission, it was a great job, but he realized that “some people are better working for themselves,” and he knew he was one of them.

With a passion for fishing and teaching people his personal tactics, he decided to take a leap of faith in 2015. He left his stable job and started his own fishing charter business from Holden Beach. Fin-Fisher Charter Services, named after his sons, Finlynn, 8, and Fisher, 6.

At least six days a week, Britt is on the water teaching people how to fish and providing a chance for them to explore the backwaters of Brunswick County. He typically runs two four-hour charters a day, although some clients will book him for the entire day. For Britt, it is not just about taking people fishing or “catching” as he prefers to call it, but about helping people make memories.

“I like the fact that I’m giving people a way to step away from their lives for four hours,” he says.

Britt got his own opportunity to step away from his day-to-day life by appearing on the National Geographic Channel’s Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks as part of the Rasta Rocket crew, which also includes his friends Zack Shackleton and Daniel Blanks. The reality television series is about commercial tuna fishermen who fish for the lucrative Atlantic bluefin tuna off the coast of North Carolina.

When Britt isn’t helping paying clients put fish on the boat, he often donates charters to local charities for raffles that help bring awareness to their causes, including New Hope Clinic and Waves 4 Kids. He also coaches baseball in Lockwood Folly and makes family time a priority with his wife, Devan, his two sons and his 4-year-old “princess” Fia Kay. Being nominated as a Future 10 leader reassures this self-described “people person” that he made the right decision to start his own business. “It’s a huge accomplishment, to be recognized for running my own business as a standout in the community,” Britt says.

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I

had aspirations to become a doctor,” Alister Chick says. “I was accepted to medical school but then talked to my dad, who is a financial advisor, about the long-term outlook for the profession and changed my mind.”

Chick’s core reason for becoming a doctor was to help people. He realized that he could also fulfill his purpose as a financial advisor helping people create and reach long-term goals that can put them on track for the rest of their lives.

“The two most important things in a person’s life are health and wealth,” Chick says. “Stress is a major health condition, and money is a major stress factor. I feel like I’ve found a way to hit both targets.”

On being included in this year’s

In addition to managing his own office, he is very active in the firm’s leadership and helps develop and train other financial advisors in the region.

Understanding how having a financial roadmap with goals can help people feel better about themselves and their futures, Chick appreciates being part of that experience.

“Working one on one with clients to help them build out their goals, and then to see them achieve those goals, is one of the best parts of my job,” he says. “A lot of advisors really enjoy the nitty-gritty data-driven side of the business, but for me, I enjoy the personal relationships.”

Given the chance to move from Wilmington to Shallotte, Chick was eager, as was his wife,

ALISTER CHICK FINANCIAL ADVISOR, EDWARD JONES AGE: 29

Future 10, Chick says, “It’s a big honor, and I’m very excited, especially since I’m relatively new to the county.” Before moving to Shallotte, Chick served Wilmington-area clients for Edward Jones.

Born in Arizona but raised in Moore County, North Carolina, where his dad has his own Edward Jones office, Chick graduated from UNCW before being accepted to the Edward Jones Financial Advisor Career Development program.

Candice, since her parents and grandparents live on Oak island.

But it’s the opportunity to help more people here locally that also compelled him. “I want people here to know that they have access to Fortune 500 financial services right here in their own backyard without having to drive or access services through an 800 number,” Chick says. “As a resident, I’m directly affected by the success and happiness of other local residents.”

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B

rent Gallant grew up skateboarding and enjoyed filming his friends as they carved or did grab and air tricks.

As he grew older and his interests changed, he put the video camera away for a while but still always had a lingering interest.

A chance to do some video work for a minister inspired him to take up the hobby once again and turn it into a career.

“I left my office job and said ‘I’m going to take a chance and go for it,’” he says.

While living in Atlanta, Gallant built a successful videography business working exclusively in the wedding industry. He specialized in creating cinematic weddingday films that craft a story using shooting and editing techniques much like filmmaking. “Today’s weddings are about storytelling,” he says. “It’s no longer just about a camera and a tripod.”

In 2017 Gallant relocated with his family to Ocean Isle Beach and soon found that the wedding market here was not quite the same. “Many of the people

his approach from a consumer-driven product to a business product by working with local companies and nonprofit organizations to develop branded video and photography campaigns and commercials. He has worked with BEMC, ATMC, Novant Health and Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce.

Since he works for himself, a day in his life is never the same, and he is always prepared for challenges.

Especially with the current pandemic. “It’s forced me to think outside of the box,” he says. He is involved in every aspect of his business including answering the phone, responding to emails, setting up shoots, filming and editing.

Gallant’s Future 10 recognition is completely unexpected. “It’s definitely an honor,” he says. “I’m not someone who enjoys the spotlight, I usually just keep to

BRENT GALLANT OWNER, GALLANT VIDEOGRAPHY AGE: 38

getting married at the beach aren’t from here,” he says. “They’re visitors who don’t really know about you or how to find your business.” He quickly realized he would need a new strategy.

Relying on networking and building new relationships in the community, Gallant was able to successfully change

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myself and focus on my day to day.”

When Gallant is not busy running his business, he enjoys spending time with his wife and their 12-year-old daughter, playing golf and volunteering with media production at his local church.

FUTURE 10

WILL IVEY

ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGER, ATMC AGE: 35

B

efore taking the role of environmental health and safety manager at ATMC, Will Ivey wanted to make a career in cable TV, where he’d been since 2009, both as a mainline technician and a department foreman. In fact, Ivey began his career with ATMC 15 years ago as an installation and repair technician, working directly with hundreds of customers to help solve their phone and cable issues. Out in the field every day, Ivey always respected the safety considerations of his work — for himself and his colleagues.

Two and half years ago, ATMC announced an opening for an environmental, health and safety manager, and Ivey jumped at the chance to be part of the growing safety culture within the organization.

“Honestly, I love my job,” he says. “I have a passion for wanting to help make people’s lives better. I’m a people person, so I really enjoy walking back and forth through the company, being encouraged and encouraging others.”

Ivey has applied a guiding principle to every position he’s held — one that he learned from his dad, Gerald: “Be a man of integrity, set your standards high and do not lower those standards just to take the easy way out.” Ivey credits both his dad and his mother, Connie, who passed away recently, for his personal and professional successes.

Ivey’s Future 10 nomination leaves him feeling honored and “very grateful that somebody thought enough of me and my work to recognize me like this,” he says. He also credits the senior staff at ATMC for their support of his role and the significance they place on keeping the company’s employees safe.

The lasting impact he would like to make on his fellow coworkers is that safety isn’t an accident. It happens on purpose, and by making safety a habit he wants to ensure “that they leave safely at the end of the day and hopefully they’re going home and changing the safety culture in their own homes.”

When he’s not at work, Ivey spends time with his wife, Alisha, and their two daughters, Haylie, 14, and Alexa, 8. He has volunteered at Harvest Fellowship Church for the past 20 years in the praise and worship band and is also a firefighter for the Tri-Beach Volunteer Fire Department and sits on their board of directors.

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STEPHANIE MCMULLAN OWNER, WING & FISH COMPANY AND OCEAN ISLE FISH COMPANY | AGE: 38

W

hen Stephanie McMullan isn’t serving patrons at her downtown Shallotte restaurant, Wing & Fish Company, she’s managing her other restaurant, Ocean Isle Fish Company, and other commercial properties along with her husband, Barrett, through their business, McMullan Properties. And if that’s not enough to keep busy, McMullan volunteers with Meals on Wheels, Union Elementary PTO, swim meets and the Oyster Festival. Oh yeah, and she and husband have three young children who have their own schedules.

On managing her full schedule, McMullan says her life “is a bit like Tetris,” a video game in which players try to strategically create order out of chaos.

For that reason, she is a strict time manager.

“I know what time I have to leave my house to get to the first restaurant and then to the second restaurant,” McMullan says. “I’ve almost got it mastered.”

McMullan became a restaurateur by chance. She and her husband own the building where the failed Carolina Wing Company restaurant once lived. Not ones to shy away from a challenge, the McMullans acquired and took over the restaurant in April of 2013. The couple renamed it Wing & Fish Company and nursed it back to life; it is a thriving restaurant today.

For the past seven years, McMullan has been a part of every aspect of her businesses. She manages the books for both restaurants, oversees staffing and checks in on customers. She enjoys the human resources aspect the most. “I love being with people,” she says. “I enjoy working with our staff, cutting up with them, even dancing with them in the kitchen!” says McMullan.

McMullan’s Future 10 recognition confirms her choice to move to Brunswick County in 2005 when she accepted a teaching job.

“Brunswick County is a special place,” she says. “I lived in Atlanta, but a small town like this where everybody knows everybody, it’s just so fresh here.”

She is humbled by her nomination and wants to share the credit. “I hate being singled out,” she says. “I surround myself with such good people, and that’s how we’ve been so successful. I almost hate to take the spotlight away from them, so I guess this is actually for them.”

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South Brunswick Magazine

FUTURE 10

K

asey Robinson has always felt called to healing. As an athletic trainer in high school, she began to understand the body in a new way. She was interested not only in physical healing, but also the mental and emotional and spiritual ties to healing.

“This, in addition to my spiritual upbringing, has provided a foundation of understanding health and well-being in a unique way that I desire to share with as many as I can,” she says.

Robinson, a massage therapist, is a graduate of The Whole You School of Massage and Bodywork Therapy in Rutherfordton, North Carolina.

A native of Shelby, North Carolina, Robinson and her husband, Josh, a graduate of the same school and a Brunswick County native, moved to Shallotte in 2010, where they both saw clients at Family First Health

their individual strengths and passions and reach their optimal health and wellness goals.

“I am a naturally born builder and encourager of community,” Robinson says. “It is important to me that this community stays strong and continues to grow. I strive to meet individuals of the community and bring people together in an awareness of well-being!”

What also inspires Robinson is healthy eating and organic gardening. Inside Synergy Wellness, they have a Juice Plus Tower Garden, where they grow organic greens and herbs. They offer assistance for anyone who wants to grow their own organic food.

For Robinson’s recognition as part of this year’s Future 10, she says, “It means a lot that I am noticed, that I am living my mission, my dreams! I know I am here to do great things and

KASEY ROBINSON

OWNER, SYNERGY WELLNESS AGE: 34

Center for more than five years before moving into their own space in 2015.

Synergy Wellness offers massage, bodywork, yoga, meditation and more.

“I am blessed to be here and be a leader of wellness in this community with my husband and staff and friends alongside,” Robinson says.

As a massage therapist and wellness center owner, Robinson’s mission is to see the community she now calls home to be strong, encourage one another, rely on

I know I am doing those things every day.”

In their spare time, the Robinsons and their two sons, Tucker, 10, and Eli, 8, spend time growing their own food, exploring nature, fishing, kayaking, hiking and camping.

“We also love the beach, the mountains, live music and cooking delicious food with friends and family,” she says.

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M

arilou Smith was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and raised mostly in Mount Airy, North Carolina, by a single parent. She spent much of her youth in and out of homeless shelters, enduring abuse and often going without food to make sure her younger siblings could eat. In search of a better life, Smith dropped out of high school, moved to Wilmington with her now ex-husband, and at the age of 19 gave birth to their daughter. Thanks to the Workforce Apprentice Program, Smith obtained her GED at the age of 17 and was matched with Brunswick Senior Resources, Inc. (BSRI). Thirteen years later, Smith is still with the

provider, she’s also their advocate.

“I really love the clients,” Smith says.

“I like being their backbone, helping them find the medicines that improve their quality of life. Some of these medicines can run over $600 a month.

I work with healthcare providers and pharmacies to help them get their medications.”

In the past 13 years, Smith has helped save Brunswick County seniors more than $17 million dollars in prescription costs and has counseled more than 5,000 Medicare beneficiaries in choosing the best Medicare prescription drug and supplemental plans.

Caught off guard by her Future 10 recognition, Smith says she “was surprised and very excited.”

MARILOU SMITH

PRESCRIPTION ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR, BRUNSWICK SENIOR RESOURCES, INC. AGE: 30

organization and is now the prescription assistance coordinator.

Smith refuses to let her upbringing derail her. “For me, growing up the way I did made me who I am today,” she says. “I don’t take it back. I just keep pushing forward. We have to tell ourselves that we aren’t our parents.

Just be a better version.”

During her 13 years at BSRI, Smith has developed the drive, motivation and compassion to help uninsured and low-income senior citizens in the area get the important medications they need at no cost. She’s more than a resource

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“I’ve been with the organization since I was 18,” she says. “Given my background, it just means a lot to me.”

Smith’s outlook for the future continues to evolve. Her job with BSRI has inspired her to pursue higher education. She graduates in December 2020 with an associate degree from Brunswick Community College and plans to transfer to UNCW to study social work. When she’s not working or studying, she enjoys spending time with her two children and hosting her own podcast, Hidden Within Yourself.

FUTURE 10

JANIE TORBICH MANAGER, COASTAL FINANCE COMPANY AGE: 38

D

riven. Motivated. Forward-thinking. Those are the qualities of every good leader, and they certainly describe Janie Torbich. Nearly 13 years ago she started with Coastal Finance Company in their Smithfield location, crunching numbers and keeping up with the paperwork. Then the owner of the family-run business encouraged her to take on a bigger role. Their Shallotte location was existing, at best, so she made the move to Brunswick County to turn it around.

“The office wasn’t going anywhere, as far as the numbers,” Torbich says. “At first, I didn’t feel like I was qualified.” But the owner saw something in her drive and dedication over the years, and those instincts were right. After Torbich became manager of the Shallotte location, “In one year, we became the company’s number two location in grossing sales,” she says. As part of her business plans to overhaul the location, Torbich put together fresh advertising strategies and focused on improving the customer experience. “I love our customers,” she says. “I love helping them solve their financial problems. It makes me feel good to lend money when customers are in need. It makes me feel useful.”

Torbich spends much of her time problem solving so she can help as many people in Brunswick County obtain vehicle or personal loans.

“My day is never the same; I like the mystery of it all!” she says.

Not content with being the number two producer in the company, Torbich’s goal is to “grow Coastal Finance to be the top finance company in Brunswick County, the place everybody goes to when they have a financial need.”

The Future 10 recognition is “important” to Torbich. “I was super surprised and excited,” she says.

When she isn’t working, Torbich volunteers her time and fundraising skills to Brunswick Christian Recovery Center, Celebrate Recovery and Beach Assembly of God. She is also an avid, award-winning angler and cast netter. “I can cast net and release for hours,” she says. “It’s a good stress reliever!”

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JUSTIN WITTKOFSKY PARK SUPERVISOR, BRUNSWICK COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION AGE 23

T

hroughout his childhood and adolescence, Justin Wittkofsky thought he would end up playing college baseball, and who knows, maybe make a career of it. But when he was 17 and in high school, he had shoulder surgery — and his pitching arm never returned to its former ability.

“I was kind of lost,” he says. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.”

He enrolled in Brunswick Community College (BCC) and took general education classes, then got a part-time job with Brunswick County Parks & Recreation. That inspired him to change his educational focus.

He earned two associate degrees in turfgrass management and horticulture management through BCC, and it led to a career as the park supervisor.

Naturally drawn to the outdoors, Wittkofsky grew up around his grandfather’s farm. When he was young, he rode on his grandfather’s lap as he drove the agricultural and construction equipment. Wittkofsky was driving the equipment by himself by the time he was 12.

Wittkofsky manages 12 different parks throughout Brunswick County.

He and his crew handle everything from routine mowing on the common areas and sports turfs to fertilizing, aerating, cutting, edging and irrigating. At the end of the day, his goal is to make sure that the parks provide a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience for anyone who visits.

Park management is a team effort, and one of the aspects that Wittkofsky likes best about his job is the people he works with. “I have a great relationship with everybody I work with,” he says. “We’re a tight knit group.”

Wittkofsky is a perpetual student of his field. Even when he’s not working, “I’m studying trending topics in the turf world,” he says.

For his recognition as a Future 10 leader, Wittkofsky says, “It’s an honor I wasn’t expecting. I hadn’t realized I had been nominated.”

Though it is not the baseball career he envisioned, Wittkosfky loves what he does. “Being able to be out there every day, all day, that’s what I enjoy,” he says. “It gives me that feeling that I’m still on the mound. It’s cool to be on the other side of it, taking care of the fields and still watching the action.”

In his spare time, this self-described gear head “enjoys taking a wrench and fixing something. It’s my place of peace.”

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FUTURE 10

B

eing nominated for the Future 10 this year means a lot to me, especially as a brand-new business owner and just ahead of the pandemic,” says Samantha Youmell, owner of Buzzed & Clipped Mobile Haircuts.

But her business model couldn’t be any better positioned right now during the current health crisis. Based in Calabash, Youmell, a licensed cosmetologist and barber, brings her mobile services directly to the disabled and the homebound. And right now, homebound has a new meaning for many who have compromised immune systems or underlying health conditions that put them at risk of catching the coronavirus if they

to get them to the salon. “I thought, ‘Why don’t I go to them?’ In fact, I’m surprised this business isn’t already out there,” she says.

Youmell books every hour, with six to eight appointments each day, depending on the clients. Some have more mobility issues than others, so she makes sure she dedicates extra time. The comfort of her clients is her main priority, and they routinely let her know how important she is to them.

“When people say, ‘You have no idea how much your service has changed our lives,’ it changes you in a way that you just don’t get from working in a shop,” Youmell says. “It’s genuine.”

The sense of community is one of the reasons that Youmell has fallen in love with Brunswick County. She

SAMANTHA YOUMELL

OWNER, BUZZED & CLIPPED MOBILE HAIRCUTS AGE: 23

venture out to a public hair salon.

Since she was in middle school, Youmell has been doing hair. It’s all she’s ever wanted to do.

“My aunt does hair and nails too,” she says. “This is just what I was put on this earth to do.”

The idea for her mobile business came after years of doing hair in a shop and seeing how difficult and stressful a task it is for the caregivers of her homebound or disabled clients

moved here two years ago from Ohio and is inspired by everyone’s willingness to work together and “be there for each other through good and bad. Working together makes this a beautiful place.”

When she isn’t out and about giving haircuts to her clients, she provides free haircuts to people in need. On her website, people can nominate someone who has fallen on hard times and is in need of a haircut. 

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60 Health,South © Novant Inc. 2020 9/20 • ECA-627232

Brunswick Magazine

AROUND TOWN

Keeping the Beat The Southport Drum Circle extends an open invitation to anyone who would like to share in the art of drumming.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROLYN BOWERS

he fun, camaraderie and sheer joy of feeling music and responding to the beat that the Southport Drum Circle participants share all started because a man named Tim Terman went to a movie, and that movie introduced him to the djembe drum. Here’s what happened.

On a Saturday night in 2007, Terman watched the movie The Visitor. It is about a professor who lived in Connecticut but kept an apartment in New York City, which he rarely visited. On one rare occasion when he did, he was startled to see it was occupied by two

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AROUND TOWN

illegal immigrants. The professor felt sorry for them so he let them stay on. One of them was an exceedingly gifted djembe drummer, and the professor became fascinated by the instrument and eventually learned to play it. On seeing this in the movie, Terman was immediately intrigued by the djembe and decided that if he ever saw a drum circle meeting nearby, he would join it.

The next Monday morning he saw a sign on a kiosk in the middle of Morgantown, West Virginia, inviting guests to come to a drum circle on the following Saturday afternoon.

From that day on, Terman was hooked.

Terman and his wife moved to Southport in August of 2014, and in 2015 he started the Southport Drum Circle, first on the grounds of Franklin Square Gallery and then at the Senior Resources Center. With the Senior Resources Center 62

South Brunswick Magazine

closed due to COVID, they now meet at Dutchman Creek Park off Fish Factory Road every Friday at 2 pm. All ages, youth to seniors, are invited to join them.

This is a wonderfully eclectic group of accomplished drummers, and they welcome all newcomers whether they are an experienced drummer or have never even seen a djembe (pronounced JEM-bay) drum before.

Bobbie Acker is proof of that. She was loaned a drum and encouraged to try it out by her good friends and longtime drummers, Zeb and Julie Starnes. “It is incredibly easy to play and it’s great fun,” Acker says. “I just watched the person next to me and I thought, ‘I got it.’”

Tina Nelson organizes the group but likes to share the leadership role with anyone who feels inspired at the moment to take the lead and set the beat. Others add to it as they

AROUND TOWN

wish, some playing more complicated rhythms in time with the beat and less experienced drummers adding only one or two beats. Nelson says it is very free form. “It’s all about what you want to get out of it,” she says.

According to Joni Knapp, another of the longtime, accomplished players, sometimes an experienced player will play for a short time and then revert back to the basic rhythm, allowing another player to take the lead and play something fancy. “I enjoy presenting some true structured African rhythms with several parts,” Knapp says, “and many regulars learn the parts; others just play what they feel and that’s okay too. The drum circle is not a performance; it is a form of communication, back and forth, always going back to the basic rhythm.”

Some drum circles, like the one that meets at Bottega in Wilmington, occasionally have belly dancers join their group. Nelson says she hopes the Southport Drum Circle will one day have dancers as part of their group as well.

To celebrate the rich cultural history of the djembe tradition, the group often starts with a Nigerian welcoming chant called Fanga Alafia,

Members of the Southport Drum Circle gather in Dutchman Creek Park every Friday afternoon.

“

“It is incredibly easy to play and it’s great fun.

I just watched the person next to me and I thought, ‘I got it.’”

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AROUND TOWN

which means “Hello, welcome.” The djembe drum is 400 to five-gallon bucket or pail. They can be purchased on the 800 years old and was created during the Malian Empire by internet for as little as $10 to $50. Another woman plays the the Mande people, who played it and felt a spiritual dundun drum, which lays parallel to the ground and is hit on connection with the rhythm of life. It is said that the first both ends. Then there is Nick Zaccaro, who used to teach the djembes were made by blacksmiths who custom fit each one drums; he plays two congas. For first-timers who may feel to its owner. The making of the drum was a sacred endeavor, intimidated by all this, Nelson brings a selection of easy-toand the owner who had it commissioned was responsible for play percussion instruments for their use. carrying on the oral history of his people.

Experienced drummers will tell you that the choice of As popular as the djembe was in Africa, it did not make its which djembe to buy is as individual as the person playing it. way to the United States until sometime in the 1960s, when They suggest that a beginner try several before making a an African by the name of Babatunde Olatunji was a student buying decision, and they are very generous about loaning at New York University and started a small percussion group their drum to help you make the right choice. There are all to earn some extra money. Some years later his group was different sizes, materials and prices, from $50 to $500, picked up by Columbia Records, and they recorded the first in depending on the construction, the complexity of the design a series of albums called Drums of Passion. Today drum circles and the materials used. are very popular in the United States.

Each player brings his or her own chair Most members of the Southport Drum and plays under huge beautiful old shade Circle play the djembe because it is the trees, which are large enough to allow Want to play? easiest to learn; however, some play a social distancing no matter how many different kind of drum. One gentleman people show up. They will continue to For more information, check out plays the Remo Rhythm Lids. These are meet at Dutchman Creek Park until the Southport Drum Circle on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/SPdrumcircle. steel lids that fit on top of almost any Senior Resources Center reopens. 

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SUPPORT FOR

E

Communities In Schools of Brunswick County celebrates 25 years of helping local students succeed.

STORY BY JO ANN MATHEWS

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South Brunswick Magazine

Expansion and change are key words to describe Communities In Schools (CIS) in Brunswick County as it celebrates its 25th anniversary. Its mission, though, has not changed: To surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Cynthia Tart, the first CIS executive director, accepted the leadership role in 1995 because she believed it would benefit students in greatest need. Back then office space was in Brunswick County Academy in Southport and aimed to serve all Brunswick County schools.

The organization proceeded to incorporate as a nonprofit with funding from various sources and formed partnerships with Brunswick County Schools, Dosher Hospital, Brunswick Community College, county agencies, faith communities

and volunteers.

Mike Reaves, the first actingchairman of the CIS board and former president of Brunswick Community College, says he enjoyed being a joint partner.

“Anything we could do to help the kids would certainly help us,” he says.

“It seemed like a perfect fit.”

CIS has introduced a series of programs over the years. In 1995 it opened the first Family Resource Center in Leland, where it offered volunteer tutoring and school-to-work programs. That center expanded in 2000 to include the Leland Family Literacy Program. CIS opened the Waccamaw Family Resource Center in 1996. By 2000 both centers served more than 600 people every month.

Lack of funding closed the Leland center in 2005 and the Waccamaw center in 2011.

STUDENTS After-school programs were added at two sites in 1997. By the 2007-08 school year, after-school and summer programs served more than 700 children at 11 sites.

The need to contain juvenile misdemeanor offenses prompted CIS to introduce Teen Court in 1999. This program allows offenders, primarily high school students, to be heard by a jury of their peers. They take responsibility for their actions and complete a required sentence. In this way, they can avoid a juvenile record.

Parents have always been a part of CIS. In 2006 the Parenting Education program provided classes and support groups to families in crisis and those seeking information on family management.

Peer Court was added in 2007 at Shallotte Middle School in order to reduce truancy and suspensions.

Again, their peers hear the case and declare remediation with offenders accepting responsibility for their actions.

The Dropout Prevention program started in 2009 at Shallotte Middle School. In 2013 a 21st Century Community Learning Center Afterschool STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) program came at no cost to participants. It was held at different schools since then and currently is at Supply Elementary School.

Tart says fundraising presented her biggest challenge as executive director. “I always operated with a mindset to build toward sustaining the organization and not letting the students down,” she says.

The CIS black-tie Benefit Gala for Children began in 2001. It eventually attracted 600 people, and at its peak

raised $120,000. Restaurants offered Taste of Brunswick County and wineries provided reds and whites.

Silent and live auctions, raffles, entertainment and Jon Evans, news anchor at WECT-TV, as master of ceremonies, added to the pageantry.

The annual event ended in 2017 as participation faded.

Another project was the launch of the CIS Thrift Shops. These sell slightly used, good-quality clothing, books, household and other items at affordable prices. “That was the hardest business venture, but one of the most rewarding,” Tart says. The Southport Thrift Shop opened in 2009 followed later that year by the Sunset Beach Shop. Boiling Spring Lakes (2010) and Leland (2016) also have shops.

Tart left Brunswick County CIS to be regional coach for CIS in North Winter 2020-21

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Clockwise from top left: Former Executive Director Cynthia Tart speaks at the 2013 Benefit Gala for Children; a meeting of the I Am Extraordinary Club for 6th-grade girls in partnership with Women In Philanthropy; CIS Thrift Shops expand to Leland; young Lance Ipatzi receiving an award for his work with Peer Court at Shallotte Middle School, with his mother Jennifer Ipatzi (left) and Success Coach Michelle Rau.

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South Brunswick Magazine

Carolina, and Nancy Lamb took the reins from 2014 to 2017. Bonnie Jordan, program operations officer since 2013, succeeded Lamb and is current executive director.

Six Success Coaches form the core of the organization. These CIS employees tutor, support and work with students to help them achieve their goals.

Ruth Thompson began as a Success Coach 10 years ago at Leland Middle School. “It is very fulfilling to work with parents and help them with whatever issues they have, and this helps me to better understand their children,” she says. She considers her greatest

success working with Peer Court. “This program works very well to help students get back on the right track,” she says. “It also helps parents get to know their child better.”

Michelle Rau has been a Success Coach at Shallotte Middle School for almost nine years. “Students need as much support as they can get to steer them in the right direction,” she says. “They need to feel cared for and listened to so they can make successful choices. CIS helps provide that additional support.”

After retiring from Brunswick County Schools with nearly 35 years on staff

Bonnie Jordan is the current executive director of Communities in Schools Brunswick County.

“

I believe all children deserve an equal opportunity to be successful and live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives.

from teacher assistant and bus driver to executive director of student support services, Helen Davis is now vice-chair of the CIS board. She has seen how students succeed in CIS programs through the cooperation of partnerships, volunteers and parents. “I remain focused on the continued support and supplemental education services CIS provides for the overall success and well-being of student and their families,” she says.

Lance Ipatzi, 15, now a sophomore at West Brunswick High School, was in the CIS Action for Success program from sixth to eighth grade at Shallotte Middle School. “It gave me extra hope,” Ipatzi says. He improved his grades and was offered opportunities to participate in activities, including Peer Court, where he

received an award as a jury member.

Ipatzi’s mother, Jennifer Ipatzi, says her son has high-functioning autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and has difficulty processing information. “The best thing they did was to help him and work with him,” she says.

In the future CIS plans to expand the Action for Success program, add a part-time Success Coach and “continue working to reach at-risk students,” Jordan says. Like Tart, she wants to sustain CIS programs.

“Providing consistency to at-risk students is paramount to their success and the success of CIS,” she says. “I believe all children deserve an equal opportunity to be successful and live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives.” 

Want to know more?

Communities in Schools Brunswick County 3148 George II Highway, Unit 2 Boiling Spring Lakes cisbrunswick.org (910) 351-8007 Executive Director Bonnie Jordan: bjordan@cisbrunswick.org

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PEOPLE

Wired for Service Retired electrician Ralph Lilley has spent the last 17 years volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and has no plans of slowing down.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY

BY JO ANN MATHEWS

“Wiring a home is nothing,” Ralph Lilley says. “You can almost do it blindfolded.”

An electrician for 40 years like Lilley can say that with confidence.

He didn’t wear a blindfold, though, wiring any homes or buildings and certainly not when he wired portions of the MCI Center, renamed the Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C. “The bigger the job is, the more I enjoy it,” he says.

Retired since 1998, Lilley spent two years golfing until it wasn’t as much fun anymore. When two other electricians at Brunswick Plantation told him Little River

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“ Lilley enjoyed volunteering, something he had never done before, and wanted to continue doing it. He turned to Habitat for Humanity in Brunswick County in 2003 and has wired 54 of its 67 homes.

Always something to be done — Ralph Lilley keeps tools handy in his yard where he flies the American and the Marine Corps flags on a flagpole he erected.

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United Methodist Church needed volunteers for Horry County Habitat for Humanity, Lilley didn’t hesitate.

The trio of electricians wired three homes until Horry County Habitat hired licensed contractors to do the electrical work. Lilley enjoyed volunteering, something he says he had never done before, and wanted to continue doing it.

He turned to Habitat for Humanity in Brunswick County in 2003 and has wired 54 of its 67 homes.

Lilley says his favorite part of electrical work is roughing the job out because it’s done before dry wall and other permanent connections are made. His least favorite part is hanging fans.

“I’m working over my head,” he says.

“Fixtures are so simple, but with fans you have to put the fan blades on upside down and hold the screws and you’re looking up quite a bit. You can almost be eye level with fixtures. With a fan you have to be underneath it.”

Tamara Morales, director of development at Brunswick County’s Habitat, says Lilley is probably the longest-serving volunteer in their

South Brunswick Magazine

organization with 17 years of service.

“Ralph is a leader,” Morales says.

“Beyond his skills, Ralph has kept people focused on the work in helping others and not getting involved in gossip or negativity.”

Lilley has one more job to complete, and then he won’t be volunteering as an electrician because Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity is also hiring electrical contractors to do its wiring. He plans to continue at Habitat for Humanity as a volunteer in other areas.

Being an electrician was not the career Lilley planned to pursue. He grew up in Lanham, Maryland, the second of nine children. In 1958, after finishing his three-year stint in the Marines, with 15 months in Japan, he went to the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., with interest in getting a carpenter apprenticeship. He was told apprenticeships were only available in the electrical field, so he said, “I’ll take it.”

He proceeded to be licensed in Montgomery County, Maryland, Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington,

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D.C., and was a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26 in D.C. Lilley, who turns 85 on January 14, 2021, became familiar with the Grand Strand area when he and several friends came on golf outings. He and his wife, Nancy, also vacationed here. “I fell in love with Myrtle Beach, and I knew when I retired this is where I was going to be,” he says.

He and Nancy moved from Reisterstown, Maryland, to Calabash in 1998. They have three children, seven grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren. Their sons, Ralph and Michael, are both electricians and live in Maryland with their families. Their daughter, Janet, lives in Charlotte.

After moving to Calabash, Lilley developed an interest in gardening but isn’t quite sure of specific names of what he has planted. “I go to Lowe’s and see what looks good and buy them,” he says. “Some things work out, and some things don’t.” In his landscaping he includes a bird bath, lighthouse and a 25-foot flag pole, which he wired to be lighted.

He also became enchanted with the stream, now hidden by trees, that runs behind his home. He began to collect discarded bricks from home sites and proceeded to construct steps to the stream and a 100-yard walkway in front of it. “I can’t sit around and do nothing,” he says. That’s why he decided to continue volunteering.

“As a Marine veteran, member of the Calabash Elks and as a long-time Habitat volunteer, Ralph steadfastly serves the community in which he lives,” Morales says. “He does it expecting nothing in return. This ‘quiet service’ to others is uncommon today. Many people expect something in return for their service. Ralph doesn’t.”

Lilley just volunteers because it feels good to do it.

“The families really appreciate it, and it makes me feel good about it,” Lilley says. “I knew I was doing something that people needed, and I had the time.” 

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W H AT I S

Resiliency?

An effort is underway to educate the Brunswick County community about the effects of childhood trauma and resiliency.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY JO ANN MATHEWS

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A word that educators, healthcare workers, religious communities and the justice system have come to use in recent years is resiliency. People who talk about resiliency know about a study in the late 1990s that showed a connection between childhood trauma and poor health. The study proved, however, that people can lessen the effects of trauma when they learn skills to counteract the stress that traumas bring; thus, they can learn resiliency and improve their health.

Lauren Clark, program integration coordinator at Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear in Wilmington, explains that a Community Resiliency Model (CRM), a skills-based wellness program, has been designed with these research findings in mind. This model trains community members to learn the biology of trauma and stress and the skills to lessen them while increasing resilience. In turn, they can teach others these skills. Clark is a CRM trainer.

It’s an individual and community’s ability to identify and use individual and collective strength in living fully in the present moment and to thrive while managing the activities of daily living.

She held a virtual beginner workshop in resiliency on October 2. It accomplished the purpose of the model: a focus on sharing skills and tools to help normalize participants’

experiences with stress and share tools to increase their own resilience. It explained terms such as ACEs, toxic stress and resiliency to better understand this concept.

ACEs are Adverse Childhood Experiences. These experiences or traumas can be: • physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse • having a mother who is/was physically abused • living with someone who is mentally ill • living with a drug or alcohol abuser • incarceration of a household member The more ACEs a child experiences, the more likely that child will develop physical and mental health issues later in life, such as heart disease, diabetes, depression and substance abuse.

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system,” says Jon David, district attorney for Brunswick, Bladen and Columbus counties. He adds that knowing someone’s ACEs score can help officials connect the individuals to the resources they need.

Toxic stress is the extreme, frequent or extended activation of the body’s stress response without the nurturing support of a stable adult. “A trauma is a biological response,” Clark says. These traumas alter cell structure and impede the brain’s development. “We need to get rid of that stress in our bodies.”

Resiliency is the ability to recover quickly from difficulties. Clark cites the definition from Elaine Miller-Karas, cofounder of the Community Resiliency Model: “It’s an individual and community’s ability to identify and use

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individual and collective strength in living fully in the present moment and to thrive while managing the activities of daily living.”

“We want to address [ACEs] at the earliest level, so the child might grow

Want to know more about Community Resiliency?

Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear carelcf.org info@carelfc.org (910) 763-0200, Lauren Clark Further information Community Resiliency Model: traumaresourceinstitute.com

up to not experience some of the health conditions and mental health effects we’ve seen,” Clark says.

Studies show that trauma and stress are carried in a person’s DNA and passed down to generations. If an entire school can be aware of these effects and informed on how to counteract them, they can be controlled. The documentary film Resilience explains the science behind ACEs. An online trailer that gives an overview is at tugg.com/titles/ resilience. “[The film] does a great job of opening people’s eyes to ACEs and the effects of trauma and the possibilities of resilience of communities coming together,” Clark says. She adds that North Carolina has the most

community resilience model trainers per capita other than California, where the model was created.

Bonnie Jordan, executive director of Communities In Schools, says, “The goal of a resiliency task force is to foster resiliency among all community members.” This includes social service and healthcare providers, local institutions and churches and clergy.

“Everyone should have access to these wellness skills and these resiliency skills,” Clark says. A Brunswick County task force aims to identify strategies to increase resiliency against the unique challenges in the county.

The October 2 workshop provided hands-on practice of these skills:

resiliency is to track children and their adverse experiences. These are directly related to your health and follow you the rest of your life.”

David reminds community members that a positive adult role model can have an impact on a child’s resiliency.

“We measure resiliency success by spreading awareness of what the ACE score is,” David says. “A positive adult role model can fill the void in a child’s

life. That’s what resilience is.”

Clark says it would be advantageous to bring organizations back together to discuss a resiliency task force in Brunswick County.

However, “We are struggling with having the resources to do so,” she says.

“We want to increase education and awareness within our county so we can encourage organizations and individuals to find a way to be involved.” 

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Biology of traumatic/stressful reactions. This includes understanding the nervous system and how people biologically respond to stress.

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Helen Gabriel, executive director of Smart Start, which works to improve care, health and education for children from birth to 5 years of age, is an advocate of a resiliency task force.

“I am so glad Brunswick County as a whole is getting involved with resiliency,” she says. “The idea of

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Small Wonder

S

A compact home in Oak Island is changing people’s perceptions about homebuilding.

STORY BY ANNESOPHIA RICHARDS

Brunswick County’s beaches, Stegman decided to move his family to the area in 2015 and pursue his passion for construction full time.

“KPS Construction, LLC is a small custom-home building company consisting of myself and two employees,” Stegman says. “We do one house at a time and specialize in providing a very organic process from start to finish, while minimizing square footage, increasing energy efficiency, minimizing maintenance and increasing the ability to live.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Something little has been making a big splash in the seaside town of Oak Island. Last year, KPS Construction, LLC completed construction of a 475-square-foot home on NE 45th Street. Although officially too big to be classified as a “tiny home,” this small home has a lot to offer in terms of energy efficiency, durability and ease of living, and many hope it will be the first of several small homes to come in Brunswick County.

Before relocating to Boiling Spring Lakes, KPS Construction owner Steven Stegman spent the first half of his career as a high school math teacher in Connecticut. When he wasn’t working with students, Stegman filled his free time doing renovations and small additions to residential homes. Having previously vacationed on North Carolina’s coast and fallen in love with

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PHOTOS BY MEGAN DEITZ

One thing Stegman noticed soon after creating his business was the amount of people coming to the Brunswick County area with a desire to downsize. From retirees and empty nesters to the younger, more independent demographic, many of Stegman’s customers wanted more efficient and maintainable living spaces, a trend he fully supported.

“I personally feel we’re living in homes that are way too big for our needs,” he says. “My niche is 800- to 1,800-squarefoot homes, which are much smaller than the average homes being built today.

More square footage just means more work for homeowners to clean and maintain, so they’re spending less time living and more time cleaning.”

Stegman got the chance to build his smallest home yet shortly after Hurricane Florence. He took on a home repair job for a customer in Oak Island, but soon after work began, he realized the damage was much worse than originally thought.

“I stopped what I was doing and called the homeowner, who lived in Maryland at the time, and told him it would be easier to tear the home down and rebuild,” Stegman says. “It turned out his sister, a single retiree, wanted a small home just for herself, so we ended up building them a 475-squarefoot, super energy-efficient house on a typical foundation. We were able to turn an absolute disaster into exactly what they were looking for.”

The home took less than three months to build and cost $140,000, although Stegman says it could have been built for around $110,000 with some modifications to the materials and mechanical systems. The floor plan includes the 475 square feet of heated and cooled space, a 226-square-foot, three-season room in the back and a 113-square-foot covered porch in front. Bells and whistles include a staggered 6-inch exterior framing to create a thermal break, blown in blanket insulation (BIBs), Zip System roof and wall sheathing, impact windows, cellular PVC exterior trim and a high-efficiency heat pump water heater.

One of Stegman’s primary focuses is building a home his customers can live in and not have to constantly maintain.

That means using very little exterior paint, none if possible.

To achieve this, Stegman opts for solid and cellular composite siding, as he did with the Oak Island home, instead of the

REAL ESTATE

“ More square footage just means more work for homeowners to clean and maintain, so they’re spending less time living and more time cleaning.”

PHOTOS BY MEGAN DEITZ

more traditional vinyl siding. His goal is always to make each home high in efficiency and low in upkeep.

“Another great benefit of building small is that the upgrades don’t cost a lot,” he says. “You’re not adding hundreds of square feet, so whether it is siding, shingles, flooring or windows, the cost to upgrade is minimal.”

As for the perks of living in such a small space, homeowner Pam Dover loves that her new Oak Island home uses less electricity and requires less cleaning than her previous houses.

“It’s plenty of room for myself and my two dogs,” Dover says. “It also makes me think more about what I buy, because there’s only so much room for stuff. I know a house like this certainly isn’t for everybody, but it’s a good fit for me.”

Although Stegman looks forward to continuing his passion for small homes, he has run into some issues with building more houses as small as Dover’s. He says financing is tricky, and customers often struggle to secure lending.

“There are very few homes around this small, and lending agencies have a difficult time finding comparable homes to work an appraisal,” he says. “This means that unless there’s a small home in the neighborhood, you’ll most likely not be able to get financing.”

Dover’s new neighbor, Patsy Jordan, has no problem with the compact new addition to her neighborhood.

“Everyone I’ve talked to around here loves her little home,” Jordan says. “Although it’s small, it’s also very neat and well kept up. It looks like a perfect little cottage.”

Stegman has appreciated all the positive feedback he’s received on the first of what he hopes to be many tiny home projects. One thing he has especially enjoyed is seeing the change in people’s perceptions of what a great home can be, and what it doesn’t need to be.

“The most frequent question I heard when the house had only its foundation was, ‘How could someone live in a home this small?’”

Stegman says. “But once the home was complete, they started to question why their homes were so big with so much wasted space.” 

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Digging Into History Public Archeology Corps unearths artifacts that tell the forgotten story of a place, as happened at their recent dig at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Southport.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROLYN BOWERS

P

PAC. The acronym may be well known, but this time it stands for Public Archeology Corps, and they have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with rescuing and preserving our past. The Pender County-based organization recently completed a dig at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Southport.

PAC is a nonprofit organization that conducts archeological digs on privately owned land that is not protected by state and federal laws. Without the efforts of this group, the rich history that these properties hold would be lost. As Johnny Connor, an experienced PAC volunteer and recovery specialist, Winter 2020-21

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puts it, “We find the things that are lost, the things are hidden and the things that are forgotten.”

PAC was founded in 2013 by its current executive director, Jon Schleier, who is an archeologist at Ft. Bragg. The excavation is done by an all-volunteer workforce under the direction of professionally trained archeologists and experienced historians. Some of the volunteers have participated in several PAC digs, but they were especially excited about a current one because of the location’s proximity to Ft. Johnston and the Cape Fear River and its involvement in the Civil War. This excavation opportunity came about because the building on the property, the c. 1895 Carr-Jorgensen House, was demolished in June to free up land for a new structure that will be used for the church’s offices, classrooms and meetings. Since construction on that building was not scheduled to begin until mid-August, PAC had a window of opportunity to explore what was formerly the site of so much Southport history.

The Chapel of the Cross at St. Philip’s Church was erected in 1843 to serve the soldiers at Ft. Johnston. In 1865 after Ft.

Johnston was evacuated by the Confederate forces, the church was immediately seized and occupied by Union forces. It was used as a hospital for their wounded men and later served as a school for African-American children. The house that was built on that property in 1895 was purchased by the Jorgensen family in 1911, and it was their family home until 1963, when they moved to the outskirts of town and their old home became part of the Southport school system.

Sometime later St. Philip’s Church acquired the property and the house. If it were not for PAC, so much of the history from that time period would have been lost with the home’s demolition and new construction. But because PAC was quick to get involved, the Civil War coins, military buttons, jewelry, marbles, telegraph pieces and several other 18th and 19th century artifacts will give historians what they need to piece together a more complete story of the part that the Confederate soldiers, Ft. Johnston and the blockade runners played in the Civil War. A PAC excavation is a well-documented procedure. First, the volunteers use a metal detector to locate the most likely spots to dig. Each promising location is then accurately

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A sampling of what was found: • Zinc receptacle inside of a telegraph battery that was thought to be used to transmit information from the site to alert the blockade runners to leave. 1

The next step in the recovery process is to clean the artifacts just enough to expose their markings, but not enough to destroy their character

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7 A PAC volunteer digging in 6-inch increments.

• Bayonet. Possibly from the Revolutionary War, but more likely the Civil War. This item was found on their last morning at the site, and it lay right on top of the ground. Conjecture is that the rain from Hurricane Isaias literally washed it up. 2 • Mechanical pencil dated 1872 from the patent number. 3 • Eagle military button dating around 1812. 4 • Brass pocket watch casing. 5 •K ing George III Colonial British half penny dated 1777. 6 • Opal ring from the mid-1900s and most likely belonged to one of the Jorgensen women. 7 • Not pictured: Fire-glazed clay marble from the 1760s, suspender clip for the Civil War era and a pipe stem made for Kaolin clay.

plotted on a grid and marked with a small red or white flag.

The next step is to dig farther down in 6-inch increments. At each level, the dirt is dug up and thrown on a wire mesh platform and shaken back and forth to retain only the solid pieces. Each solid piece is examined, and if of possible interest, it is saved in a bucket for further exploration and identification.

Logically the most recent artifacts are found closer to the surface. But not always. The group was surprised to find several Civil War pieces during their first day of digging.

And on their last day they found a couple of 20th century Winter 2020-21

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toys, including a marble and jacks in one of the deepest holes. When I ask how this could happen, Chris Copf, a seasoned volunteer, says, “It could be that a ground hog dug a deep hole and churned up the dirt. Or a tree’s root system could have displaced it.”

However, Johnny Connor offered a different explanation. He thinks the

reason “the time periods just bounce around” is that when the new addition was put on the building in the early 1990s, the ground was dug up and new soil brought in. When they put the layers back, they put the new soil on the bottom and the old soil on top. So, while the reason for the unusual disruption in the time periods may not

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be completely known, the result is clear: Artifacts from more than 250 years ago are sometimes unearthed very close to the surface.

The next step in the recovery process is to clean the artifacts just enough to expose their markings, but not enough to destroy their character. Then Schleier and Connor will research each piece with the help of several reference books and diagnostic tools and put together a story from what they have recovered and what they learn about each piece. When I ask if they will be able to identify the bayonet and determine whether it was from the Revolutionary War or the Civil War, Schleier candidly confesses that he isn’t sure. “Sometimes the data tells you everything you need to know, and sometimes all you are left with is a question mark,” he says.

After the artifacts are identified and dated, they will be turned over to the church as the rightful owners because they were recovered from the church’s property. And the church will decide what to do with them. One suggestion is to put them in a display case.

Another church member thought they might be donated either to the Maritime Museum or the Southport Historical Society. Wherever they end up on display, it will be well worth a visit to see this latest piece of Southport’s rich history.

PAC welcomes anyone who has an interest in exploring the mysteries of the past or likes the excitement of coming across an unexpected piece of history. “This is perfect for anyone who never got over the fun of digging in the dirt,” Copf says.

If you are interested in volunteering with this group or donating to further their cause, visit their website at: publicarchaeologycorps.org. 

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89

ildlife W A FRIEND OF

Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter on Oak Island is expanding to rehabilitate more wild birds and animals.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY

BY ED BECKLEY

Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter Clinic Director and President of the Board of Directors Mary Ellen Rogers has a rare quiet moment beside her “rescue-mobile.”

90

South Brunswick Magazine

I

It was old and needed some work. Hurricane Hazel kited its roof in 1954.

But a savvy real estate agent who did very well selling upscale Charleston, South Carolina, suburban beach properties had a vision. She loved that cute little house at 1638 E. Beach Drive on Oak Island. I’ll buy it for a song, she thought, and sell it later as an investment toward retirement.

She did buy it, but then she didn’t sell it.

She didn’t retire and she’s no longer in the real estate business. Instead, Mary Ellen Rogers moved in and turned her comfortable professional life upside down.

At age 77, Rogers is the founder, volunteer clinic director and president of the board of directors of the Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter, Inc., located in that very house built nearly 70 years ago.

She lives upstairs, and the business takes over the first floor and the entire quarter-acre backyard. The place has become, literally, for the (wild) birds!

Rogers transformed her life and her island property, she says, to contribute “something back to our native habitat to compensate for all the stuff that we humans take away from it.” From its official opening in 2007 until now, she and more than 30 volunteers have worked to rehabilitate and release thousands of hooked, line-tangled, cat-caught, gun-shot, boat-orwindow-struck, netted, diseased and otherwise injured or orphaned wild or endangered birds.

Rogers developed a passion for helping distressed wild birds because there was a need for it and she was distraught because at that time there were no other facilities within a hundred miles to assist all kinds of federally protected species. After putting in 200 hours, gaining experience with the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, South Carolina, and the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter on Cape Hatteras, she received federal certification to aid seabirds and shorebirds in March of 2007. She tended to 250 birds in the company’s first nine months and 538 in 2019; she expects to set a new record in 2020.

Winter 2020-21

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It is a 24/7/365 devotional, but Rogers says she’s grateful to be able to make good things happen, and there’s nothing better than doing it at the beach. She gives full credit to the able assistance of her three-member nonprofit board of volunteers; a dedicated clinic staff of 12 people, who each work a two-hour shift one day per week; and some 20 rescue and transport volunteers who receive training to capture and deliver injured birds.

They rescue and rehabilitate everything from owls to ospreys, pelicans to herons to red-tailed hawks.

They do receive endangered species, but not often. “We have several veterinarians we work closely with that specialize in them,” Rogers says.

When the birds come in, the staff tries to mimic their normal environment as much as possible.”

“There are huge enclosed spaces for raptors to stretch their wings and safely fly,” Rogers says. “And large

It appears an alligator took a bite out of this great blue heron’s wing.

With tender care, the volunteers are confident of recovery and release.

92

South Brunswick Magazine

Clockwise from above: Denny Cumbow, left, and Rob Doerr, right, of the Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Horry County, South Carolina, hand off an injured pelican to Mary Ellen Rogers; a small freshwater marsh bird known as a sora; board volunteer Nancy Hout snuggles a barn owl for feeding.

quiet cages with perches enabling peaceful recovery, one bird at a time.

There’s even an intensive care unit.”

The scope of hands-on care is quite complex.

“We use simple antiparasite treatment for feather mites, maggots and flat flies on the outside, and worms on the inside,” Rogers says.

Depending on the problem, they use pain relievers and antibiotic medications, get X-rays from local vets and even transplant feathers to get them back into

the wild as quickly as possible. They deal with vibrio bacteria (respiratory disease) in most debilitated pelicans, aspergillosis (molds) in migrating waterbirds like loons and gannets.

Herons and egrets often have parasites in their mouths and digestive tracts.

Fledglings often come to the center because of the birds’ inexperience at foraging for food or ingesting something harmful. Raptors frequently eat small animals like mice and rats that have been poisoned, in turn causing them to be poisoned. The team even wraps broken appendages with a kind of cast so legs can heal straight.

Hurricanes, such as Category 1 Isaias in 2020, bring many a patient to the

shelter. “We got 14 baby birds in two days after the storm,” Rogers says.

“Juvenile pelicans had been washed off their nests and needed over a week to learn to fish and fly. If left to the elements, most of them wouldn’t have survived.”

Prepping for storms at the shelter is also very difficult. Getting ready for Isaias involved moving 40 birds inside the clinic, including hawks and owls, pelicans, Canada geese, ducks, gulls, marsh birds and songbirds. The birds remained safe, even after a wave of water made its way down the street and into the first floor. However, water and power were out for a week, forcing the use of generators and a plea to the Winter 2020-21

93

community for water and money for supplies. Donors provided the muchneeded help, and Rogers explained that the shelter is truly fortunate because they always come through with the funding needed to keep Sea Biscuit’s doors open.

Recalling Hurricane Florence two years ago, she says they actually had to evacuate the shelter, and it was a “disaster.”

Rising waters forced her to the second floor of her hurricane shelter, with 10 big birds in the attic. The Cajun Navy came to their rescue in the middle of the night.

Rogers says people drop off all kinds of displaced and hurt animals after storms — everything from raccoons to alligators. The volunteers take them in and try to find groups to help them, but the little house on E. Beach Drive is at its limit. It’s time to move to a bigger location, and they have found a

good place.

Duke Energy granted the shelter three decades of use of 4 acres of higher ground at Bill Smith Park in Southport, and the company’s volunteers have already built three sturdy enclosures for the hawks, owls and pelicans. There’s no power, water or sewage services at this time, but Sea Biscuit is collecting donations and using what they have so far to build a driveway, erect fencing and move the birds to the site. Rogers hopes to have the birds available for public view before winter.

They also plan on constructing “a pretty country cottage-type building” to accommodate small groups for meetings and provide space for rehabilitation and an intensive care area for very sick birds and other wild animals. And that’s a new twist to things.

“We want a facility for other wild animals as well as birds — bears,

bobcats, whatever people bring to us,” Rogers says. “Total cost is around $300,000 in addition to the $2,000 to $3,000 we need monthly for normal operations. And we hope to have it all ready within three years.”

Once the new facility is up and running, Rogers looks forward to hiring a clinic director and remaining as a volunteer for animal care only.

“There are no living quarters in the new place, and I am not going anywhere!” she says. “I’ll remain at my beach house. I might decide to rent out the downstairs apartment or just keep it as guest quarters for friends and family.”

So, the saga of the cute little house on E. Beach Drive on Oak Island will carry on. 

Can you help?

Rogers invites anyone wishing to donate to send a check marked for expansion or maintenance to: Sea Biscuit Shelter, 1638 E. Beach Drive, Oak Island, NC 28465.

Check out the website at seabiscuitwildlifeshelter.org

The backyard of the cute little house on East Beach Drive. Inset: A rendering of the country cottage-type building the organization will construct at Bill Smith Park as the successor site for the shelter.

94

South Brunswick Magazine

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South Brunswick Magazine

FOOD AND DRINK

Deliciously Sweet The Boynton family bakes with love at Sweetcakes Tbc in Ocean Isle Beach.

STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLAIRE LYNCH

B

Beverly Boynton has loved to bake her whole life.

“My parents gave me a teal Easy Bake Oven when I was five years old,” she says. “I was so thrilled that I promptly baked my parents a cake. They showered praise on me for baking that first cake, and ever since then I’ve loved to bake.”

Although Beverly always enjoyed baking, she wasn’t always in the baking business. Originally from New Haven, Connecticut, Beverly

Bill and Beverly Boynton and their daughter, Erika Boynton Evans (right) bring sweetness to Ocean Isle Beach.

Winter 2020-21

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South Brunswick Magazine

ridgecare.com

FOOD AND DRINK

“I

and her husband, William “Bill” Boynton, decided to move to Brunswick County in 2002 after Bill put in 25 years with the New Haven Police Department as a police officer. Their daughter, Erika Boynton Evans, who’s now longed to have my creative side come out, married, and her two siblings were young when they moved to the Tar Heel State. “Our and for me that means baking cakes, goal was to have them grow up not in the city pastries, breads and pies.” but in a more laid-back environment,” Bill says. Their oldest daughter, Jesika, moved to North Carolina a few years later.

Beverly has a B.S. in counseling from Lee University and an M.S. in criminal justice counseling from Liberty University in Virginia. Bill studied sociology at Southern Connecticut State University.

Both Boyntons worked full-time jobs at Novant Hospital in Bolivia, North Carolina — she was in registration and he was a safety supervisor — but other dreams tugged at them.

“I longed to have my creative side come out, and for me that means baking cakes, pastries, breads and pies,” says Beverly, who is the sole owner of Sweetcakes Tbc. “A county-certified home kitchen a few years ago worked out great. People were happy, and we got so many requests that the next step was to open my own bakery.”

When a store on a main road in Ocean Isle Beach had a for rent sign on it in 2018, they inquired about it. “The stars were aligned because all of a sudden things came together, and we were inviting our first customers into the store,” Beverly says.

The bakery opened in August 2018. They offer everyday treats and cakes as well as desserts for special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, baptisms and more.

Sweetcakes Tbc has been a family business since opening its doors. Erika is a full-time employee, Bill helps, and when they’re really busy in the summer, their granddaughters and grandsons also pitch in.

Winter 2020-21

99

FOOD AND DRINK

Beverly estimates that 85 percent of their business is for Brunswick County are delighted to find us for the first time, the custom-ordered cakes. and our repeat vacationers often make it a point to stop here “When people want a cake for a wedding or another very at Sweetcakes,” Beverly says. “One customer who lives out of special occasion, we ask them exactly what they want,” she town said that when driving into town he and his family pull says. “We don’t say, ‘This is what we have,’ we let them into our parking lot and get their pastries before even choose all of the designs and flavors of their cakes. Our goal stopping at their vacation homes.” is to help make that special Sweetcakes Tbc bakes daily occasion extra special for them.” breads and pastries, and when Walk-ins account for the other they sell out, that’s it. They don’t Craving something sweet?

15 percent of the business. Locals make second batches and usually stop by for cinnamon rolls, scones, sell everything they have.

Sweetcakes Tbc doughnuts and more. Before The name Sweetcakes is obvious Live Oak Plaza, 7026 Beach Drive SW, Unit 4, COVID-19 customers could help since it’s a bakery, but the Tbc has Ocean Isle Beach themselves to a cup of coffee or tea a special connotation.

(910) 393-7700 with their pastries, but now the “I added the ‘Tbc’ to the name sweetcakestbc.net staff pours it. for ‘The blessed creations’ because The store is open Wednesday to Friday from 10:30 “Vacationers to southeast I firmly believe that with our faith am to 4 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm.

100

South Brunswick Magazine

FOOD AND DRINK

all things are possible,” Beverly says.

“My vision was to have a community-based place where people can eat, drink coffee, relax and unwind, and this has been a dream come true,” she adds. “The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact in terms of social distancing, and we’ve made accommodations. These past several months we’ve increased curbside pickups and deliveries to homes and businesses. We make it work for our customers’ needs.”

Beverly, Bill and Erika are ordained ministers. Beverly and Bill also volunteer as chaplains for the Sheriff ’s Department of Brunswick County.

Before the pandemic they went to the Sheriff ’s Office in Bolivia and prayed with staff members and helped family members after fatal accidents, for example.

Now they get called in and maintain social distancing. The Boyntons are part of an eight-person roster of chaplains that takes turns being on call. Beverly and Bill are on call for four days straight then not on call for four days when other chaplains volunteer. They have shifts twice monthly.

When Beverly dreamed about having a family-run bakery, she had another part to that dream.

“I want Erika to take over the business when I retire in a few years,” Beverly says. “She’s got the skills, the baking talent and lots of level-headed business sense, so I know that when the time comes, things will work out.

The vision I had before starting this business entailed watching it grow and flourish. This bakery is a business that Erika and I love. As a mother it gives me an enormous sense of comfort knowing that I’m laying a strong foundation for her and her family’s future. What we’re doing today will

help them down the road, and that’s a great feeling.”

Bill says Beverly is known as The Cake Lady in the neighborhood because people enjoy everything she bakes.

“The whole secret to baking delicious-tasting cakes and pastries is one main ingredient, which is love, and baking them so they come out light,

fluffy and moist,” Bill says. “When you bite into them, you’ve got a perfect combination of flavors swirling around in your mouth.”

Each year Erika bakes her mother her favorite flavored birthday cake: a chocolate layer cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s a hit, naturally! 

Winter 2020-21

101

102

South Brunswick Magazine

Private Italy Tours

H

ow can you keep your spirits up during a pandemic? Mark Gordon Smith of Private Italy Tours has an idea. “The pandemic will end, and we will visit places that we dream of seeing. Until a vaccine makes travel a reality again, I encourage everyone to keep their spirits up by planning ahead for future trips.”

Of course, Private Italy Tours, which shares authentic, local and unforgettable cultural encounters in Italy and Switzerland, would be honored to help you.

Smith founded Private Italy Tours in 2003 following publication of his first Italian travel memoir, Tuscan Echoes: A Season in Italy.

Back then, the company offered only one itinerary, exploring Tuscany and the Veneto.

Now they offer various two-week cultural encounters across different Italian regions.

They also provide custom itinerary-planning services for guests who want to travel on their own or with a small group of friends.

The staff at Private Italy Tours includes a director of client services, several external marketing, writing and advertising consultants and extensive international partners in Italy and Switzerland who offer on-the-ground input.

“We base decisions on consensus with a focus on the most important people in our business — our guests,” Smith says.

Their itineraries offer unique, bespoke experiences for those who want to travel but don’t want to be part of a traditional group tour. Their impressive number of return guests reflects the high quality of their trips.

“Our unforgettable experiences entice guests to return to bella Italia with us,” Smith says. “Nearly 40% of our customers are returning travelers or referrals, and we do all we can to increase that number.”

Private Italy Tours takes care of all the details so guests can

Business Profile

BY MICHELLE MACKEN

relax and enjoy their experiences. If travelers have a special request — a cooking class, a wine tasting and private dinner, meals in Italian homes, hands-on encounters with artisans in private studios — they make those experiences possible. They also provide preand post-tour support.

In addition to tours in Italy and Switzerland, they plan to partner with other small group tour operators in Europe to expand the Private Italy Tours experience.

Smith is well-versed in the language, culture and history of Italy. He has authored three books about his time living in Italy, which he published while living and writing for 12 years in Ocean Isle Beach. He is also an adultlearning instructor for University of North Carolina associated programs, teaching Italian Renaissance Art History, Art of the Dutch Golden Age, Travel in Italy and Conversational Italian.

If staying home during the pandemic is getting you down, just listen to what others have to say about Private Italy Tours and begin dreaming of your own getaway “I have traveled with Private Italy Tours on three different tours, and they only get better.”

“They care about their guests and always deliver the most truly Italian experiences possible.”

“If you are considering a tour of Italy, Mark Smith will not disappoint! He takes care of every detail and then some. Mark is so willing to share his love of his Italy and goes above and beyond your expectations!”

Private Italy Tours (910) 575-6735 private-italy.com, info@private-italy.com Winter 2020-21

103

SHALLOTTE INLET TIDE CHART

January D a t e

High Tide AM Time (EST)

Febr uary

Low Tide PM

Height Time (ft) (EST)

AM

PM

Height Time Height Time Height (ft) (EST) (ft) (EST) (ft)

D a t e

High Tide AM Time (EST)

Mar ch

Low Tide PM

Height Time (ft) (EST)

AM

PM

Height Time Height Time Height (ft) (EST) (ft) (EST) (ft)

D a t e

High Tide AM Time (EST)

Low Tide PM

Height Time (ft) (EST)

AM

PM

Height Time Height Time Height (ft) (EST) (ft) (EST) (ft)

1

9:17

5.1

9:43

4.0

3:21

-0.3

4:06

0.1

1

10:29

4.9

11:06

4.5

4:37

-0.6

5:07

-0.5

1

9:22

5.2

9:53

5.2

3:34

-1.0

3:58

2

10:01

5.0

10:32

4.0

4:05

-0.3

4:48

0.0

2

11:22

4.7

--

--

5:28

-0.5

5:53

-0.4

2

10:10

5.0

10:45

5.2

4:23

-0.9

4:42

-0.7

3

10:49

4.9

11:27

4.1

4:51

-0.2

5:31

0.0

3

12:04

4.6

12:18

4.4

6:23

-0.2

6:43

-0.3

3

11:03

4.7

11:43

5.1

5:15

-0.6

5:29

-0.5

4

1:03

4.7

1:18

4.2

7:25

0.0

7:41

-0.2

-0.3

5

2:04

4.7

2:20

4.0

8:35

0.1

8:48

-0.1

6

3:07

4.8

3:23

3.9

9:48

0.2

9:58

-0.1

7

4:10

4.9

4:28

3.9

10:56

0.0

11:04

-0.3

8

5:12

5.0

5:31

4.0

11:56

-0.1

4

11:42

4.7

--

--

5:41

-0.1

6:18

0.0

5

12:26

4.2

12:39

4.5

6:37

0.1

7:10

0.0

6

1:25

4.4

1:37

4.4

7:41

0.2

8:08

-0.1

7

2:25

4.6

2:37

4.3

8:51

0.2

9:11

-0.2

8

3:24

4.9

3:38

4.2

10:02

0.1

10:14

-0.3

9

4:25

5.1

4:40

4.2

11:07

-0.1

11:14

-0.5

10

5:24

5.4

5:41

4.2

--

--

12:06

-0.3

9

6:11

5.2

6:28

4.2

12:03

-0.5

12:49

11

6:21

5.6

6:37

4.3

12:11

-0.7

1:01

-0.5

10

7:03

5.3

7:19

4.3

12:57

-0.6

1:37

-0.8

4

--

--

12:02

4.4

6:10

-0.3

6:21

5

12:44

5.0

1:04

4.1

7:11

0.0

7:21

0.0

6

1:47

4.9

2:08

3.9

8:21

0.2

8:32

0.2

7

2:51

4.8

3:13

3.9

9:35

0.3

9:48

0.2

8

3:56

4.8

4:19

3.9

10:44

0.3

10:57

0.1

9

4:59

4.9

5:21

4.1

11:42

0.2

11:56

-0.1

-0.3

10

5:57

4.9

6:16

4.3

--

--

12:32

0.0

-0.4

11

6:47

5.0

7:04

4.5

12:48

-0.3

1:16

-0.1 -0.2

12

7:15

5.7

7:30

4.4

1:05

-0.8

1:53

-0.6

11

7:51

5.3

8:05

4.4

1:47

-0.7

2:21

-0.5

12

7:31

5.0

7:46

4.6

1:34

-0.4

1:55

13

8:05

5.6

8:20

4.4

1:57

-0.9

2:41

-0.6

12

8:34

5.2

8:48

4.4

2:33

-0.7

3:03

-0.5

13

8:10

5.0

8:24

4.7

2:16

-0.4

2:32

-0.3

14

8:53

5.5

9:08

4.3

2:47

-0.8

3:27

-0.5

14

9:48

4.8

10:00

4.7

3:56

-0.3

4:07

-0.2

15

9:40

5.2

9:56

4.2

3:35

-0.7

4:11

-0.4

-0.1

16

10:27

4.9

10:45

4.1

4:21

-0.4

4:53

-0.2

17

11:14

4.6

11:36

3.9

5:06

-0.1

5:34

0.0

18

--

--

12:03

4.2

5:51

0.3

6:15

0.2

19

12:27

3.8

12:51

4.0

6:40

0.6

6:58

0.3

13

9:15

5.0

9:29

4.4

3:17

-0.6

3:41

-0.4

14

9:56

4.7

10:11

4.3

3:58

-0.3

4:18

-0.3

15

10:37

4.4

10:53

4.1

4:38

-0.1

4:54

-0.1

16

11:21

4.1

11:37

4.0

5:18

0.2

5:31

0.1

17

--

--

12:06

3.8

6:00

0.5

6:09

0.3

15

10:25

4.6

10:36

4.6

4:34

-0.1

4:42

16

11:03

4.4

11:12

4.5

5:11

0.0

5:16

0.0

17

11:42

4.1

11:50

4.4

5:48

0.3

5:51

0.2

18

--

--

12:25

3.8

6:27

0.5

6:29

0.4

19

12:33

4.2

1:12

3.6

7:08

0.8

7:10

0.6 0.8

20

1:17

3.8

1:39

3.7

7:33

0.8

7:45

0.4

18

12:23

3.9

12:54

3.6

6:45

0.8

6:52

0.5

20

1:21

4.1

2:02

3.4

7:54

1.0

7:57

21

2:05

3.8

2:28

3.6

8:34

1.0

8:37

0.5

19

1:11

3.9

1:43

3.4

7:38

1.0

7:42

0.6

21

2:14

4.1

2:54

3.4

8:51

1.1

8:54

0.9

22

2:53

3.9

3:18

3.5

9:38

1.0

9:31

0.5

20

2:01

3.9

2:34

3.3

8:41

1.1

8:40

0.7

22

3:09

4.1

3:49

3.5

9:57

1.2

10:00

0.8

21

2:54

3.9

3:28

3.3

9:48

1.0

9:42

0.6

23

4:06

4.2

4:44

3.6

11:03

1.0

11:05

0.6

0.3

24

5:04

4.4

5:40

3.9

11:59

0.7

--

--

25

5:59

4.7

6:33

4.3

12:04

0.2

12:48

0.3

23

3:43

4.0

4:09

3.4

10:37

0.9

10:25

0.3

24

4:33

4.1

5:00

3.5

11:28

0.7

11:16

0.1

25

5:23

4.4

5:49

3.6

12:15

0.5

26

6:10

4.6

6:34

3.8

12:03

-0.1

12:58

0.3

27

6:53

4.8

7:17

4.0

12:49

-0.3

1:40

0.0

28

7:35

5.0

7:58

4.2

1:34

-0.5

2:21

-0.2

29

8:16

5.2

8:40

4.3

2:19

-0.7

3:01

-0.3

30

8:57

5.2

9:24

4.4

3:04

-0.8

3:42

-0.4 -0.5

31

9:41

5.1

10:13

4.5

3:50

-0.7

4:24

22

3:49

4.1

4:22

3.5

10:48

0.9

10:41

23

4:44

4.3

5:15

3.7

24

5:36

4.6

6:04

4.0

25

6:24

4.9

6:50

4.3

12:24

-0.3

1:09

0.0

26

7:09

5.1

7:35

4.6

1:12

-0.6

1:51

-0.3

27

7:53

5.3

8:19

4.9

1:59

-0.8

2:33

-0.6

28

8:36

5.4

9:04

5.1

2:46

-1.0

3:15

-0.7

11:39

0.6

11:34

0.0

12:25

0.3

26

6:51

5.0

7:22

4.8

12:57

-0.2

1:33

-0.1

27

7:40

5.2

8:10

5.2

1:48

-0.5

2:17

-0.4

28

8:27

5.4

8:56

5.6

2:38

-0.8

3:01

-0.7

29

9:14

5.4

9:43

5.8

3:28

-1.0

3:46

-0.9

30

10:01

5.3

10:33

5.9

4:18

-1.0

4:32

-0.8

31

10:52

5.0

11:26

5.7

5:09

-0.9

5:19

-0.7

*TIDE CHARTS ARE ACCURATE TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE. IF YOU ARE CHECKING TIDES FOR NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES, PLEASE VERIFY THESE TIMES WITH ANOTHER SOURCE.

104

South Brunswick Magazine

ADVERTISERS INDEX Advertiser

Phone# Page#

Advertiser

Phone# Page#

Ace Hardware of Southport....................................... 910-477-6444 74

Intracoastal Realty Corporation............................... 910-579-3050

6

AIRESERV Heating & Air Conditioning................... 910-842-7768 14

Island Classic Interiors...................................................910-579-8477 96

Allstate - R&R Insurance Services, Inc................... 910-754-6596 14

J&K Home Furnishings.................................................. 843-249-1882

Angelo’s Pizzeria and Bistro........................................910-754-2334 64

Joseph’s Italian Bistro...................................................910-454-4440 96

Angie Wilkie Intracoastal Realty Corporation................................910-777-7945 73

Kimball’s Furniture & Design...................................... 910-754-8422 42

30 & 31

Kingfish Bay Development.......................................... 910-579-4657 13 Arbor Landing at Ocean Isle...................................... 910-754-8080 98 Kristin Dowdy, State Farm Agent............................ 910-754-9923 73 Austin Oral Surgery........................................................910-769-1605 12 Legacy Homes by Bill Clark...........................................910-550-1167 22 Bell & Bell Buick GMC.................................................... 843-399-8300 96 Living Coastal Team BEMC....................................................................................800-842-5871 34 Intracoastal Realty Corporation...................................910-712-3515 88 Bianchi Brickyard Supply............................................. 910-454-4445 80

Maria’s Pizzeria.................................................................910-579-3233 47

Bill Clark Homes.................................................................910-550-1167 23

McLeod Health.................................................................. 843-366-3891 11

BlueWave Dentistry........................................................ 910-383-2615 20

New Hanover Regional Medical Center.................910-662-8440

Body Edge Fitness Solutions......................................910-575-0975 101

Novant Health.................................................................... 910-721-4370 60

Boundary House.............................................................. 910-579-8888 19

Ocean Isle Family Dentistry........................................ 910-579-6999 80

Braddock Built Renovations........................................ 910-754-9635 92

Oyster Rock....................................................................... 910-579-6875 9

Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce......... 910-754-6644 102

Pinnacle Storage...............................................................910-287-5737 65

Brunswick County Dept. of Social Services........... 910-253-2112 42

Private Italy Tours Ltd................................................... 910-575-6135

Brunswick Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery............910-269-2420 79

Realstar Homes................................................................ 910-579-6729 107

Calabash Seafood Hut....................................................910-579-6723 74

River Hotel of Southport............................................. 910-294-6070 95

Callahan’s of Calabash...................................................800-344-3816 7

Seacoast Building Company, Inc...............................910-880-3639 74

75, 108

3, 103

Carolina One Properties.............................................. 910-840-2370 95 Sea Island Trading Co....................................................843-273-0248 70 Carolina Trust Federal Credit Union........................ 843-448-2133 25 Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q............................... 910-754-5522 24 Carolinas Oral and Facial Surgery............................. 910-762-2618 73

Southport Dental.............................................................910-457-5026 2

Clark’s Seafood and Chop House.............................. 843-399-8888 36

Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber....................800-457-6964 95

Coastal Insurance............................................................ 910-754-4326 98

Sunset Dental................................................................... 910-575-6300 2

Coastal Integrative Health.......................................... 910-755-5400 41

Thalian Association Community Theatre................ 910-251-1788 84

Coastal Wine & Brew.......................................................910-393-2125 42

The Chef and the Frog.................................................910-640-5550 80

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage.......................910-371-1181 17

Triad Power Wash LLC................................................. 910-599-7798 92

Complete Dental............................................................. 910-754-7700 5

Trinity Wellness Center............................................... 910-769-5004 89

Dosher Medical Clinics....................................................910-457-3871 15 TruFit Gym......................................................................... 910-754-2270 95 EmergeOrtho................................................................... 910-332-3800 4

Trusst Builder Group..................................................... 910-371-0304 26

Farm Bureau Insurance - Shallotte............................910-754-8175 45

Wades Jewelers............................................................. 910-457-5800 40

Hwy 55 Burgers Shakes and Fries.............................910-754-7571 89

Wilmington Health.......................................................... 910-341-3400 84

Winter 2020-21

105

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South Brunswick Magazine

GARDEN HOMES GARDEN HOMES

At NHRMC and NHRMC Physician Group, we’re leading our community to outstanding health by looking deeper and working harder to find innovative ways to deliver great care. We’re bringing health screenings to area neighborhoods, offering free exercise and nutrition programs, and volunteering with community partners throughout our region. And we’re just getting started.

Join us at NHRMC.org. Together, we can make healthier happen.