Wrightsville Beach Magazine Fall 2025 Edition

FALL 2025 | COMPLIMENTARY

Lifelong Wrightsville Beach surfer Bill Curry will be inducted in the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame

LYNNE GALLOWAY

Signs Matter.

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FEATURES

36

RO AD WARRIORS

Caleb and Emilie Nelson’s Backroad Purpose is changing the culture of mobile business, one converted vehicle at a time.

DEPARTMENTS

21 7 TH ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

Readers have voted! The winners of Wrightsville Beach Magazine ’s annual photography contest.

51 PUBSCOUT

Wilmington’s Mad Mole Brewing uses solar power to brew beers that just get better and better.

56 BEHIND THE BUSINESS

As Craft American Hardware celebrates 50 years in Wilmington, it continues to thrive by mixing old-school charm with modern service and treating every customer like family.

63 PEOPLE

Lifelong Wrightsville Beach surfer Bill Curry, who helped bring East Coast surfing into the limelight, will be inducted in the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2026.

42 HOME OF DISTINCTION

Built on Vision

The once-notorious beach lot at 11 E. Asheville is transformed into a modern coastal haven, brought to life by a dream team of builder, architect and designer — and a homeowner with a bold sense of style.

75 NONPROFIT

68 T HEY CALL IT PARADISE

As towering developments reshape their quiet coastal neighborhood, Wrightsville Sound residents are speaking out — fighting to preserve their trees, traditions and sense of place.

Velva Jenkins, CEO of YWCA Lower Cape Fear in Wilmington, encourages donations to the YWCA Courage and Commitment Capital Campaign.

78 GIVING BACK

Wrightsville Beach business owner Jimmy Gilleece spins up holiday joy via his annual Jimmy’s Bike Drive.

80 E VENTS

YachtVenture sets sail for the 15th year, pairing luxury and philanthropy to raise critical funds for The Children’s Museum of Wilmington.

82 T HE ARTS

A new documentary film about self-taught Wilmington artist Minnie Evans introduces viewers to the otherworldly images and inspirations of one of the South’s most celebrated folk artists.

PHOTO BY LEIGH

PHOTO BY

PHOTO

Fall 2025 - Volume 26, Issue 3

CEO/PUBLISHER: Justin Williams

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: Sandi Grigg

COPY EDITOR: Molly Harrison

CONTRIBUTING GRAPHICS:

Shawn Best Teresa Kramer

Samantha Lowe Cissy Russell

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Brian Wilner

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS:

Daria Amato M ichael Blevins

Mae Cook John Davis

Megan Deitz Jessie Heim

Eric Kozen Matt McGraw

Pause & Shutter Photography Bill Ritenour

L eigh Roberts Josh Scheiffer

Rebecca Semon James Stefiuk

Robert Thurston Brenda Torrey

Stan Washlesky Elizabeth Woodby

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Anna Beth Adcock Nina Brown

A shley Daniels Kurt Epps

Christine R. Gonzalez S andi Grigg

B eth A. Klahre Jo Ann Mathews

E mory Rakestraw C ameron Rhinehardt

Melissa Slaven Warren

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER: Caroline Thomas

SALES & MARKETING INTERN: Isla Murphy

FOUNDER: Pat Bradford

PUBLISHED BY: CAROLINA MARKETING COMPANY, INC. PO Box 1361, Leland, NC 28451 • (910) 207-0156 • info@WrightsvilleBeachMagazine.com

Reproduction or use of the contents in this magazine is prohibited.

©2025 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. Wrightsville Beach Magazine — A Carolina Marketing Company, Inc. publication is published four times per year and is distributed to residents and businesses in New Hanover County, NC., to subscribers and to select areas of New Hanover County, NC. Interested in back issues, subscriptions or advertising? Contact us at (910) 207-0156 or info@WrightsvilleBeachMagazine.com.

About the cover:

Photographer Jessie Heim captured our cover image of surfer Bill Curry, who began surfing at Wrightsville Beach at age 11 and is still regularly paddling out at age 73. Read about Curry and his upcoming induction into the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in our story, written by Christine R. Gonzalez, starting on page 63.

Thank You for the Warm Welcome

AAs the new caretakers of Wrightsville Beach Magazine now publishing our second edition, to say that I am overwhelmingly humbled and grateful would be an understatement.

I’ll be honest: Acquiring an existing magazine that has been an integral part of a community for more than two decades was something I was initially hesitant about. Stepping in to a publication that has already done so well, I just wanted to be sure we did everything right.

Number one, we wanted to make sure our advertisers were getting the best exposure possible. For that, we added local direct mail for Wrightsville Beach Magazine in addition to its pickup locations.

Secondly, while we know that we will never please everyone, we wanted to make sure that we could really focus on the local community and that we would be embraced back. And the feedback from all of you has been amazing. We greatly appreciated the positivity and energy coming from everyone when we were out delivering our first issue.

So to this community, I just want to say thank you for welcoming us in. I am very grateful for your encouragement and support.

I also want to thank everyone on the Carolina Marketing Company team. In addition to Wrightsville Beach Magazine, we publish four other quarterly magazines covering southeastern North Carolina. Our team works together really well to bring you informative and entertaining stories from around this corner of the state.

I think you will like what we compiled for this fall issue of Wrightsville Beach Magazine For a dose of history and culture, we have a story about a new documentary that has been made on the incomparable local folk artist Minnie Evans. We also have a story on Wrightsville Beach surfing legend Bill Curry, who is being inducted in the Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2026. Other people

you’ll read about include cello instructor Andrew Anagnost; the Korman family behind Craft American Hardware; and local business owner Jimmy Gilleece, founder of a nonprofit called Jimmy’s Bike Drive. In the real estate realm, you’ll read about the development project that it seems everyone is talking about: The Haven at Galleria on Wrightsville Avenue. Writer Nina Brown walks us through the complex history of this project and gives insight into what is coming. You are also going to get a peek inside the beautiful new home at 111 E. Asheville Street.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue and that you will support the local businesses that are advertising on our pages. Tell them you saw them here!

Justin Williams Owner/Publisher Publisher@WrightsvilleBeachMagazine.com

Don’t miss a single thing

in Paradise

Wrightsville Beach and the surrounding areas have so much to see and do all year round, and if you’re like me, it’s hard to keep track of it all. That’s why we created Wrightsville Beach Area Lifestyle — an e-Newsletter full of local events, places to see and people to meet.

Choosing to subscribe is probably the easiest thing you’ll do all day. Scanning the code below with your phone my be the second:

ME or visit WrightsvilleBeach Magazine.com/ newsletter

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PHOTO BY MEGAN DEITZ

Anna Beth Adcock

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

An N.C. native and an N.C. State graduate, I have explored many wonderful places throughout the globe (shoutout to my yearlong stint in Bangkok, Thailand) — but there is no place I love more than my home state. I currently reside in Raleigh (go Pack!), but I spend many a weekend at the N.C. coast — from city ventures in Downtown Wilmington to relaxing jaunts in Topsail and Surf City. Beyond penning prose for Carolina Marketing Company, I work full-time as a communications manager, teach fitness classes at the YMCA and freelance for a multitude of magazines statewide. When I’m not working, find me perfecting my yoga practice, finding my next flight or outdoor adventure, or binging Survivor.

Megan Deitz

PHOTOGRAPHER

Kurt Epps, a.k.a. The PubScout

CONTRIBUTING WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER

I am a retired English teacher, a veteran of 37 years in the high school classroom, and I have also served as an adjunct professor at the college level. I’m a multiple awardwinning writer and have won national recognition for my coverage of the craft beer industry, in which I’ve been immersed since 1996. An expert at beer and food pairing, I emcee dinners, host public and private tutored beer tastings and evaluate and review beer bars, breweries, brewpubs and pubs, as well as restaurants with good beer menus. I encourage the responsible enjoyment of beer, and my favorite quote comes from Jim Koch of the Boston Beer Co.: “All beer is good; some beer is better.” My mission as The PubScout’s is to locate and write about the “better.”

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.

Melissa Slaven Warren

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I am a freelance writer who lives in Sunset Beach. I have had a life-long passion for writing and telling people’s stories. I earned my BA in English and master’s in liberal studies from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. I am also the executive director of the Brunswick County Literacy Council.

Mark Your Calendar

30th Annual Bark in the Park

October 4

The 30th Annual Bark in the Park Skyhoundz Hyperflite Canine Disc Championships is a fun-filled, free event where mighty mutts and playful purebreds show off their high-flying disc-catching skills. Cheer on the canine athletes, and vote for Best Dressed Dog, Best Dressed Team and the Dog with the Most Personality.

Information: townofwrightsvillebeach.com/483/ bark-in-the-park

Harbor Island Garden Club

Wrightsville Beach Tour of Homes

October 11

The 2025 Harbor Island Garden Club Wrightsville Beach Tour of Homes features a stunning selection of Wrightsville Beach residences, each showcasing distinctive style, coastal design trends and custom floral arrangements. Proceeds benefit the Harbor Island Garden Club’s beautification, educational and environmental projects.

Information: harborislandgardenclub.com

Johnnie Mercers Fishing with Special Friends

October 11

Fishing with Special Friends will hold its annual fishing tournament at Johnnie Mercers Pier on October 11. The tournament is specially designed for kids, teens and adults with special needs, along with their families, caregivers and volunteers. Since 2011, this heartwarming event has created unforgettable memories and countless smiles. Come be part of the fun — everyone is welcome.

Information: fishinwithspecialfriends.org

Airlie Gardens Oyster Roast

October 17

Airlie Gardens’ annual Oyster Roast will be held on the banks of Bradley Creek from 6 to 10 pm. Guests will enjoy fresh oysters, Southern sides, drinks and live entertainment. The oyster roast is a tradition that dates back to 1905, and it is Airlie Gardens’ biggest fundraiser, supporting hands-on environmental education for local students. Tickets include parking, food, two drink tickets and entertainment. Gates open at 5:45 pm.

Information: airliegardens.org/ events/oyster-roast/

Seaside Shuffle 5K

October 18

Held at Wrightsville Beach Park, Seaside Shuffle 5K is a fast, flat race for all levels of athletes. Held for more than 40 years, the Wilmington Road Runners are bringing back this beloved event with some fun new updates.

Information: runsignup.com/ race/nc/wrightsvillebeach/ seasideshuffle5k

Chef’s Feast at The Arboretum

October 24

The 2025 Chef’s Feast for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina brings together James Beard-nominated chefs Keith Rhodes of Catch and Dean Neff of Seabird, each serving two unforgettable courses. The event will feature regional spirits, live music, an auction and a special sponsor reception hosted by nCino. The setting is the gorgeous gardens of the New Hanover County Arboretum, and UNCW Catering will provide expert catering.

Information: foodbankcenc.org/event/ chefsfeastilm/

IRONMAN 70.3 NC

October 25

From the beach to Battleship North Carolina, the IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina’s athletes will take on a 1.2mile swim in Wrightsville Beach, a scenic 56-mile bike ride through the coastal countryside and a 13.1-mile run around Greenfield Park, finishing in historic Downtown Wilmington by the Battleship North Carolina. This award-winning race sells out fast and offers qualifying slots for the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.

Information: ironman.com/races/im703north-carolina

Ironman 70.3 NC

Bark in the Park

Taste of Wrightsville Beach Annual Fundraiser

November 1

Weekend Meals on Wheels Council and MegaCorp Logistics will host the 12th Annual Taste of Wrightsville Beach from 5 to 8 pm under a huge tent in the parking lot of the Bluewater Grill in Wrightsville Beach. The highly anticipated and wellattended festival celebrates the island’s diverse and delicious fare with more than 40 local cuisine, beer, wine and spirit tasting booths. Celebrity judges will rate their favorite dishes, and participants will select the People’s Choice Awards. Be sure to get your tickets early; they are available now.

Information: weekendmealsonwheels.org/ taste-of-wrightsville-beach

Carolina Pro-Am SUP Surf

November 7 – 9

The Carolina Pro-Am SUP Surf is a threeday event in which top professional standup surfers and paddleboarders compete in Wrightsville Beach. This world-class event is perfect for spectators, with thrilling watersports action and one of the largest standup paddle surf prize purses on the East Coast. Since 2014, the Carolina Pro-Am has attracted international attention, so come watch the pros in the water.

Information: paddleguru.com/races/ infinitysupcocarolinaproamsurfrace2025

23rd

Annual Willie Stargell Celebrity Invitational

November 7 – 9

Named in honor of baseball legend Willie Stargell, this annual golf tournament, now in its 23rd year, brings together celebrities, athletes and community supporters for a weekend of golf, fundraising and camaraderie. The event’s primary goal is to raise funds for the Willie Stargell Foundation, which supports kidney disease research, patient care and awareness initiatives.

Information: williestargellfoundation.org/ celebrity-invitational/

Wrightsville Beach

Turkey Trot

November 27

Kick off Thanksgiving Day with the Wrightsville Beach Turkey Trot, a timed 5K or a 1-mile run/walk around the scenic Wrightsville Beach Loop. Enjoy prizes, laughter and festive fun for all ages, and be sure to wear a turkey costume. Spots fill up fast, so register early and check out the website for details.

Information: runsignup.com/ race/nc/wrightsvillebeach/ wrightsvillebeachturkeytrot

NC Holiday Flotilla at Wrightsville Beach

November 28 – 30

The annual NC Holiday Flotilla kicks off on Friday with a party at Bluewater Grill. Saturday features the Festival in the Park from 10 am to 4 pm featuring 100+ arts and crafts vendors, an antique car show, a kids’ play area with inflatables, delicious festival food and more. The highlight of the weekend is the dazzling lighted boat parade at 6 pm on Saturday, followed by a spectacular fireworks show. Be sure to cast your vote by text for your favorite boats during the parade. Sunday morning features a Captains Breakfast to announce the winners.

Information: ncholidayflotilla.org

27th Annual Good Friends Luncheon

December 11

Good Friends of Wilmington is a women-led nonprofit dedicated to providing financial support to individuals and families in need throughout New Hanover County. Their 27th Annual Good Friends Luncheon will take place at the Wilmington Convention Center. Hosting and attending the event is free, and those interested in hosting a table for ten are encouraged to invite friends, colleagues or neighbors to learn more about the organization’s mission. Those unable to attend in person can support the mission by starting a peer-to-peer fundraiser.

Information: goodfriendsofwilmington.org/luncheon

Have an event you’d like us to consider publishing? Send the details to us at events@wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com.

Taste of Wrightsville Beach

Carolina Pro-Am SUP Surf

NC Holiday Flotilla

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Dr. Sweeney is highly driven to be the best in his field. Over the last twenty years, he has trained at premier continuing education centers in the country. He has completed more than 2,500 hours of continuing education focused on aesthetics, TMJ treatment, full mouth rehabilitation, and Invisalign. With this experience and expertise, he is grateful to treat patients to achieve functional and aesthetic long-term solutions to their dental and TMJ health.

Scan to see all the 2025 entries

LANDSCAPE AMATEUR ENTRY

O, Sunlight! The most precious gold to be found on Earth BY REBECCA SEMON

A COASTAL FRAME OF MIND

And the winners are...

Thousands of you cast your votes online for the best photos in our summer issue — see the winning shots below! Want to join the fun? Enter next year’s contest at WrightsvilleBeachMagazine.com/photocontest.

WILDLIFE PROFESSIONAL ENTRY

Magic Dust BY ERIC

KOZEN

PEOPLE

AMATEUR ENTRY

Little Surfer Girl BY STAN WASHLESKY

LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL ENTRY

Beautiful Sunrise at The Coquina Rocks at Fort Fisher BY MAE COOK

WILDLIFE

AMATEUR ENTRY

Fauna of the Yellow Crown BY ELIZABETH WOODBY

PEOPLE PROFESSIONAL ENTRY

Casper BY ROBERT THURSTON

Keep showing us how you embrace the island spirit — share your moments, stories and snapshots by tagging @WrightsvilleBeachMagazine and adding #WrightsvilleBeachMagazine

Orchard to Glass

Sauce up your fall apples with bourbon and ginger beer for an autumninspired mule.

BY SANDI GRIGG

Apple season is here, and I plan on taking full advantage of this quintessential fall flavor.

Every year between September and November my family and I venture to an apple orchard to pick our own apples. My son loves to pull the little wagon around while we pick apples. It is also customary that we get the annual fall photo. He sits on the hay in front of the big wooden apple and “cheeses” his best smile. We have so much fun.

When I get home with the abundance of apples, I start making and freezing any and every apple recipe I can think of, including apple butter. I love apple butter on my toast in the mornings and recently found an apple butter cocktail that I love. It’s loaded with all things warm and cozy, although the cocktail is actually served cold.

I stumbled upon this recipe after about three days of cooking up all things apple, and it was time for a drink. My spouse and I wanted to use some of my apple concoctions, so we mixed some of the apple butter with bourbon and a bit of orange bitters and topped it off with ginger beer. The color was not very pleasing, but my spouse suggested that we rim the glass, and it made a much more appealing presentation.

With one sip we were hooked. The flavor is similar to a Moscow Mule, but with the inclusion of apple butter it gives the drink a slightly spicy yet sweet blend that sends your tastebuds into autumnal bliss.

Want to get into the fall mood too? You’ve got to try this Apple Butter Bourbon recipe.

Apple Butter Bourbon

Makes 1 drink

INGREDIENTS

Orange wedge

1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1 tablespoon sugar (for rim)

3 tablespoons apple butter

2 ounces bourbon

Splash of orange bitters

Pinch of cinnamon

4 to 6 ounces chilled ginger beer

Fresh apples and cinnamon sticks for garnish

METHOD

Stir the cinnamon and sugar together on a plate.

Rim the glass with an orange wedge and dip the rim in the cinnamon sugar.

Fill a shaker with ice then add the apple butter, orange bitters and bourbon. Shake well for 30 seconds.

Pour the mixture into a glass and fill the glass with ginger beer.

Garnish with fresh apples and cinnamon sticks and enjoy!

WHAT’S COOKIN’ WITH SOUTHERN SANDI

Rising to the Occasion

Carrot soufflé might not have graced the first Thanksgiving table, but it will steal the show at yours.

BY SANDI GRIGG

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES STEFIUK

Why does anyone go through the trouble of baking a soufflé? It takes time, you dirty up too many dishes, and you have to tiptoe around in the kitchen so it does not fall flat.

Nowadays we are so busy and our culture is geared toward making everything happen quickly, but I think it is worth slowing down to bake a soufflé once in a while. I think of soufflés as being something served at a fancy dinner or for a special occasion. What better time to serve up something that took love and time than at Thanksgiving? I cannot imagine that the pilgrims or Native Americans served soufflé, but it is still fun to make.

More nutritious when cooked

Soufflé is a French word that means to “puff up” or “let breathe.” Egg whites are beaten with sugar until feathery and full of air. Then, when mixed with the fat of the yolks and other ingredients and baked, the air bubbles trapped in the egg whites expand, making a beautiful puff! If done properly it will form a kind of scaffold that keeps the soufflé from collapsing.

Cooking carrots releases more beta-carotene, making them more nutritious than raw carrots.

Often soufflés are prepared in the dessert form, but a savory soufflé is notable. My Aunt Cyndi used to serve a carrot soufflé that was delicate, melted in your mouth and tasted rich but light at the same time.

Carrots varieties can be orange, yellow, white and even purple, but for this recipe I use only the orange ones. With them, the soufflé cooks up to look like a fluffy sweet potato casserole, but with a sublime texture and flavor.

Prepare my version of the succulent carrot soufflé as a side dish, and I can assure you it will become a specialoccasion favorite with your family and friends.

Have a recipe request for Southern Sandi? Shoot a message to Sandi@WrightsvilleBeachMagazine.com

Carrot Soufflé Serves 6

Listening Closely

Instructor Andrew Anagnost and student Sincere Cuttino discover new magic about the cello through lessons at Brooklyn Arts Music Academy.

BY BETH A. KLAHRE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDA TORREY

OOn a Wednesday afternoon, the expressive sounds of a cello meander through the halls of the Brooklyn Arts Music Academy in the arts district of Downtown Wilmington. The music pauses momentarily, and then the same musical phrase sounds again. This call and response duet continues for nearly an hour until the two cellos join in the technically challenging “Le Cygne,” the penultimate movement of “The Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saëns.

The players are Wrightsville Beach resident and cellist Andrew Anagnost and Sincere Cuttino, a former student at Eugene Ashley High School. For the last two years, Anagnost has been giving Cuttino cello lessons. In a bittersweet moment, Cuttino took his final lesson from Anagnost in the summer of 2025 as he headed to Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina, where he will major in cello performance.

The student-teacher relationship between Anagnost and Cuttino is special and unique. “I had to be much more descriptive when teaching music to Sincere,” Anagnost says. “I described every detail, every nuance, every

MUSIC

Teacher and student: Andrew Anagnost, left, and Sincere Cuttino

I chose the cello because of its beautiful sound, similar to the human voice. It has the perfect balance of tone quality, not too low and not too high.

symbol and every musical marking. And I made frequent recordings of music to email to him.”

Cuttino has been blind since birth, seeing nothing in his left eye and only light and dark shadows in his right. He plays cello by ear and relies on memorization. He has also used software tools that create, edit and print music in Braille. He plays the piano from time to time and has played the drums.

“I always had a knack for music,” he says. “I was told I used to beat to the rhythm of any song when I was young. Around middle school I figured out that the cello was my passion. I chose the cello because of its beautiful sound, similar to the human voice. It has the perfect balance of tone quality, not too low and not too high.”

Cuttino’s mother and stepfather, Kemia Truesdale and Cyrell Bryant, gifted him his first and only cello when he was in middle school.

“I still play on the same cello to this day,” he says proudly. “My parents are my biggest supporters, always attending my performances and encouraging me to keep going.”

As a summer intern with the

about

“I was so excited, I was finally going to get lessons for the first time,” he recalls.

Anagnost has been teaching cello at BAMA since 2020. He has 16 students ranging in age from 7 to the 70s. He earned his bachelor’s degree in cello performance in 2007 at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While there, he performed with jazz combos and Charanga Carolina, a contemporary Latin Jazz ensemble. After college, he was a member of the touring band Lost in the Trees, recording on four studio albums and playing shows from England to major cities across the United States. Anagnost was a cellist with the Durham Symphony Orchestra for many years and the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra

Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, Cuttino heard

Brooklyn Arts Music Academy (BAMA).

and has performed with the Tallis Chamber Orchestra.

Even in the very early days of teaching Cuttino, it was apparent to Anagnost that Cuttino aimed to study cello in college. Lessons became focused on that goal.

“We had a lot of work ahead of us,” Anagnost says. “I simply said. ‘Let’s get going.’”

And get going they did. Cuttino sat first chair in his high school orchestra, played with the North Carolina Eastern Regional Orchestra and auditioned and was accepted into Brevard’s music program, rewards for both teacher and student.

“Whenever there was an opportunity to play with an orchestra, Sincere never hesitated, no matter how much music he had to learn,” Anagnost says. “It was inspiring to see the joy he felt when he was no longer trying to learn a piece, but actually playing the piece. He has become a more expressive, confident

cellist, executing the music the way he feels it, fingers and bow playing passages full of emotion at a tempo that feels right to him.”

Cuttino says learning new techniques from Anagnost has been fun, and performing in front of an audience has been a challenge.

“I am usually excited and nervous at the same time, nervous because I don’t want to make a mistake,” he says. “I just imagine I am sitting in my room playing through the piece pretending like no one is watching.”

Thinking back over the past two years, Anagnost says, “Teaching Sincere has been one of the most amazing journeys of my life. Because I had to verbalize every detail, I realized how much is happening in the music every second. The ways I taught for years were no longer adequate. I had to figure out how to do things differently for it to work for Sincere. Spending time with someone who experiences life so differently than I do has deepened my own understanding of the music and has made me both a better teacher and a better person.”

Cuttino says he is looking forward to attending Brevard College.

“It’s a small, very close, tight-knit community,” he says. “The college is all about learning through experience. I hope to become a better performer and improve my technique at Brevard.”

Cuttino, whose musical influences include cellist Yo-Yo Ma and visually impaired musicians like Ray Charles, has aspirations of performing in orchestras and for events such as weddings.

“Brevard will be a brand-new start and new opportunities in a part of the world I have never been before,” he says.

Anagnost adds, “Sincere plays cello like no one else. I care a great deal for him and want him to do well in every facet of his life. I hope he knows that.” 

MAKING MUSIC

Brooklyn Arts Music Academy (BAMA) is changing lives through music education for ages 0 to 18 and beyond. To inquire about lessons in violin, viola, cello, harp and piano or to support the school’s mission, visit bamamusic.org.

The school is at 202 N. 5th Avenue in Wilmington.

Road Warriors

I«n 2016 husbandand-wife high school sweethearts Caleb and Emilie Nelson decided to quit their jobs in Nashville, sell everything they owned and travel cross-country in their Toyota FJ Cruiser equipped with a rooftop tent.

The journey and the story evolved over the years — and it only got better.

“We were told we couldn’t have kids at the time,” Emilie says, “so we decided to jump forward in this big life change from our careers.”

Caleb and Emilie Nelson’s Backroad Purpose is changing the culture of mobile business, one converted vehicle at a time.

BY ASHLEY DANIELS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEIGH ROBERTS

Backroad Purpose's most recent conversion was turning a 1958 London Double Decker Bus into a Harry Potter–inspired Airbnb that sleeps six people. It will be based in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

But ten months into their trip, after they made it to 44 states, along came a pivotal moment in their lives.

The Nelsons were in Moab, Utah, when they found out Emilie was pregnant with their son, Milo. They planned to continue their road trip of adventure for a year and then figure out the next step in their collective careers.

“But when I was eight months pregnant, Caleb said, ‘What about a bus?’” Emilie says. “And I was like, ‘Absolutely not. Do you see how huge I am? I feel like a whale!’ But later it seemed like a good idea, and it went from there.”

The Nelsons sold their FJ Cruiser and bought a school bus, aka a skoolie, upgrading from a 20-square-foot living space to 200 square feet. This was after a hefty amount of research on how school buses are much more durable than RVs, which are lightweight, more expensive and tend to have leaking issues.

“We’ve had people in the community who had trees fall on their buses, trees that would cut a camper in half, but you just see a dent in the roof of the bus,” Caleb says. “Buses are designed to be able to flip upside down and support themselves on the roof. With a bus, you’re getting something that is real, that is true — something

that is functional and built for you.”

The Nelsons’ first converted school bus became their home sweet home. Because he was learning as he was going, Caleb says the inaugural bus buildout was a long process (two years), with the ceiling itself taking at least two weeks.

The couple expanded from that first

in ways that they’ve never even thought of,” Caleb says.

By developing three different models, just about any kind of business can work out of the repurposed Backroad Purpose buses. Instead of a brick-and-mortar office building with expensive overhead, the business can be mobile, which is

school bus home into fully converting 15 buses and shuttle buses over the last few years. These days Caleb can do a full bus conversion in under six weeks and a ceiling in a day. They now have a business called Backroad Purpose, converting vans, shuttle buses, school buses and double deckers into mobile businesses, tiny homes and adventure rigs for clients from near and far.

“We realized we could bring opportunity and freedom to people

exactly how it all began for Caleb and Emilie.

“We want to give people the opportunity to not have to report to their cubicle,” Caleb says.

He explains: “Instead, they take this thing to Fort Fisher and work there all day long because now we have access to the Internet wherever we possibly want and we can do stuff that’s solar powered. … We find that a lot of people think if you’re going to be tiny living or living in a school bus, you have to have some special remote job. But when we

«Below, Caleb and Emilie with their children, 6-year-old Milo, 4-yearold Ellarose and 1-yearold Adalynn, at the 2024 Wilmington Biz Expo, where Backroads Purpose accepted the Artist Manufacturing Award.

offered mobile businesses for people, we said, ‘No, you can bring your business with you.’ We’re trying to blend those worlds together.”

It all starts with finding a bus for a client, or the client finding the bus and bringing it to the Nelsons’ shop in Wilmington. Clients have come from all across the region and from as far away as Vegas, Ohio, Chicago and Georgia. A professional conducts a solid inspection to make sure everything is mechanically sound on the bus, and then design and conversion begins.

“We focus on the driver’s seat back,” Caleb says, “and there’s not much that we have not done.”

They have installed a full-size tub, rooftop decks, rear decks, solar power and tile showers, flushable and composting toilets, and stoves with ovens.

“Whatever you’ve seen in your day-to-day life, we have probably put in a bus at this point,” Caleb says. "Though we haven’t installed a steam shower yet.”

Eighteen years ago, when Caleb and Emilie were teens in high school saving money on dates by driving the back roads of Tennessee, they could not have imagined that their love of exploring would grow into what Backroad Purpose is today.

Emilie says the name comes from their love of exploring and from their search for a good word for “the meaning of things that go deeper.”

“We knew if we were going to do something, we were going to try to do it for other people,” she says. “The back roads are for us, and the purpose is for everybody else.”

The road ahead for the business is bright, with the Nelsons sharing that they want to help more businesses think outside the box, so to speak, when it comes to corporate America. They are also constantly tweaking their conversion timeline to streamline the process.

Wilmington-based since 2023, the Nelsons and their three children now live in a home, and they could not be happier in what they call a “wonderful community.”

“It’s fun seeing how all of this has unfolded and grown and shifted from us living in a rooftop tent to now us designing mobile businesses for people,” Emilie says. “It’s such a blessing. At some points, it’s shocking to think this is our life. We’re just so thankful.” 

Book Signing with Susan Gravely

October 23

Vietri founder and author of the new book “Italy in a Glass: Adventures, Apertivi, Antipasti” will be in store this October.

Clara Williams Trunk Show

September 23

Representative and Expert, Molly Eugenio will be in store 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information on Backroad Purpose, visit backroadpurpose.com. Follow us

Mini Mahj Made Simple September 10 Event at the store for kids who want to learn a simplified version of Mahjong.

Mahjong Lesson October 8

Lessons with instructor Rachel Matthews begin in-store at 5:30 p.m. Call 910.796.9595 to reserve your spot.

The once-notorious beach lot at 11 E. Asheville is transformed into a modern coastal haven, brought to life by a dream team of builder, architect and designer — and a homeowner with a bold sense of style.

BY MELISSA SLAVEN WARREN PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL BLEVINS

ucked just four houses from the ocean at 11 E. Asheville Street, a striking home on Wrightsville Beach speaks volumes of the efforts of a tremendously talented team of individuals. Homebuilder Tanner Konrady of Konrady & Son Construction, Architect Eric Jabaley of Dogwood Architecture and Lead Designer Brandy Crawford of Bridgett Mazer Interiors were all instrumental in bringing owners Wanda and Ron Copley’s dream home to life.

A 3,572-square-foot coastal retreat, this eye-catching home also features 954 square feet of porches. The home is two stories, and among its rooms includes three bedrooms, three en suites, a primary suite, two powder rooms, an open kitchen, living and dining areas, a den, a study and a storage and utility room. On the ground floor a garage is outfitted with four doors — two in the front and two in the back — and wired for dimmable lighting and built for entertaining.

“We haven’t had the party yet,” Wanda says, “but it’s coming.”

When the Copleys first laid eyes on the property that would eventually become their dream home, it was not exactly love at first sight. For years, the lot had stood out, not for its architecture, but for its reputation as a fraternity party house.

but Wanda saw potential, and they made the decision to tear the existing structure down and start from scratch. That’s where Konrady came in.

Konrady, a fourth-generation builder with deep roots on the Carolina coast, had helped the Copleys repair their previous condo after it was damaged in Hurricane Florence. When it came time to build their forever home, there was no bidding war, no search for competing quotes.

“We knew that Tanner was the person for us,” Wanda says.

Konrady understands the unique demands of coastal construction better than most. He grew up building homes with his father on Wrightsville Beach, where the challenge was not the aesthetic, but the environment. Salt air, high humidity, storm exposure and sun damage are all part of the equation. Konrady’s answer is to build smarter.

“A lot of what makes a home successful here is what you don’t see,” he says.

It requires some innovation, and Konrady and his team approached this project with durability and low maintenance in mind.

To build the Copley home, they combined closed-cell foam insulation, sound-dampening interior walls, hurricane-rated windows and a carefully considered structural plan that is designed for both comfort and longevity.

The dining room has a serene yet luxurious atmosphere. In the hallway, vibrant sculptural wall art and a bold, butterfly-adorned canvas bring movement, color and personality to the space.

the exterior also includes a mix of pre-finished PVC siding and a concrete-look panel system on the exterior chimney, materials that offer durability and style. But the products were new to the team. Konrady brought in the manufacturer for on-site training, turning installation day into a learning lunch for his crew.

“We wanted to make sure it was done right,” he says. “These are lifetime materials. They don’t need to be repainted, they don’t rot, and they’re designed to last.”

The design also called for expansive sliding doors and oversized windows to embrace ocean views and indoor-outdoor living. That vision demanded careful structural planning, all of which was handled seamlessly by Konrady’s team.

While Konrady and his team’s expertise is deeply rooted in the nuts and bolts, his approach is remarkably flexible.

“We focus on the structural and functional backbone that’s hidden behind the walls,” he explains. “Outside of that, when it comes to the homeowner’s vision, it’s their story to tell along with their architect and designer.”

Though each expert brought their own skills and vision to the table, it was the synergy between homeowner, builder, architect and designer that made the final result so seamless.

“Great communication and a great team make a great project,” Jabaley says. “We had an outstanding team on this one. From a client who knew what she wanted to a great builder to talented designers. I think that collaborative approach made the project stronger.”

Jabaley worked closely with the Copleys to create a modern yet coastal-inspired home that fit the local aesthetic.

like to think of my approach to architecture and design as helping the client to design their own home,” Jabaley says.

“Wanda is a very sophisticated client. She came in with a strong vision. She wanted something modern but still rooted in the Wrightsville Beach vernacular.”

The design centered on capturing ocean views, achieved through a dramatic wraparound porch, and creating a seamless indoor-outdoor connection. At the same time, the home needed to function equally well for everyday living and hosting guests.

The solution? A top-floor main living area that spills onto a spacious porch through massive sliding doors, creating a seamless transition between the kitchen, living room and the open salt air. When all four sets of doors are open, it’s like having an additional room outside. They added a bed swing, making it the perfect place to lounge, read a book and enjoy the constant ocean breeze.

The rest of the home does not shy

away from personality either. The interiors are the brainchild of Crawford, who guided the aesthetic toward what she describes as coastal modern.

“Wanda wanted a traditional home, but since it’s on the beach, she wanted it to lean modern as well,” Crawford says. “So, we made sure it was light and had clean lines and nothing too fussy like heavy draperies.”

The porch, framed by lush palms, invites relaxation with its plush seating and tranquil ocean views. Indoors, a light-filled living room blends contemporary elegance with cozy textures and seamless access to the outdoors.

wanda has eclectic tastes, and she loves color. Especially pink; it’s her favorite color. The goal wasn’t to treat color as an accent, but a feature of the home. That’s no more evident than in her office, also known as The Pink Room.

The vibrant office includes a hot pink sleeper sofa, two small pink ottomans, acrylic chairs and even pink cabinetry. The office doubles as a guest suite for visiting friends and family.

Bold color and playful personality define these eclectic spaces, especially the lively home office, known as The Pink Room.

for Crawford, who worked closely with Wanda throughout the two-year design process, that space represents the heart of the project.

“Pink is also my favorite color, so it was just a joy to create that room with her,” Crawford says. “She wanted something that felt really her, and we went for it.”

Downstairs, an independent suite gives the homeowner’s daughter the privacy and functionality to work remotely when she visits. The space is self-contained with a kitchenette and dishwasher and its own en suite. It also has its own porch for easy access to the outside.

“In a word, the vision was for both floors to operate independently,” Wanda says.

Other spaces throughout the house reflect the same bold-meets-beach balance. The powder bath is a showstopper, with a floating, backlit vanity that glows from below, paired with wallpaper and a painted ceiling that draws the eye up. In the secondlevel sitting room, they added a wall-mounted resin art installation by Alex Turco, ordered from Miami.

“It’s called living glass. It’s a partition between the sitting room and a hallway,” Crawford says.

Every detail, from bold design and

material choices to architectural flow, reflects the care and intention behind the project. And behind that intention was a team unified by trust, craftsmanship and a shared commitment to bringing a singular vision to life.

In the end, what stands at 11 E. Asheville is more than a house. It is a customcrafted expression of lifestyle and personality, made possible by a team that respected the vision and trusted each other to bring it to life.

As Konrady puts it, “Ultimately, we just want to do what’s right by our clients. Whatever the client wants, we want to provide. That golden rule is something to live by.” 

Kelli Lazzaro, Becky Spivey, Alison Bernhart, Nikki Johnson, Sam Simmons, Karen Thompson

Trust the Science and the Sun

OWilmington’s Mad Mole Brewing uses solar power to brew beers that just get better and better.

BY KURT EPPS, THE PUBSCOUT | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT MCGRAW

One of the things I hated doing up in Jersey (and one of the reasons I moved) was yardwork. The task was kryptonite to my three strong sons, as they used to disappear when they saw me getting out the hedge clippers, mower, edger and garbage bags. It was especially detestable when we overslept and had to do the distasteful chore under the beating sun of summer. Because in addition to being sweaty, dirty and having our lungs and nostrils filled with dust, clippings and bugs, the beating of that hot sun made the job infinitely worse.

While it wasn’t on a par with Hercules’ cleaning of the Augean Stables, the only thing that made it semi-tolerable was the knowledge that we could enjoy a cold craft beer on the porch after we’d finished.

I confess that it never occurred to me that that same sun could actually produce the nectar that gave us such a nice reward at job’s end.

But apparently, the owners of Mad Mole Brewing, former home brewers Martin de Jongh and Ole Pederson, were not so limited in their thinking. Because they created perhaps the sole solar-powered brewery in ILM, if not all of NC, when they built the seven-barrel system now serving up delicious suds in the Port City.

Mad Mole uses an array of solar panels on the brewery roof to supply and offset the power used for day-to-day operations, including brewing.

The name of the place — Mad Mole — has a back story, too, as the Mole part is a combination of Martin and Ole’s names. The Mad part is a testimony to the mad scientists who have labored to make life — and beer — better for all of us.

The comfortable, welcoming, classy confines of the large taproom have walls lined with pictorial tributes to well known “mad” scientists, from Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Neil DeGrasse Tyson to a guy who looked a lot like Victor Frankenstein.

Walk in and grab a seat at the very uniquely designed bar with Mole-y artwork done on copper, look at the menu on either side of the commanding tanks (which look amazingly like steel seals with eyes and mouths), and choose something that strikes your fancy.

The PubScout is a fancier of big Belgian beers, and my research showed that there might be a number of them on the menu.

Mad Mole Brewing offers something for everyone, from indoor and outdoor seating to expertly brewed beers to THC seltzers.

But successive tastes yielded more amazing flavors and notes with each sip, so that by the time the beer was done, the “decent” became, “Damn! That’s good!”

Unfortunately, on the day of my visit, only one — a Belgian Saison — was available, and it likely wouldn’t be for long.

Seems it was a small-batch beer that was a hit the night before when Martin’s daughter’s wedding rehearsal party was held, and once gone, our bar gal Cassidy said we might not see it again. Understandable, since it packed a 12.8% punch, though nothing in its taste betrayed that alcohol wallop.

Its absence would be a shame, though, because it was an outstanding part of my flight. So good, I had planned to have a full pint upon completion of the flight, because, if need be, the missus was on hand to drive us home.

But I never had that pint, because Mad Mole’s beers were so good, I opted for a second flight to sample as many as I could. And an interesting phenomenon occurred with every beer.

The first taste of each beer registered as just

“decent.” But successive tastes yielded more amazing flavors and notes with each sip, so that by the time the beer was done, the “decent” became, “Damn! That’s good!”

Kudos of course to Brewer Dano Ferons, who, like his bosses, wasn’t on the premises this day, savoring his craft, I’d wager, at the wedding.

Anyway, the eight short beers I had (nine if you count the missus’s Raspberry Molay Kolsch) are discussed below.

Citra Mole Down is the brewery’s flagship beer. It’s an NEIPA that clocks in at 6.7% ABV, which, if you’re a hazy lover, makes it practically sessionable. It’s a solid offering.

No Country for Old Moles is a West Coast IPA that starts out decent, but winds up wowing. At 7.2%, it, too is practically sessionable — if you’re at home.

Above, the Molesonboro Island Grapefruit Pilsner 4.8% ABV.

Below, Owners Martin de Jongh and Ole Pederson

Left to right, On site at Mad Mole: Wilmington Sales Representive Ozzie Darden, Owner Martin de Jongh, Taproom Manager Sarah Woosley and Owner Ole Pederson.

Lucha Molebre is a Mexican Lager, and at 5.2%, a beautiful beer that also gets better as you drink it. I don’t know what made it “Mexican,” as I could not discern any spices, but the malt backbone is impressive.

I’m not a big grapefruit fan, but Molesonboro Island Grapefruit Pilsner was exceptionally good. Its 4.8% ABV makes it a great sunny day porch or beach beer. That it improved with each sip made it memorable. The missus, who generally avoids beer with fruit in it, loved it.

Fire in the Mole Italian Pilsner was very much on style, delicious and not an easy one to produce correctly. It had a very light mouthfeel but it was packed with flavor. 5% ABV

Hops for Good — Lager with Orange was bitter, but oddly refreshing. It would make a great post-yardwork beer if I still did yardwork. After beating down on you for hours, the least the sun could do would be to brew a good, refreshing lager. Mad Mole rose to the occasion. 5.5% ABV

ILM (I Love Moles) at 6.5% tasted somewhat sweet after the orange … a damned nice beer, though, and sessionable for sure. A very pretty beer, beautiful to look at, and I would definitely have a few! It was one of the day’s best.

I would have loved to try more, but I believe in being responsible when imbibing, especially more than an hour from home. But despite that distance, I will enjoy a return trip, especially if Brewer Ferons creates more of those Belgians.

There’s always been a debate about whether the brewing of beer is an art or a science. I suspect it’s a bit of both. And the remarkably sustainable Mad Mole has it figured out pretty well, using the sun to its best advantage. Brilliant.

But what’s also brilliant is that my HOA now takes care of my yardwork, and I can sit back in the shade and quaff without breaking a sweat, sneezing or itching. 

Still Handy

After All These Years

As Craft American Hardware celebrates 50 years in Wilmington, it continues to thrive by mixing old-school charm with modern service and treating every customer like family.

BY EMORY RAKESTRAW

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT

MCGRAW

TThere are few places left with that feel from another time, where the owners know your name, your dog’s name or even what room in your house you’re currently renovating.

But Craft American Hardware on Wrightsville Avenue is one of those places. Celebrating its 50 th anniversary in October 2025, this store has that magical, old-time feeling.

How does time stand still at Craft Hardware? It’s a combination of things, according to Eric Korman. He and his father, Dan Korman, have owned Craft Hardware since 1990, when they purchased it from a group of investors led by Pete Watkins. The name Craft Hardware comes from the former store manager, Ed Craft.

“Pete liked the idea of having the person you dealt with having their name on the store,” Eric says.

Today, the name stays the same, and Eric and his wife, Elise Rocks, are running Craft Hardware.

The Korman family spent several summers vacationing in Wrightsville Beach. Eric’s grandparents purchased a beach house on South Lumina, a summer reprieve from their daily life in Richmond, Virginia.

Eric Korman holds a photo of Craft Hardware’s original location in Plaza East. Above, Pete Watkins in the original store.

BEHIND THE BUSINESS

910-392-3392 3710 S College Rd, Ste 135 Wilmington, NC 28412

Dan served in the Army National Guard and worked in business development for architectural and engineering firms. Once he and his family permanently relocated to Wilmington in the late 1980s, he spent his time doing what he loved — fishing — but he also kept an eye out for business opportunities.

Dan bought Craft Hardware at its location at Plaza East in 1990, enlisting both Eric and Eric’s brother, Ben, to help. Ben eventually settled in Raleigh, working in cancer research. Dan and Eric propelled the store to what it is today, moving to their current location in 1996.

Craft Hardware Employees, top, Taylor Laite, Sharon Hugenberg and Bonnie Hall; bottom, John Clayton, DJ Beck and Scott Odom.

“We had a notebook and we listened to the customers and what they wanted,” Eric says. “If a customer asked for something, we wrote it down in the notebook, if they asked for it again, we put a check beside it. We listened to what people wanted, then introduced it to the store. Marine supplies, stainless steel hardware, vegetables and annuals from our own greenhouse and local nurseries — just about everything you can imagine. We adapted to the needs of our customers.”

This approach developed a loyal customer base, some of whom still come from as far as Southport, Waccamaw and Topsail Island. Other customers can easily

take a golf cart or bike over from Landfall or Wrightsville Beach.

While Dan adapted to the needs of his customers and contractors in the growing area, his wife, Nancy, looked for other ways to bring in business. First, she introduced gift cards from Shannon Martin Design. The humorous cards were an immediate hit.

“Shannon Martin cards have that old-timey, very humorous feel to them,” Elise says. “Other cards are fun and more adult-humor; folks will stand there laughing.”

Nancy then added other items like cast-iron skillets, ice cream makers, shrimp and oyster cookers and other household items, opening the store to

Clockwise from top left: Owners Eric Korman and Elise Rocks; employees Johnnie Smith, Taylor Laite and Andy Smith; a photo of owner Dan Korman; and owner Nancy Korman.

Celebrate 50 Years of Craft American Hardware

October 16 to 18, 2025

This October, Craft Hardware will be celebrating its 50 th anniversary with three days of discounts and giveaways kicking off on Thursday, October 16 with a BBQ and bluegrass customer appreciation event. Trolly Stop Hot Dogs will be there on Friday. Saturday will feature grilled goodies and a Deluxe Wilmington Grill grand prize drawing.

new customers like homeowners and visitors.

While Nancy had her eye on a new customer base, Eric and Dan were adapting to the area’s shift in demand. A construction boom in Landfall and Wrightsville Beach brought ever-changing needs, often following construction and project timelines. The two worked with their store manager, Randy Griffin, to expand product lines to meet the needs of local contractors and dock builders.

Builders were looking for quick and easy access to the supplies needed to complete their jobs, and Craft Hardware was there. This opportunity propelled them to a neighborhood name by the early 2000s, with not only contractors but also Wrightsville Beach property managers needing to quickly complete maintenance repairs for the growing tourism industry. The store is also convenient to transient boaters stopping for a few days at nearby marinas and needing specific pieces for projects.

While Eric had a background in construction from building houses and helping his father with projects growing up, he learned new skills working by his side every day at Craft Hardware, notably in customer service. This included really listening to each customer, understanding their project and supplying those needs for the present and future.

“A lot of times, customers will come in with a picture of the problem they have, and they’ll be looking for solutions or just the right part,” Elise says. “They really enjoy finding Eric because when they have a difficult situation that they’re not sure how to tackle, he’s good at coming up with solutions and finding out what’s needed to make it happen.”

In the back of Craft Hardware, a machine and wood shop allows for repairs, including window and door screens, rewiring lamps, maintaining landscape tools and repairing family heirlooms. The team can help you fix almost anything and also help you learn how to fix it yourself in the process.

Although Eric and Elise oversee the store’s day-to-day operations, they also have a team of dedicated employees, some who have been there for 30 years.

THE HEART OF HARDWARE

Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington m (910) 256-4782 K doitbest.com.crafthardware

“Sharon Hugenberg and Kerri Bishop, our Queen and Princess upstairs in the office, have been with us for over 30 years,” Elise says. “DJ Beck and Rob Aldridge in the back room have been with us over 20 years, along with Bonnie Hall and Sharon Haney at the register. Scott Odom takes care of the special needs of our contractors. John Clayton and Scott Taylor run the shop and can fix or build most anything.” There is also a new generation of employees continuing Craft Hardware’s traditions. For employee retention, Elise and Eric note the satisfaction of helping the community. They are more than just customers, they are friends who bring corn from their farm or BBQ they have cooked up.

Employees feel appreciated, and so do customers; they are all on a first-name basis and have developed real relationships with each other.

“Our community is so fortunate to have Craft Hardware,” says long-time customer Joe Taylor. “The best thing about Craft is Eric and his team. They’re always happy to advise you on how to do your project and how to find everything you need.”

Coincidentally, Elise and Eric also met this way. Elise was a customer at the store for years, often popping in for project supplies. In 2013 the two finally began to pursue the spark they had long felt, marrying in 2017.

Although elements of Craft Hardware feel preserved in time, they’re embracing modern-day, too. A new website gives the ability to see much of the inventory online, online ordering, same-day pick up, ship to store or ship to home. This includes local delivery for larger items such as grills and pine straw.

“We are an independent family-owned business with national brands,” Elise says.

National brands they sell include Benjamin Moore, Milwaukee, Rustoleum, Scott’s Lawn Care, 3M, Stihl and Maggie’s Farm. The also offer a range of local products from Wilmington Grill, Troutman Chairs, Coastal Carolina Cutting Boards, Gulfstream Steel, Daddy Pete’s soils and Cape Fear General Store honey.

“Happy 50th Craft Hardware!” says customer Carolyn Waff. “You’ve been my go-to for years. Helpful staff, great products and hometown service that never goes out of style. Here’s to many more!” 

Legend of the Lineup

Lifelong Wrightsville Beach surfer Bill Curry, who helped bring East Coast surfing into the limelight, will be inducted in the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2026.

BY CHRISTINE R. GONZALEZ

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSIE HEIM

JJust after his family moved to Wrightsville Beach, Bill Curry started surfing at age 11 because he wanted to keep up with his older brother, Mike, and his friends.

At age 73, the champion surfer is proud to still be doing what he loves best.

“I’m surfing my brains out,” he says with a laugh. “It is my passion. It’s my lifestyle. It keeps me young, fit and motivated to keep going.”

Curry will be the second champion surfer honored by the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame (GWSHoF) at its 20th anniversary celebration in May 2026. Benjamin Bourgeois was the first, inducted in 2010 for an outstanding career in the 1990s through 2008.

Curry’s big break in competitive surfing came in his late 20s. In 1979 he won the East Coast Longboard Championship. In 1980 he became the first surfer from North Carolina to rise to Men’s Division Eastern Surfing Champion. He placed fifth overall at the U.S. Amateur Surfing Championships in 1981 and captured the first of many Iron Surfer Awards. In 1982 he was named the outstanding surfer at the East Coast and U.S. Surfing Championships. He competed for Team USA in 1988, finishing third in the Open Longboard competition in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, before earning a spot on the United States Surfing Federation’s 1993 team, where he captured first place in the Longboard Division and Senior Longboard Division. Curry also inducted into the East Coast Surfing Legends Hall of Fame in 2004.

When Curry started the sport, surfing was dismissed as something hippies or beach bums would do. Even with actress Sally Field’s version of wholesome, surfer-girl Gidget and the vast popularity of The Beach Boys music in the 1960s, surfing did not become well respected by society as a sport until much later.

“Surfing was portrayed by Hollywood as something only beatniks and outlaws did, depicting that all they wanted to do was ride the waves and party,” Curry says of the stereotyping. Surfing wasn’t mainstream until clothing companies got involved in about the ’80s. Then major department stores started carrying lines by Ocean Pacific, Gotcha, Billabong and others.”

The upswing in surfing popularity and competition started on the West Coast and later migrated to the East Coast.

“When I began competing, surfing hadn’t reached a professional level at that point,” Curry says. “There were some events in Hawaii, where you could win prize money, but it was up to the surfing promoter if they wanted to award cash. Most of the time you were surfing for a trophy.”

Aside from trophies, top surfers received qualifying status to the U.S. Championships. From there, the top 5 competitors could qualify for the U.S. Team trials, leading on to the World Surfing Championships.

“Being a top finisher also put you in position to acquire sponsorships from surfboard, clothing and equipment

... surfing creates this soulful place in your heart, it opens up your awareness, and you see more and understand more about nature. “

companies,” Curry says. “It wasn’t until the early to mid-2000s that some companies started offering small salaries and travel expenses.”

Early in his career, Curry surfed all events — longboard, kneeboard, shortboard and bodyboard.

“I wanted to surf in any event I could because it helped my physical conditioning,” he says. “I also did not want to sit on the beach all day waiting to go out for one event.”

Curry says that surfers learn early on to respect the ocean, a value that comes after “getting our clock cleaned a couple of times.” The sport also puts them in a position to help swimmers who are

struggling in the ocean. Often surfers can get to someone in trouble faster than a lifeguard because they are already in the water.

“What spooks me is seeing people caught in the rips, and you’re the only one out there, so you have to think quickly about what to do,” he says.

Once Curry had to help some folks out of big storm swells at Topsail Island.

“We surfers love big swells,” he says. “Those swells have a long frequency, so it looks calm, but then those sets will come in every 20 or 30 minutes and they are a good size. There is a lot of water moving behind them. And when that happens, it will wash up and flow back out quickly.”

In Good Company

20 years of The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame has a notable roster. Wrightsville Beach resident Bill Curry is in good company with his fellow 2026 inductees:

FRED LYNCH Basketball Coach and Athletic Director

RON MUSSELMAN MLB Baseball Player

ED WILSON Youth Baseball Coach

TAMERA YOUNG WNBA Player CONTRIBUTED

“Surfers are ocean aware,” he adds. “They are knowledgeable of what currents and wind are doing. They can spot a rip current, and somebody in it sticks out like a sore thumb.”

One of Curry’s favorite places to surf is the south end of Topsail Island. It’s off the beaten path, and a lot of local surfers don’t want to drive that far.

“I cross the drawbridge and go about 6 miles to the south end,” he says. “The surf isn’t quite as good, but it is quiet. I like it. I’ve caught some really good surf there, and the lack of crowds takes me back to when I was a kid. I can feel more one with the ocean there.”

Wrightsville Beach is where Curry put down roots after his father’s 23 years of service in the Air Force. He later got a job at the Department of the Interior’s desalination plant, which was located where Wrightsville Beach Town Hall is today.

“Dad worked there, and we lived on Harbor Island. All my brother and I wanted to do was surf,” he says.

The invitation to join the dozens of athletes from the area who are part of the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame was a surprise for Curry. The local Sports Hall of Fame began celebrating renowned male and female athletes in 2006 and includes Roman Gabriel, Willie Stargell and Althea Gibson, to name a few.

“I appreciate the fact they recognize surfing as something that

Hall of Famers

The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame began inducting members in 2006 and welcomes a handful of individuals each year, including athletes, coaches and administrators noted for their lasting impact in the Wilmington sports community.

Scott Braswell

Kim Crabbe

Tommy Craig

David Miller

Jerry Wainwright

2024

Connor Barth

Joe Browning

James Faison III

Alley Hart

Sherri Tynes

2023

Jennifer Alley

Eddie Biedenbach

Mark Scalf

William Murphy

Al Pastore

Joe Robinson

Phyllis Mason

Chucky Brown

Donnie Bowers

Kevin Whitted

Ruby Zell Sutton

Linwood Hedgepeth

Steven E. Dayvault 2018

Nanna Rivers

Louis J. Howard Jr.

Lawrence Cook

Samuel Edward Bowens

Dave Allen

Bruce Lee Fleisher

Quinton McCracken

Dr. Hubert A. Eaton

Gwen Austin

John Bunting

Larry Honeycutt

Charles Niven

Chuck Carree

Mel Gibson

Jim Hebbe

James E. Moore Jr.

Alge Crumpler

Bob Boyd

Calvin Lane

Ricky James Benton 2013

Kenny Gattison

Maggie Will

Martin “Glenn” Sasser

Thell Overman 2012

Christopher “Trot” Nixon

Isaac B. (Ike) Grainger

James R. Dineen, MD

Lendward (Lenny)

Simpson Jr.

contributes to the community in a positive way,” Curry says.

He describes surfing as an evolution of progress: “You catch a wave, surf it, paddle back out. You are trying to perfect that feeling of riding the wave. For people who go out and it becomes their life, surfing creates this soulful place in your heart, it opens up your awareness, and you see more and understand more about nature.”

As a well-traveled surfer, Curry lists Wrightsville Beach in the top three for beautiful surfing locations, along with Hawaii and Costa Rica.

“Some of the best surf I’ve ever caught has been right here at Wrightsville,” he says. “You can’t beat surfing in your own backyard. Because you get to go home and sleep in your own bed.”

The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame will induct Curry and five others at its induction ceremonies from May 15 to 17, 2026. Also being inducted are Fred Lynch (basketball/high school athletic director), Ron Musselman (baseball), Ed Wilson (youth coaching; inducted posthumously) and Tamera Young (women’s basketball). 

BIOGRAPHIES

2011

Bill Dooley

Dr. David Esposito

Sheila Boles

Willie Stargell

2010

Benjamin Bourgeois

Joe Miller

Sherriedale Morgan

Terry Holland

2009

Brian M. Rowsom

Chester McGlockton

E. A. “Spike” Corbin

George Rountree III

Helen Grey Smith

2008

Buck Hardee

Cathy Johnston Forbes

Clyde Simmons

Hoss Ellington

Wray Carlton

2007

Althea Gibson

Bill Brooks

Jack Holley

Jasper “Jap” Davis

Tommy Greene

2006 (Founding Year)

Leon L. Brogden

Meadowlark Lemon

Roman Gabriel

Sonny Jurgensen

Wayne Jackson

THEY CALL IT

BY NINA BROWN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MEGAN DEITZ

As towering developments reshape their quiet coastal neighborhood, Wrightsville Sound residents are speaking out — fighting to preserve their trees, traditions and sense of place.

As towering developments reshape their quiet coastal neighborhood, Wrightsville Sound residents are speaking out — fighting to preserve their trees, traditions and sense of place.

t 6:45 am on a humid June day, Andrew Donovan sat down with a cup of tea at his Maccumber Terrace patio home. Starting the morning with a steaming brew helped prepare him for the daily challenges ahead, which typically included a fruitless attempt to make a left turn out of his neighborhood onto Wrightsville Avenue.

Except, on this particular Tuesday, a few days before the July 4th weekend, “There

were ripples in my teacup.”

He imagined an earthquake, as the kitchen table rattled, then realized it was impact tremors from the heavy equipment at the construction site across the street, the long ago home of the Harris Teeter grocery, CVS pharmacy and local stores at The Galleria Shopping Center. Donovan grabbed his cellphone and began snapping photos of where the walls met the ceiling of his single-story home. He wanted to capture

evidence before the cracks began.

On the site a few weeks earlier, on June 5, 2025, seven mature live oaks (two 15-inch and five 22-inch in diameter) were cut down at 6800 Wrightsville Avenue, next to the ABC store and Craft Hardware, on the way to the beach. This was a surprise, as The Galleria property had sat vacant for so many years that nearby residents assumed the trees would be part of the new project there.

Johnson Development Associates, Inc. out of Spartanburg, South Carolina, had just broken ground on The Haven at Galleria, a 12-acre mixed-use project, phases 1 and 2 of which will include 527 multifamily apartments and just 835 parking spaces. While the Galleria project had been discussed for over a decade, its impact became more tangible once construction began and the trees were removed.

While a shock to many residents, the fate of those trees had been sealed long before. In 2013 developer Jeff Kentner of State Street Properties bought the Galleria site for $3.76 million with grandiose plans for residential development. In 2014 the N.C. General Assembly de-annexed the property from the Town of Wrightsville Beach and annexed it into the City of Wilmington. A change in the city code made it possible for Kentner to apply for the City of Wilmington's

Urban Mixed Use (UMX) zoning designation, and the mayor and city council voted unanimously to approve it, giving State Street Properties the density bonus they sought.

State Street clear cut an enormous number of trees behind the old Galleria shopping center to make way for a high-end residential development fronting Airlie Road. Residents of this development, Airlie at Wrightsville Sound, had purchased lots with the understanding that their views would be of a lush, new Lumina Station. Now their future includes looking upon two five-story buildings and the back of a parking deck.

In 2022 Kentner sold the Galleria site for $37.5 million to Johnson Development Associates. The City of Wilmington had finished updating its land use code the year before, meaning UMX zoning was no longer allowed outside of pre-1945 city limits and tree codes had been strengthened. Johnson, however, inherited Galleria’s grandfathered privileges for lax tree protection and significant density bonuses.

Two nearby mixed-use developments also got lucky: CenterPoint (at Military Cutoff and Eastwood roads) and The Avenue (just south of Landfall’s Arboretum gate).

Above: Three of seven live oaks cut along Wrightsville Avenue at the Galleria.

Right: Phase 3 tract, currently a 5.6 acre green space.

PHOTO BY NINA BROWN

Growing PAINS

Urban Mixed Use zoning in the Wrightsville Sound vicinity has generated the following projects:

CENTERPOINT

23 acres

351 residences, including 265 apartments, hotel and retail

THE AVENUE

4 4 acres

4 56 luxury apartments, hotel, retail

THE HAVEN AT GALLERIA

17.5 acres

594 apartments total; 527 approved, plus 66 more

AIRLIE AT WRIGHTSVILLE SOUND

11 acres

49 high-end single family homes

An additional residential project has not yet been approved. The land is currently zoned for single family homes:

MAYFAIRE WEST

42 acres

4 89 residential units including 223 apartments Content

THE HAVEN AT GALLERIA SITE PLAN

On June 26, 2025, discouraged neighbors gathered at Waterman’s Brewery — a local treasure just down the street from the Galleria. Ginger Connett, whose traditional low-country home surrounded by live oaks sits a few hundred feet from The Haven at Galleria construction site, spoke out: “You only fail if you fail to try. As many times as we’ve complained about how many trees have been cut down while we sit in traffic because of overdevelopment, I felt convicted to act.”

Connett birthed a citizens’ action group, Galleria Watch, and welcomed about 50 upset property owners to their first meeting.

Many in the group deemed the effort a lost cause. Then, miraculously, two representatives from Johnson Development Associates arrived at the Galleria Watch meeting, uninvited but welcomed. David Cignotti, mayor of Wrightsville Beach from 2009 to 2012, presented the troubled history of the project. While in office, he had voted against the Galleria annexation into the City of Wilmington. He still believes, “Citizens on both sides of the bridge got the bad end of the deal, and Kentner got away.”

Galleria Watch prepared a petition to

delay construction on The Haven at Galleria. In addition to requesting greater tree protection, the petition demanded an updated Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) since Johnson’s study was based on data from October 2022. That TIA projected the addition of 3,750 vehicle trips per day to Wrightsville Avenue. Amazingly, Johnson’s TIA is good for the life of the project1 (anticipated in 2028).

Connett read the Galleria Watch Petition at Waterman’s and then opened the floor for questions, which came freely and often fiercely. Stunned neighbors asked Mike O’Neill, Johnson’s director of multifamily construction, if he would want a Galleria apartment project near his home. O’Neill assured the group that Johnson had met every requirement necessary to proceed with the development, which the City of Wilmington later confirmed.2

On June 27 Connett sent O’Neill an email thanking him for attending the meeting and facing the crowd (which was a first, as Johnson was never required to hold a community meeting). He responded: “I think we have been running with the assumption that this was a well-known project as the plans have been in various stages of review/

1The project has satisfied all TIA requirements, and the approved plans include all required improvements. Staff has no legal authority to require a new analysis unless the approved plans are modified.

2The project has satisfied all Land Development Code requirements and has been released for construction. Staff has no legal authority to halt construction except for code violations or failure to follow approved plans.

approval with the City for the last few years. It was great to shed some light on what we are actually doing as it is apparent that the meeting attendees were not fully informed.”

Donovan, the neighbor in Maccumber Terrace, believes there had not been sufficient information provided to the public. He presented the Galleria Watch Petition to the Wilmington City Council at its July 1 meeting.

The story of how this development is allowed begins in the early 2010s when the concept of Urban Mixed Use zoning was introduced to spur redevelopment in underutilized areas of Downtown Wilmington. Then in 2014 — the same year Galleria was annexed and State Street purchased the property — the Wilmington City Council unanimously voted to expand it citywide.

In short, UMX gave a green light for taller apartment buildings with parking decks to enter suburban Wilmington.

Also in 2010, a now-forgotten City of Wilmington document, The Wrightsville Sound Small Area Plan, was

being developed by planners with input from 200 residents, business owners and other community stakeholders. The Wrightsville Sound area was defined as “all properties from Bradley Creek north to the Landfall subdivision, and from the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIW) to just west of Oleander Drive and Military Cutoff Road.”

The document stressed the importance of preservation: “Wrightsville Sound has a rich and storied history. The historic homes, churches and gardens are remnants of an era steeped in tradition. The history of Wrightsville Sound tells a story that is treasured by its residents and the city as a whole. This history defines the character of the community and is worthy of protection.”

Left, The Haven at Galleria site along Wrightsville Avenue looking toward Military Cutoff Road. Right, The entrance gate to The Haven at Galleria construction site.

The plan, however, also strove to identify appropriate sites for mixed-use development. The vacant Galleria shopping center was its poster child. The goal was to “encourage a mix of uses that provide options for residents, reduce vehicle trips, and increase property values.” But many residents wonder if a dense, mixed-use development with five-story buildings emptying onto three-lane arterial road will be an appropriate fit for Wrightsville Sound.

In 2021 the Wilmington City Council eliminated the use of UMX zoning in the Wrightsville Sound area, but its consequences will linger. Drivers avoiding Wrightsville Avenue may detour to Wilmington’s Scenic Byway, Airlie Road or cut through the intimate neighborhoods and narrow connector streets woven between Wrightsville Avenue and Airlie Road. Heading over to Eastwood Road will not help as it will be affected for four years by the 2027 flyover construction at Military Cutoff Road, as well as the 2028 replacement of the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge. Likewise, Military Cutoff and Eastwood roads (currently estimated by the NCDOT at 75,000 trips per day) will be at standstill as projects in the UMX begin.

New Developments

WMAYFAIRE

MAYFAIRE WEST

THE AVENUE

CENTERPOINT

LANDFALL

THE HAVEN AT GALLERIA

AIRLIE AT WRIGHTSVILLE SOUND

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH DRAWBRIDGE

New mixed use and residential developments in Wrightsville Sound area.

rightsville Sound residents discouraged about the high-density development are looking to success stories for hope.

Wilmington’s biggest success story of the year is the preservation of a 60-acre heavily forested tract at 3990 Independence Boulevard that a Charlotte developer wanted rezoned for 582 residential units including 512 apartments. Instead, an intensive citizens’ effort prompted Wilmington City Council to pass a resolution to preserve the land. In May the New Hanover County Commissioners unanimously agreed to purchase the property for a park, which was the original intention of its owner, Flossie Bryan, who passed away in 2003.

Another inspiring effort is being made by the community group Save Sledge Forest, which aims to preserve 4,000 acres of old-growth forest in Caste Hayne, home to several threatened and endangered species. Copper Builders, the Hilton Bluffs developer, intends to build 4,000 residential units plus a golf course on the property, which contains significant wetlands. A preliminary Traffic Impact Analysis estimates the development will create an extra 30,000 to 40,000

vehicle trips per day on Castle Hayne Road. The Save Sledge Forest Petition topped 12,000 signatures and was added to the Old Growth Forest Network’s National Index of Threatened Forests in July.

What both these projects have in common is the perseverance of citizens who have coalesced around the principle that adequate infrastructure should proceed, not follow, development … and that green space is something worth fighting for.

Local tree advocacy groups are working hard to toughen regulations on future development projects and reduce loopholes. Isabelle Shepherd, director of the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees, says: “We believe tree preservation should be rooted in policy. That’s why we’re developing a comprehensive advocacy campaign, Code & Canopy, aimed at strengthening local tree protections on both the city and county level.”

Phase 3 of The Haven at Galleria stands miraculously untouched, a wonderland where green endures. A chain link fence and small grove of trees separate it from the bald construction site

next door. The old Melrose Mobile Home Park, tucked away behind Craft Hardware and the ABC store, seems frozen in time, a tranquil respite where nature lives.

Graceful trees of all sizes spread their branches across the 5.24-acre site, where the park’s 47 residents once belonged. State Street bought the property in 2016, and City Council rezoned it from residential to urban mixed-use (UMX). Johnson purchased it in 2022, along with the Galleria site

next door. Construction plans have not been submitted yet, but the developer has the right to build an additional retail strip mall at the streetfront and 66 apartments behind. While City tree protections were tightened in 2021, the trees at the old mobile home park in Phase 3 are grandfathered under the previous, more lenient regulations.

Perhaps the land and the community will say, Enough! As with Airlie Gardens and the Bryan Nature Park, the Phase 3 property could be

purchased and preserved … before it’s too late. Donovan certainly hopes so. When he sits down for his morning cup of tea, he says he is haunted by the lyrics from a song by The Eagles on their famous Hotel California album:

They call it paradise I don’t know why You call someplace paradise Kiss it goodbye 

“The Last Resort” by The Eagles, 1976

green space

Existing

at The Haven at Galleria Phase 3 tract.

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Making an Impact

Velva Jenkins, CEO of YWCA Lower Cape Fear in Wilmington, encourages donations to the YWCA Courage and Commitment Capital Campaign.

BY JO ANN MATHEWS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT MCGRAW

VVelva Jenkins, chief executive officer at YWCA Lower Cape Fear in Wilmington, admits she didn’t expect her biggest challenge to arise three months into the job.

She began the position January 1, 2020, and in March, COVID hit. The pool, the childcare facility and all the programs were shut down. Since the YWCA is nonprofit, she explains, “You have to have donors. You have to have grants.”

Welcoming, genial and articulate describe this Winnabow native, who grew up on a farm the youngest of 10 children. When she reached out to community members for donations, many remembered her dedication and determination from her 32 years at Brunswick Community College, so they responded with support. She succeeded in receiving enough funds until the COVID pandemic subsided.

“I love what I’m doing,” Jenkins says, despite citing her second greatest challenge as CEO: the Capital Campaign.

The YWCA, which is celebrating its 111th anniversary as of July 2025, bought the property on College Road in the 1970s and has no debt, but the building needs renovations.

After digesting the feasibility report, the board decided it needed $9.8 million for renovations and expansion:

• $5.2 million for the Health & Wellness Center

• $4.1 million for its Empowerment Programs

• $500,000 for Sustainability

The campaign has raised about $4.9 million since the campaign began in the fall of 2022.

“I make relationships and tell them the impact we’re making in our community,” Jenkins says. “What we’re doing in our community is empowering women and families. We’re getting ready to go public. We’re going to try to motivate the community to write checks.”

Jenkins emphasizes the motto for the campaign, Courage and Commitment, and expresses enthusiasm for the YWCA programs. YWCA charges an annual membership fee, which varies depending on which programs the members use. The childcare center is open from 7 am to 6 pm and has 85 children attending with a capacity for 110. Among the aquatic programs are swimming lessons, water aerobics for women, Flow Motion for women recovering from breast cancer and Welcome to Water, a program introduced in 2024 for moms and babies. The aquatic center is also the site

for swim teams at high schools that don’t have a pool.

Jenkins explains they have partnered with the YMCA and developed a pilot program to teach second graders how to swim. The Endowment granted funds, and the program is now available to all second graders in the Wilmington public schools. “We get out in the community,” she says. “We get the word out of what we are doing.”

Trina Buoniconti, front desk coordinator, says she has been empowered by working at the YWCA for the past three years. “I speak up and am assertive now,” she says. “It has built my confidence. [Velva] is a great role model.”

Jenkins understands the YWCA and its mission. When the previous CEO retired in August 2019, Jenkins was on the YWCA board and was asked to serve as interim CEO. After five months, the board offered her the permanent position. She thought she’d hold it for two years because she had retired from BCC as vice president of Continuing Education, Economic and Workforce Development. Now she is committed to the YWCA. She writes the grants, and the YWCA has received more than $11 million in grants since her tenure began.

Nonprofits, business and marketing were not Jenkins’

Above: Velva Jenkins (center) with YWCA staff members Anderson Smallwood, Julie Potter, Brennin Fleischer, Elousie Tate, Candice Knox, Cindy Morton, Marlene Peele, Lance Tate and Shacuria Reeves.

dream jobs growing up.

“My talent is art, but no one knows about it,” she says. “I love to do pencil and charcoal drawings. I really wanted to be a fashion illustrator. Someone talked me out of it.”

She was told artists receive money and acclaim after they die. She

Top, Swim Instructor Ivette Brookman with a student; below, Aquatics Director

Aileen Sutton, bottom, Swim Team Coach Alan Sandrin

switched from pursuing her degree in art and art education at University of North Carolina at Wilmington to business and marketing. Her role models were her sister, who had a successful business as a certified public accountant, and her brother, a retired full colonel, who was chief financial officer for military hospitals across the United States.

“I tell young people today, ‘Don’t let others change your mind about your goals,’” she says. “I didn’t have the knowledge of how to pursue my dreams. When I was young, you had to go to New York to do fashion design. I didn’t have the knowledge to get there.”

Jenkins received her MBA from Webster University in Myrtle Beach. “I realized my options for career choices were enormous,” she says. “My professors told me I should work for Fortune 500 companies.”

She accepted a job with a local hair salon supply company, but when she saw an ad in the Brunswick Beacon for a director of the new small business center at BCC, she told herself, “This is me. I  can do this.” She got the job and served over the years at BCC as assistant dean, dean, marketing manager and vice president of economic development.

While at BCC she introduced the Brunswick County small business awards, the Brunswick County leadership program, which still exists today, and a Hispanic workforce program.

“I am most proud of that,” Jenkins says. “Fernando Trulin and I put together one of the most popular Hispanic workforce development programs in the state. It offered bilingual training in machine technology, electricity and construction.”

In 1988 Jenkins married Brunswick County native Ronnie Jenkins. He served as teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal in Brunswick County schools. Jenkins says her husband is special because he is always happy, always smiling and has beautiful green eyes. The couple has two daughters. Monique, 43, works for a tech company and is studying for her Ph.D. Rowanty, 35, is a nurse practitioner in Greensboro.

Jenkins’ unique name came about by accident and was a surprise to the entire family. When her parents received her birth certificate, rather than Valerie Rae, it said Velva. It was the now-defunct hospital’s mistake, but her parents never changed it. Her family members call her Rae.

Jenkins enjoys gardening, planting flowers and sketching. “Sketching calms me down,” she says. Her dog, Elle, and her grand-dog, Chloe, also keep her busy.

She is grateful to have a chance to praise YWCA but adds that she has another message:

“Don’t give up on your dreams and don’t let people talk you out of your dreams. Follow your heart.” 

LEARN MORE OR DONATE TO THE YWCA

YWCA Lower Cape Fear 2815 S. College Road, Wilmington K ywca-lowercapefear.org m (910) 799-6820

k velva@ywca-lowercapefear.org k campaigncoordinator@ ywca-lowercapefear.org

Wheels of Joy

Wrightsville Beach business owner Jimmy Gilleece spins up holiday joy via his annual Jimmy’s Bike Drive.

BY ANNA BETH ADCOCK | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT MCGRAW

hat began as an almost empty toy collection box at a yearly Christmas concert has grown into an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit — and a statewide movement. Today, it involves more than 50 charities and has provided thousands of free bikes to kids in need.

The driving force behind it all is husband-and-wife team Jimmy Gilleece, owner of community staples Jimmy’s Wrightsville Beach and King Neptune, and his wife, Keaton. The couple launched their holiday joy ride with no

The More the Merrier!

From just a handful of bikes in 2017, Jimmy’s Bike Drive collected almost 2,000 bikes in 2024 and they’re just rolling.getting

idea it would become such a massive and far-reaching effort. This started back in 2017, when Gilleece noticed how few toys were in the Toys for Tots donation box, and he considered buying a bike to donate. As the idea simmered, he thought about posting a challenge on social media: If someone donated a bike, he would match it with another.

“Then we’d have two bikes,” he recalls thinking.

He soon expanded the idea into a 10-bike donation challenge.

“The next day, someone brought in a bike, and I was surprised,” Gilleece says. “I took a picture and thanked them, and by the end of the day, I had 10 more bikes.”

By the time the charity concert rolled around, 200 bikes

Jimmy’s Bike Drive founders Jimmie and Keaton Gilleece (middle) with helping hands Jackie and John Martin and mascot Kash.

were ready to ride off to happy homes.

The following year, that number doubled to 400 bikes.

“That was the year every kid in New Hanover County who wanted a bike got one,” Gilleece says. A few years later, the total topped 1,000 bikes. Last year, they brought in a record of almost 2,000.

“It’s a machine now, but not welloiled quite yet,” Gilleece says.

But with a board of directors, including himself, former police officers and service members, detectives and teachers, Jimmy’s Bike Drive has quite the stacked roster to continue granting kids two wheels of magic each Christmas.

As for why he chose to go with bikes, Gilleece aligns them with freedom.

“Bikes can be an escape for kids,” he says. “I get calls all the time from principals and counselors that bikes help kids get to school. At Christmas, it’s great to give coats, but I think every kid deserves to wake up to a big present and something cool like a bike.”

This year, the nonprofit is already all hands on deck to prepare for its annual bike rodeo on October 12. The event, which touts bike safety and includes helmet giveaways, will happen at Wrightsville Beach Park and is gearing up thanks to a joint effort by Jimmy’s Bike Drive, the Wrightsville Beach Police Department and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department, plus major sponsors including Ekos Software, MegaCorp, the Bryan-Trask Foundation and Flip N Fly.

the Wrightsville Beach Sheriff’s Department coming out to cook breakfast for attendees amid the backdrop of bikes lining The Loop at Wrightsville Beach for about a quarter-mile.

“Our charities will come out and load up the bikes, then get a police escort off the island,” Gilleece says.

And while the bikes start at the beach, they are getting trucked throughout the Carolinas — from South Carolina to Asheville.

airplane this year for an Easter festival [in the mountains of NC].”

The charity’s bread-and-butter event, however, is its yearly midNovember holiday kickoff at the Port City Academy Sports & Outdoor store, an occasion where bike givers can roll into the store to purchase a discounted bike and hand it right over to Jimmy’s Bike Drive.

With Jimmy’s Bike Drive funneling 100% of its donations toward bikes, bike helmets and transport, those opting to help via Venmo or cash can rest assured every penny heading toward the cause.

“We outgrew New Hanover County by the third year,” Gilleece says.

As Gilleece looks ahead to this year’s festivities, he hopes to break bike donation records again, while encouraging safety by giving a helmet away with every bike.

“I’ve always been involved in the community, it’s in my blood” Gilleece says. “This just happened, and we’ve kept it going. Now, we have a huge team and partner with 50+ charities. It’s very A WHEELIE GREAT REASON TO GIVE

Another in-the-works event is happening December 13 and involves

“With the recent flooding in Western NC, there’s a need for it there, and we already put 20 bikes on an

Jimmy’s Bike Drive

Want to volunteer or donate?

Visit K jimmysbikedrive.org

A Coastal Soiree for a Cause

YachtVenture sets sail for the 15th year, pairing luxury and philanthropy to raise critical funds for The Children’s Museum of Wilmington.

BY CAMERON RHINEHARDT

s a child, all you want is a place to let your imagination run rampant, a space to create, play and experience fun. As an adult, you want the same thing for your children — a safe and inviting environment that provides the backbone for growth and education.

The Children’s Museum of Wilmington (CMoW) satiates this exact craving, offering space for children to have fun while experiencing art, science, technology, literacy and more.

To provide spaces and opportunities like this for our community’s growing generations, financial support is key — especially for a nonprofit like CMoW. Enter YachtVenture, a fundraising night for the 21+ crowd to remember.

The premier annual fundraiser for CMoW is set to return on October 18, promising an enchanting evening of luxury and philanthropy.

This year marks the

event’s 15th anniversary, and the funds raised at YachtVenture are crucial in supporting its mission to provide 17,000 square feet of enriching play space for children.

YachtVenture is held at the beautiful Bradley Creek Yacht Club. This year’s event is particularly special, with every yacht approached agreeing to participate, truly a testament to the strong community support for the Children’s Museum.

Attendees can look forward to four open bars serving craft cocktails, live music, a delectable array of food and drinks, plus tours of 12 luxurious boats.

One of the highlights of YachtVenture is the silent auction, with diverse offerings ranging from thrilling discovery flights to beauty

treatments. Raffle tickets are also available for purchase both at the event and in advance, providing additional opportunities to support the museum.

To make this night even better, YachtVenture offers a dynamic atmosphere where attendees can freely mingle, explore and enjoy the various attractions, rather than being confined to tables.

YachtVenture is one of four fundraising events CMoW hosts each year, and it is by far their largest and most iconic. They also host Pizza Putt, The Enchanted Character Walk, and the Fore the Children Golf Tournament.

“These events are vital to ensuring our mission remains accessible to all children in our community,” says Patti Erkes, director of development at CMoW. “My personal hope for this event is to of course raise critical funds, but also hope that our guests walk away feeling more connected to our mission. If our guests leave feeling inspired to support childhood learning through play, then we have done our job.”

Erkes adds, “The money from these fundraisers allow us to say ‘yes’ more often. We offer free field trips for Title I schools, community outreach, not to mention over 70,000 people visit annually with about one third of those coming for free. We want this museum to be accessible to all children.”

Erkes emphasizes that giving children the opportunity to have hands-on learning and play opportunities is essential in many aspects of a child’s life.

“In a digital age, play shouldn’t be a luxury,” she says. “Play is the building block for learning for life. That imaginative play is so important, now more than ever.”

Fundraisers help the nonprofit remain accessible, facilitate the creation of new exhibits and ensure that all children have a place to grow, explore and dream big in a safe and supportive environment.

Beyond the glamour, attending YachtVenture means supporting a profound cause: giving children the opportunity to play in a safe space. It is truly a night of fun for a purpose. 

SET A COURSE FOR ADVENTURE

15th Annual YachtVenture

A Fundraiser for The Children's Museum of Wilmington Saturday, October 18 6 to 9:30 pm

9 Bradley Creek Yacht Club, 6338 Oleander Drive, Wilmington

Dress to Impress

Guests must age 21 and older

To buy tickets or find more information: K yachtventure.org.

The World Through Minnie’s Eyes

A new documentary film about self-taught Wilmington artist Minnie Evans introduces viewers to the other-worldly images and inspirations of one of the South’s most celebrated folk artists.

BY CHRISTINE R. GONZALEZ

MMinnie Jones Evans was a paradox.

Born in 1892, she lived a commonplace life in Wilmington. She was raised in a religious home, enjoyed school and loved reading about travel and Greek mythology. She helped her family by gathering crabs and oysters for them to sell.

While her daily existence appeared ordinary to others, her dream life was fantastical. She said she never slept without dreaming. Many times as a young girl, she dreamed of old prophets carrying her to a nearby military cemetery. She would wake up startled next to headstones, having actually walked there in her sleep.

Evans worked in domestic service for the Pembroke Jones family, raised three sons and was a gatekeeper and ticket taker at Airlie Gardens starting in 1948. The tiny gatehouse is where she created many of her artworks.

After hearing a profound voice commanding her to “draw or die,” Evans began drawing the things she said God put in her head shortly after her beloved grandmother died in 1935. She was 44 years old at the time. It took several more decades before real attention was given to her art.

From 1935 to 1974, Evans created hundreds of works of visionary folk art in her distinct selftaught style, first in crayon, pen and ink and eventually taking on the medium of oil painting. Her first formal exhibition was in Wilmington in 1961.

Since her death in 1987, Evans’ works have become highly sought after for private collections and she is represented in the permanent collection at Wilmington’s Cameron Art Museum (CAM) and in

Above, Artist Minnie Evans at work; below, one of her untitled works of art

Untitled (Four pods with eyes surmounted by pair of angels), c. 1966

Acrylic, graphite, ink, tempera, and collage Collection of Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, NC

Given by Mary Ann Keith Massey in honor of Charles Knox Massey

© The Estate of Minnie Evans

major museums around the United States, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and The High Museum in Atlanta. Three major museums are hosting solo shows of Evans' art. Works from CAM's collection are currently on display at Boston's Museum of Fine Art, and a major solo exhibit will open at The High Museum in Atlanta; that exhibit will later travel to the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City. Her papers and ephemera are preserved in the Minnie Evans Study Center at CAM, which houses the largest collection of her works.

When asked where her artistic inspiration came from, Evans would say she had visions or that an angel would guide her hand. Her imagery makes it clear she was in tune with the spiritual dimension. Many of her works are untitled, and they can best be described as surreal. Faces and eyes dominate and are intertwined with flowers, animals, angels and sunrises, some hidden and some obvious.

Evans is said to have wondered if the faces she saw were not from some biblical pre-flood nation, a reminder from God of the past. She saw things others would never imagine, like the elephants walking across the moon.

“People look at her work and sometimes describe it as a mosaic or a mandala of different forms and shapes and colors,” says film documentarian Linda Royal, who is working to capture the essence of this extraordinary artist in a new film, Minnie Evans: Draw or Die

The film depicts how Evans lived and worked and how the

art world continues to appraise and uplift her unusual, bold works of art.

Royal discovered Evans’ art in 2018.

“I saw some of Minnie’s amazing paintings and drawings for the first time in April 2018, on my wedding day at my dear friend Liz Penton’s house,” Royal says. “I was intrigued and amazed and I wanted to know more.”

Royal’s curiosity led her begin work on the documentary film of Evans’ life nearly four years ago.

“I wanted to give her the respect she deserves as one of the most important Black American artists of the 20 th century,” Royal says. “It’s extraordinary for a Southern, self-taught female artist to rise to the level of recognition she has today.”

A one-hour documentary, Minnie Evans: Draw or Die tells of a woman who used the tools she had on hand (crayons, pencils, paper bags and stationery) to create unusual and captivating artwork.

“The more I started doing production on the film, I realized that it was becoming a hybrid documentary,” she says. “Minnie was not conventional. She would put all kinds of elements and images together in her art. I think we patterned that.”

Royal says the film uses live music performance, reenactments, archival footage, audio interviews with Evans and photos of the Pembroke Jones estate that were recently donated to the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science.

She attributes the outstanding audio they have of Evans’

herself a celebrity. Yet she continues to be celebrated by the art world, especially among Wilmingtonians.

Evans was honored by the naming of The Minnie Evans Bottle Chapel in Airlie Gardens in 2004. Designed by local artist Virginia Wright-Frierson, the chapel uses hundreds of colored bottles to recreate Evans-inspired images. Royal’s film includes scenes and a live performance by the Williston Alumni Community Choir at the Bottle Chapel.

Now that the film is near completion, Royal hopes to have screenings of the Minnie Evans: Draw or Die documentary at film festivals, art museums and other special events this fall. And in 2026 she hopes to bring the film to communities and schools through audience engagement and youth impact programs.

SUPPORT THE FILM

Many of Evans' works reflect the botanicals of Airlie Gardens, where she worked as a gatekeeper.

voice to photographer Nina Howell Starr’s initiative and contribution to the Smithsonian Archives. Starr learned of Evans’ work in the early 1960s. She lived in Gainesville, Florida, at the time, but came to Wilmington to photograph Evans’ work for her MFA program, and the two became very close friends. Starr saw something very special in Evans’ art, believing that Evans had an intimate connection to the divine that not many others have.

“As a documentary filmmaker, I am very grateful to Nina Starr for leaving a tremendous resource of taped conversations and insights about Minnie for the world,” Royal says.

The Minnie Evans: Draw or Die documentary sheds light on Evans’ childhood, her family and her time as the beloved gatekeeper at Airlie Gardens, where she was inspired by the lush landscape and made many of her works until retirement at age 82.

“One thing we feature in the film is Wrightsville Sound’s beautiful coastal scenery that surrounded Minnie in her life,” Royal says. “She especially liked sunrises. So much of her art has a sunrise in it; sometimes you have to search for it, but it is there.”

By the 1970s, Evans’ work had gained national acclaim. In her old age, she said she did not know how she created her paintings. She was amazed at her own work as everyone else. Before she passed away in 1987 at age 95, she took joy from having her work recognized, though she never considered

“From the beginning, I was already thinking how this film would be used for educational purposes,” Royal says.

Local art educator Suzanne Sload has been using Evans’ art to inspire her students for many years. Her story is encouraging to many others and proves that the creative process can be sparked at any age.

“Minnie is proof of that,” Royal says. “You don’t have to have a formal education to create art. You also don’t have to have high-end materials. Her sense of color and design was incredibly sophisticated, even if her materials were not.”

Royal and Sload are collaborating with Cameron Art Museum to create educational materials to go with the film. They will include art lesson plans based on Evans’ art.

Keep an eye out for screenings of Minnie Evans: Draw or Die locally this fall. 

Minnie Evans: Draw or Die Filmmaker and director Linda Royal and her team are raising funds to expand the youth impact campaign and to support film festival travel and expenses. Royal hopes there will be an opportunity to broadcast the film to a national audience as well. Updated information will be available at website: minnieevansfilm.com

Donations are tax deductible through the film’s sponsor, Southern Documentary Fund.

Checks can be mailed to Southern Documentary Fund, Fiscal Accounting and Donations, P.O. Box 2614, Burlington, NC 27216 (with Minnie Evans: Draw or Die on the memo line) or donations can be made at minnieevansfilm.com

Paddle Out for Jimmy Ellington

June 14 at Johnnie Mercers Fishing Pier in Wrightsville Beach

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

JOSH SCHIEFFER

 Friends, family and the local surf and skateboarding community gathered at Wrightsville Beach to celebrate the life and legacy of Jimmy Ellington with a sunrise paddle out ceremony.

Ellington, a pillar of the regional skateboard community and founder of the Hampstead icon The Skate Barn, passed away from the metastatic bone cancer on February 16.

Participants brought their boards, shared their stories and paid tribute to a beloved friend whose spirit and love for surfing touched so many.

The paddle out, a cherished tradition in surf culture, offered a heartfelt moment to reflect on Ellington’s impact both in and out of the water. As the sun rose, those who knew Ellington joined together in the ocean, honoring his memory with peace, aloha and the unity that surfing brings.

Everyone was welcome — whether they knew Ellington personally or simply wanted to support the community. Friends and loved ones brought their memories and their boards as they sent their friend off with the warmth of the rising sun.

Red Drum Championship

July 18 and 19 at Bridge Tender Marina

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY

MATT MCGRAW



Wrightsville Beach was the site of the 2025 Fisherman’s Post Inshore Trail Red Drum Championship. This premier fishing event was limited to 50 boats, each competing for top honors and prize money in North Carolina’s most anticipated inshore tournament.

Anglers vied for the biggest catches on a two red drum leaderboard, with additional prizes awarded for the heaviest single fish. Payouts were $5,000 for first place, $2,500 for second and $1,500 for third, plus a guaranteed $500 big fish prize (based on a full field).

The winners of the 2025 Fisherman’s Post Inshore Trail Red Drum Championship at Wrightsville Beach were:

1. Rock Creek Land Company 7.84 lb.

2. Parker 7.43 lb.

3. Bossy’s Sinkers 7.37 lb.

ACCESS of Wilmington Meet-Up with Love on the Spectrum Star

May 31 at Olsen Park

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MEGAN DEITZ

 ACCESS of Wilmington held a special event at the Miracle League field on May 31, welcoming Tanner Smith, a star from Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum. Tickets for the event, called “Tanner’s Miracle Meet-Up,” quickly sold out as excitement built in the community.

Attendees enjoyed a morning filled with field games alongside the Wilmington Sharks, as well as music, food and drinks. A highlight of the day was a Q&A session with Tanner and his mother, Nicci Smith, giving fans a chance to connect and learn more about their experiences on and off the show.

The event took place at The Miracle Field in Olsen Park. Families and fans gathered to celebrate inclusion and community, making the meet-up a memorable occasion for all who attended.

Airlie Gardens 2025 Summer Concert Series

June 6 through September 5 on the Oak Lawn at Airlie Gardens

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL

RITENOUR

 The beloved Airlie Gardens Summer Concert Series returned in 2025, inviting locals and visitors to enjoy live music in one of Wilmington’s most scenic settings. Held on select Fridays from June 6 through September 5, the concerts took place from 6 to 8 PM on the Oak Lawn beneath the gardens’ historic live oaks.

This year’s lineup featured crowd favorites like Machine Gun, Motel Soap, The Cruise Brothers, and reSOUL, among others. Guests were encouraged to bring lawn chairs and picnic baskets for a relaxed, family-friendly evening surrounded by blooming gardens and the sounds of summer.

The concert series offered a vibrant mix of music, community, and natural beauty—making it a summer tradition not to be missed.

2nd Annual Connor Barth Celebrity Golf Tournament

April 14 at the Country Club of Landfall

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN

DAVIS

 Hosted by former NFL kicker and Wilmington native Connor Barth, the 2nd Annual Connor Barth Celebrity Golf Tournament brought together local golfers, sports fans and celebrity guests for a day of friendly competition in support of Coach Bill Dooley Education Foundation. Participants enjoyed playing alongside notable athletes and personalities, with contests, prizes and plenty of opportunities to mingle and network. Proceeds benefited youth programs and community initiatives, reflecting Barth’s ongoing commitment to giving back to his hometown. Beyond golf, the tournament offered a lively atmosphere of food, drinks, plenty of opportunities for networking and fun. It was a great way to support local initiatives while enjoying a day on beautiful greens with well-known faces.

2nd Annual Coach Bill Dooley Education Foundation Dinner & Concert

April 13 at the Country Club of Landfall

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

JOHN DAVIS

 The 2nd Annual Coach Bill Dooley Education Foundation Dinner & Concert drew a vibrant crowd celebrating Coach Dooley’s legacy while raising support for local educational initiatives. The evening kicked off with cocktails, an auction and a private concert by platinum country artist Chase Rice, joined by special guest Love and Theft.

Guests enjoyed a dinner gathering that fostered connection and community spirit, all in support of the foundation’s mission: “Giving back through life-changing experiences.” The event united local leaders, sports fans, education advocates and community members to raise funds and awareness for the foundation’s scholarship and educational programs.

The night was filled with inspiring stories about Coach Dooley’s impact, an uplifting atmosphere and standout musical performances — making it a memorable occasion to support a meaningful cause while enjoying great food, music and company.

Tennis & Pickleball

Court Reopening

July 17 at Wrightsville Beach Park

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

BILL RITENOUR

 Wrightsville Beach recently celebrated the grand reopening of its newly renovated tennis and pickleball courts at Wrightsville Beach Park with an official ribbon cutting ceremony. The event marked the completion of a project that brought exciting upgrades to one of the community’s most beloved recreational spaces. Town leaders, staff and residents gathered to recognize the collaboration and hard work that made the renovations possible. Special thanks were extended to the Board of Aldermen, Parks & Recreation Director Katie Carus-Childers, the Public Works team and numerous partners including the Wrightsville Beach Foundation, Timeless Construction, Cape Fear Engineering and the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant Authority. Their efforts, alongside dedicated community members, ensured the courts are ready for years of active play. With fresh surfaces and improved facilities, the courts are set to be a hub of activity for both tennis and pickleball enthusiasts.

Sounds of Summer Concert

June 26 at Wrightsville Beach Park

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL RITENOUR

[01] Joel Lamb (ReSoul Band) [02] Amber Fidler, Delaney Tarpley [03] Ann Carr, Claire Gulley, Larry Gulley [04] Doreen Fitzpatrick, Franz Hueber [05] Tanarsha Hunter (ReSoul Band) [06] Ryan Koresko, Delaney Tarpley, Megan Donohue, Amber Fiedler

Landfall Golf Tournament Dinner & Auction

The 22nd annual benefit for Good Shepherd Center — May 18 at at the Country Club of Landfall

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY BILL RITENOUR

[01] Carol Nasca, Dick Nasca [02] Austin Greene, Cassidy

Hedgecock [03] William Losch, Ellen Losch [04] Nancy Alexander, Dave Alexander, Kathy Denlinger, Jeff Denlinger, Beth Lambi, Dennis Lambi [05] Becky Spivey, Gene Weaver [06] Bethany Roberts, Ned Roberts [07] Polly Locke, Matt Locke, Pat Kelly, Betsy Kelly [08] Adam Schultz, Jordan Schultz [09] Carol Atwood, Alison Bernhart, Nikki Johnson, Sam Simmons [10] Ruddier Daunken, Linda Daunken, Jerry Hurwitz

President’s Soiree

Presented by Mt. Calvary Center for Leadership Development July 19 at Country Club of Landfall

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY

BILL RITENOUR

[01] State Rep. Charlie Miller, Leanne Pierce (NHC Commissioner), Jimmy Tate, Josie Barnhart, Pete Wildeboer [02] Shakema Morgan, Toryn Rushin [03] Duplin County Sheriff Stratton Stokes, Jennifer Stokes, Ashton Lee, Ernie Lee [04] Arthur Bullock, Elizabeth Bullock [05] State Representative Charlie Miller, Patty Miller [06] Luis Martinez, Genesis Munguis, Ashton Munguis [07] Betty Henry, Ronald Henry [08] Jerry Davis, Billie Jo Davis [09] Melony Malone, Bob Malone

Helmsdale II at Landfall Grand Opening

May 15

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUSE & SHUTTER PHOTOGRAPHY

[01] Michelle Kelly, Sam Simmons, Alison Bernhart, Nikki Johnson, Sandy Pruett, Karen Thompson, Becky Spivey, Kelli Lazzaro [02] Sally and Bill Chepla [03] Dave Pellegrino, Andy Lazzaro, Lynn Gardner, Tim Gardner [04] Lauren Ward, Julia Rawl Stewart, Vanessa Jenkins, Robin Rose [05] Bob Forrest, Nikki Johnson, Mitzi Forrest, Amy Formanek, Sean Lewis [06] Clinton Briley, Chris Farley, Laurie Tracy

2

September October November

29 1:57 3.7 2:19 4.0 8:17 0.7 8:47 0.2

30 2:55 4.0 3:16 3.9 9:22 0.5 9:39 0.0

Photo captured by MELISSA LESTER

Where Luxury Meets Warm Hospitality

Jessica Edwards & Carolyn Byrnes