Ayden Magazine - Summer 2023

Green marks the spot

Ayden Chamber of Commerce nds new home downtown

By Pat Gruner

It is hard to miss the fresh coat of earthy green paint that marks the Ayden Chamber of Commerce’s new location, and business owners are happy to have such an eye-catching sight to guide visitors, develop the downtown and hope fully bring a little more green to the town in the process.

e move to 528 E. ird St., next to Coltrain Hardware and Sam Jones BBQ’s corporate o ce, is one that Executive Director Bailey Harris said will raise the organization’s pro le, adding that green, like collards and the Ayden-Gri on Chargers, is the chamber’s colors.

“I’m right near Town Hall so I can work closer and easier with the town, and I’m right in our main business hubs so I can stay in touch and within walking distance with the businesses,” Harris said. “ e opportunity presented itself, it was perfect timing, and we are in the process of making that vision a reality.”

e new location will also boast a

visitor’s center, making it a one-stop shop for tourists to get recommendations and directions to restaurants or retail locations and a bit of insight into the town’s culture.

Business owners like Angela Haddock, a Nationwide insurance broker who has been a chamber member for 20 years, said that locals will bene t from the center as well.

“

ere’s a lot more exposure and accessibility with them being downtown, especially with their own storefront and visitor center combined,” Haddock said.

“

ere is now a central location where folks can go and learn about the amenities of the town, as far as what’s there to do, where to go for services, that type of thing. Having that available is good for the community and new people coming into Ayden.”

Harris said that she has received a number of inquiries in the past looking for just that, people seeking information on libraries, churches, childcare or other resources. Having easy access to that, while also being able to show o some of what the town has

to o er, like its annual Collard Festival, will provide people seeking to move to the area a clearer picture. at will in turn bring more patronage to local businesses, Harris believes.

Networking and being part of the

The Ayden Chamber of Commerce moved into 528 E. Third St. in downtown and opened the green-faced storefront in May. Photo by Pat Gruner

Chamber officials say the new location puts them closer to clients. Contributed photo

small-town community are both important to Haddock, she said, and Harris hopes that the chamber’s space upgrade will mean people will be more inclined to stop and be more comfortable when they do.

e former headquarters was a single o ce rented near the Maxway shopping center, also on ird but away from Ayden’s main drag.

“ at made it hard when people came in to display any of our member’s information and brochures, merchandise, things like that,” Harris said. “ is space will be bigger so that will give us an opportunity to showcase our members as well.”

Pam Justice, branch manager of Southern Bank and Trust, called the site a “networking hub,” and hopes it will ful ll the mission of uptown revitalization and economic development she

and fellow members of the chamber strive for.

“Visibility is everything,” Justice said. “If they can’t see you they can’t nd you.

“I just want everyone to come see Ayden.”

Having their liaison near Ayden Town Hall is also bene cial for leaders like Commissioner Cindy Go . As both an individual member of the chamber, a chamber board member and a town commissioner, Go thinks it is important that the entity is in town limits.

“Also, it’s nice for the Chamber to be visible because, as thechamber reaches out to local businesses to o er the amenities it does, to help them navigate and promote their business, they have another advocate,” Go said. “ is way the town and chamber work together in order to build our commercial industry.”

Chrystal Harris of Merlyn Acres in Ayden plants flowers in front of the new chamber location. Contributed photo

Festival honors Ayden’s barbecue heritage, celebrates community

By Beyonca Mewborn

Ayden continued to build its reputation as the town where ’Que Marks the Spot with the sixth Kings of Q BBQ Cook-O and Festival.

e event on May 19-20 brought hundreds of people to the downtown area for a plateful of festivities centered on the Kansas City Barbecue

Society contest that drew pitmasters and restauranters from across the region to vie for $10,000 in prizes, including a $2,000 grand prize and $1,000 reserve grand prize.

Twenty- ve teams participated in categories for chicken, pork ribs, pork and brisket. KCBS-certi ed judges selected winners in each category and tabulated scores to determine

overall winners. A perfect score in each category would total 720.

e top-placing team with a score of 705 was the Smoke and Brew Ma a of Asheboro. O e Rack BBQ of Sta ord, Virginia, came in second with a score of 696, and team Chunky BBQ of Hershey, Pennsylvania, came in third with a score of 695.

Home to the renowned barbecue joints Bum’s and Skylight Inn and Kings of Q Latham “Bum” Dennis and Pete Jones, Ayden’s status as a pig-cooking capital is a draw for the teams, participants said.

“ is is our rst time, and I will tell you we’ll be back,” said Tom Roy of TNT Explosive BBQ of Waldorf, Maryland, who was cooking with his son

Ayden Mayor Steve Tripp, le , celebrates with John Adkins of the Smoke & Brew Mafia of Asheboro a er the team was named grand champion Ayden’s Kings of Q cook-off. Assistant Town Manager Stephen Smith and Smoke & Brew’s Eric Lambeth join in the celebration. Photos by Scott Davis

from Jacksonville and a friend from Oriental.

Roy said that he was having a guy’s weekend — grilling with the guys is always a good time — and he loved the small-town atmosphere.

“ e town of Ayden put out the red carpet for us and have treated us very well,” said Roy. “ e mayor even stopped by and said hi, so we’re just happy to be here. We love the atmo sphere, love the town, love the people, and we’ll de nitely be back.”

Jerry Stephenson of e Redneck BBQ Lab of Benson was at the rst Kings of Q and has come back every year since.

“We came all the way from Johnston County, and we travel all over the United States,” said

Stephenson. “We go as far as Kansas City, California, Florida, and coming here it’s like in our backyard.”

Matt Griner of Southern Q said his crew comes to Ayden o

Brian Corbett of Smokin’ Skullies checks the temperature of his barbecued ribs. His team took ninth place overall in the competition.

the road in Middlesex, so it’s somewhat of a local contest for us,” said Griner. “We’ve enjoyed this contest since 2016, and it’s one of our favorites.”

Shannon Turner with Muttley Crew BBQ from Apex said her team also is a regular.

“It’s one of the best barbecue festival contests on the East Coast,” she said. “I love to come here and see my BBQ family.

e people here are so nice, and it’s a great festival, the music and everything,” said Turner.

Turner said being a female pitmaster is rare. “And there are a few of us out here that are really good. However, it’s mainly a male-dominated sport … But currently we are the top female pitmaster team at KCBS, so that’s pretty awesome, and hopefully we can keep it up for the rest of the year.”

Guests at the festival were invited to tour the barbecue village, centered near Ayden Christian Church. Teams could sell sauces, rubs, swag and gear, but the food went to the judges — although teams were invited to cook Boston butts provided by organizers for the public

to sample and vote on for the People’s Choice Award.

e event featured amusements, vendors, a beer garden and barbecue for sale from Sam Jones, Pete Jones’ grandson and a pitmaster in his own right. Festivalgoers also were encouraged to check out Bum’s, Skylight and other local eateries in the downtown area.

Assistant Town Manager Stephen Smith said organizers worked on the festival for nine months, minding details that ranged from ensuring cooking sites were in order to booking entertainment and vendors.

“Tonight, we’ve got the Highway Ramblers on stage and tomorrow night Johnny White and e Elite Band will be on the main stage at 7:30 and we’re really excited to have them here with us,” Smith said as the festival was kicking o . e popular Hog Hollering contest Saturday a ernoon was joined by new activities on Saturday morning, including a 5K “Hog Jog” and the Pig Jib Barbecue Smash, which required contestants to race in in atable pig suits.

“But there’s a catch,” said Smith, “because in part of that race, you

must run to a certain location and eat a barbecue sandwich, and then run back. So it should be interesting. It’s the rst time we’re trying it, and I can’t wait to see how that turns out.”

With all the work that goes into executing a successful festival, Smith said the town could not have held the event without volunteers dedicated to boosting the town.

Booster Georgia Childs, who devotes her spare time to supporting all of Ayden’s community events, even suited up for the Pig Jib. She said it was super fun and hilarious running around in an in atable pig suit.

Festivalgoers from all over the county and the state came out to enjoy the festivities.

Michael McNair, girlfriend Janice Oliver and mother Annie Graham came from Raleigh. McNair said that he and Oliver decided to take his mom out on a day trip a er they saw an internet advertisement.

Kimson Hoang and Denise Rohlik came in from Greenville. Hoang said that the food was great they were enjoying themselves. Rohlik agreed.

“I’m having a great time. It’s beautiful weather and a nice atmosphere,” said Rholik.

Smith said the town will continue to grow the festival to honor Ayden’s legacy of barbecue — which it traces back to Skilton Dennis, a forebearer of both the Dennis and Jones families.

Skilton Dennis is said to have originated the nation’s rst commercial barbecue business, selling pit-cooked hog meat and cornbread out of a wagon in Otter Town, present-day Ayden, in 1830.

“You know it started here, it continues here,” Smith said, “but for me, the biggest part of these festivals is just getting people into the downtown area and having that sense of community, because that’s what Ayden is known for.”

Assistant Town Manager Stephen Smith said organizers worked on the festival nine months and could not have done it without help from volunteer like Gwendy Yinitsky, Georgia Childs and Sarah Connor, from le . Photo by Beyonca Mewborn

Trophies recognized Kings of Q cook-off teams that placed in four categories. Scores were combined to decide the champion.

It was the first trip to Ayden for Tom Roy of TNT Explosive BBQ of Waldorf, Maryland. “I will tell you we will be back!”

Kansas City Barbecue Society judge Mark Gantt checks in on Matt Griner of Southern Q out of Middlesex, regulars at Kings of Q. Griner says his crew loves eating at Bum’s and Skylight.

Shannon Turner of Muttley Crew BBQ of Apex is one of a few women pitmasters on the Kansas City Barbecue Society circuit. She said Ayden’s event is one of the best. Photo by Beyonca Mewborn

Community of ’Que

Panelists agree: Barbecue is the universal food

By Beyonca Mewborn

Apanel of experts waxing about the history and social signi cance of barbecue during Ayden’s Kings of Q Festival agreed a common theme that has permeated “everyman’s food” for centuries is community.

Retired UNC-CH professor John Shelton Reed, an author and editor and cofounder of the Center for the Study of the American South, was joined by local pitmaster and now-author Sam Jones and Garner pitmaster and author Matt Register on May 19 at the Ayden Community Center on Second Street for the panel discussion and book-signing event, “Building Community rough ’Que.”

An intimate crowd of 30 people attended the event moderated by N.C. State University sociology professor Sarah Bowen — author of “Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’t Solve Our Problems and What We Can Do About It” — where the three men shared their knowledge of barbecue, history, culture and traditions.

Reed said that barbecue since its earliest days in North America, once it arrived from the Caribbean, has been about community.

Barbecued meat brought people together to eat throughout the South.

“

at’s how you ate barbecue in those days because you cooked a lot of meat and you didn’t have refrigeration so you had to gather a lot of people together to eat it,” said Reed. ey barbecued everything everywhere, it wasn’t just pigs. We barbecued turtles in Maryland, squirrels everywhere, possums, or whatever they happened to have at hand.”

He said that people would hold barbecues to celebrate occasions like sending people o to war, welcoming them back from war, church homecomings and building a new railroad. Communities o en would have monthly barbecues just to get people together to dance and drink and gamble.

“George Washington won eight shillings playing cards at a barbecue in Alexandria in

1769,” said Reed.

Reed said that when news of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, reached New Bern, a Spanish army o cer in the area wrote to his family in Spain. e letter described a barbecue and a barrel of rum from which the leading citizens of the region ate and drank with “the meanest and lowest kinds of people, holding hands, and drinking from the same cup.”

Reed said a major exception was enslaved Africans, who were mostly doing the cooking, but even that barrier eventually was breached. He described a movement in Alabama in the early 19th century to put an end to barbecues because it was thought “that even slavery forgets its chains at barbecues.” Fortunately, the movement failed, Reed said.

Sam Jones said that prices change, buildings change, and even the manner in which barbecue is consumed may have changed, but it has been and still is a food that bridges the class gap.

He said barbecue went through a renaissance when Southern food became trendy and started showing up on ne dining tables and nice restaurants prepared by chef-driven kitchens. He said those businesses served ’que at price points that excluded certain demographics.

Jones said he has been all over the country to participate in panel discussions and would always end up on a panel where

Retired UNC-CH professor John Shelton Reed, le , an author and editor and cofounder of the Center for the Study of the American South, was joined by local pitmaster and now-author Sam Jones, right, and Garner pitmaster and author Matt Register for the panel discussion and book-signing event, “Building Community Through Que,” part of Ayden’s Kings of Q festival. Photos by Beyonca Mewborn

he had to take a stand against specialty restaurants who were trying to “fru fru barbecue up.”

“So I would go ahead and draw the heat on myself in that panel discussion because, without fail, I was going to be on a panel with somebody that would say, ‘I raised this pig from birth, I named him George and fed him with a bottle,’ and they minimize the part of having to charge 350 percent more for that product,” said Jones. “And barbecue was brought to the table by poor people, it was poor man’s food because it was an economical way at the time to feed a large number of people.”

Jones comes from barbecue royalty. His grandfather, Pete Jones, founded Ayden’s legendary Skylight Inn in the summer of 1947. Sam Jones partnered with former Skylight Inn employee and longtime friend Michael Letchworth to open Sam Jones Barbecue in Winterville in 2015; they opened their second location in downtown Raleigh in 2021. His book, “Whole Hog BBQ: e Gospel of Carolina BBQ,” was published in 2019.

Jones said that the bottom line at places like his family’s Skylight Inn has always been cooking whole hog and that adapting to the ne-dining model would take a $5 sand-

wich up to $15 or $17, and he’s not on board for that.

“On a given day there’d be a sanitation worker and a vascular surgeon standing beside each other in line, and if we were busy enough, they would break bread on the same table, and not a lot of food does that,” said Jones. “Why are you going to price the very demographic of people that brought that food to the table ever so many years ago out of the cuisine?”

Register agreed.

“Barbecue is everyman’s food,” he said. “I think that’s universal no matter where you go. … e town of Ayden is like a metropolis compared to Garland, and just today you look there’s a Tesla, Porsche and an old beat-up pickup truck outside the restaurant because everybody eats barbecue.”

at’s the unique thing about barbecue, said Register, who runs Southern Smoke in Garland and whose cookbook, “Southern Smoke: Barbecue Traditions and Treasured Recipes Reimagined for Today,” was published in 2019.

“A  ne dining steak restaurant opens that everybody can’t a ord to eat at, but everybody can come to Garland and eat a ve- or six-dollar barbecue sandwich.

“I think that’s why barbecue is so important, especially to eastern North Carolina, because a lot of towns like Garland and Ayden probably are the same way,” said Register. “As a lot of people grow up here and they leave, they never come

back, and barbecues are that identi able thing that a lot of small towns, families, and areas in eastern North Carolina hang our hats on. So I think that is one of the biggest things why it’s so important to community.”

Jones said he sometimes has to take a stand against those who want to charge too much for a “fru fru” barbecue sandwich.

Register, who runs Southern Smoke in Garland, said barbecue is and “everyman’s food” that helped tie communities together.

ONLINE

» The festival website, aydencollardfestival.com, has more information about the schedule and activities as well as application forms to be a sponsor, to be a vendor and to participate in the parade. The website also has full details and entry forms to participate in the annual indoor art show, set for Sept. 5-10 at the Ayden Community Building on 548 Second St. Sixteen people are selected for the eating contest on the morning of the competition, so show up early. Email info@aydencollardfestival.com for more information and to volunteer.

Organizers cooking up fun for Collard Festival

By Beyonca Mewborn

While Ayden’s Kings of Q festival is proving itself as a growing tribute to the town’s main dish, its venerable celebration of the leafy green side is laying the groundwork for its golden anniversary.

Organizers of e Ayden Collard Festival will be trying out some new features for the 49th annual event Sept. 7-9 as part of the build-up for the 50th in 2024, said Jessica Edwards, secretary of the Ayden Collard Festival Committee.

New in September will be the troupe from Imagine Circus, a Raleigh-based production company that will provide unique entertainment including circus performers, magicians, stage acts, kids activities and more, Edwards said.

“We’re trying Imagine Circus, which o ers a variety of awesome entertainment, we’re getting some new talent like the Mikele Buck Band, and we are gearing up to make it the best festival we’ve had, and preparing for the 50th next year,” Edwards said.

e Collard Festival is a big sister to the Kings of Q, a celebration of Ayden barbecue legends including the late Latham “Bum” Dennis. Dennis’ restaurant, Bum’s, also is known for its collards. Bum’s provides gallons of the hearty greens for the Collard Festival’s signature eating contest.

Organizers said the contest will continue to be a festival mainstay along with its parade,

Contestants prepare to chow down prior to the start of the Ayden Collard Festival’s annual collard-eating contest in 2016. File photo

art show and the Miss Ayden pageant, and acts lined up for the main stage are sure to entertain.

In addition to Imagine Circus, entertainment will be expanded back to ursday for Downtown Night with My Medicine on the West Avenue Stage along with amusements and rides. Local businesses will be involved to highlight what’s happening in downtown Ayden.

e popular band, Fantasy, will return on Friday a er missing the last festival. “ ey are a well-loved band that the community really gets down with,” Edwards said.

Saturday’s headliner is local favorite Mikele Buck, “who is a little bit younger and more country, so we get kind of that like the local feel, but he’s kind of big deal because he was on e Voice in 2016,” said Edwards.

Parade and pageantry

Stacy Gaskins is on the board of directors and the parade subcommittee. “I’ve been doing the parade myself for about 20 years, and we get started o taking applications in June. We encourage all of

the marching bands in Pitt County and surrounding counties to come and join us, and we give a small donation to all of the marching bands and ROTC units that participate in our parade,” said Gaskins.

Ayden-Gri on, D.H. Conley and South Central have been regular participants, but Gaskins’ goal is to land all six Pitt County high school marching units.

e parade normally has 100 to 125 entries, including 15-20 Shrine units, and organizers are trying to build on that for years 49 and 50. She said the Shriners add a little bit of zest to the parade.

“Any nonpro t organizations, civic organizations, churches, all of the athletic teams at all of the schools, whether it’s the middle schools or high school, we’d like to encourage anyone that would like to participate in the parade,” said Gaskins.

Meghan ompson is the chairperson for the Miss Ayden Pageant, and she said 13 girls attended interest meetings, so she’s hoping for a large eld to compete to be Miss Ayden.

“

e Miss Ayden Pageant will return

Aug. 19, so a new Miss Ayden will be crowned, and you can expect to see her in the parade, as well as participating in community events,” said ompson.

Community support

Edwards said the committee relies on community sponsorships to fund the festival and asked for more support.

“We love our sponsors,” she said. “We have our applications already on our website aydencollardfestival.com. We will have volunteer applications up as well, so people will be able to put their name and time slots in because we need help from the community.”

e whole purpose of the Collard Festival is to bring the community together, Edwards said. It o en brings back former residents for a homecoming, but it is for everyone to come out and enjoy Ayden whether they are visitors or folks who were born and raised in the town.

“So come home, visit for the weekend, come and grab you some collards on stage, see your family and friends, and have a good time,” said Edwards.

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Last of his kind

Larry Dennis the end of a barbecue legacy at Bum’s

By Pat Gruner

Larry Dennis adds a log to his cooker on a rainy day in Ayden, having just removed a batch of chicken. He’s on his way to smoke a whole hog that will feed hungry customers at Bum’s Restaurant and Catering on ird Street.

It’s a practice he has undertaken for decades, one that he did the day prior and will do every day a er. e pitmaster said the logs are an 80-20 mix of oak to pecan, received from the community the Dennis family has helped put on the map.

e smell, he is informed, is

Larry Dennis stands at the counter of Bum’s Restaurant where he’s spent his life. His father, Latham “Bum” Dennis, started the eatery. When his mother, Shirley, brought Larry home from giving birth, “I went under the counter,” he said. Photos by Pat Gruner

Bum’s is a fixture on Third Street across from the town hall in downtown Ayden. File photo

heavenly.

“ at is heaven,” Dennis says earnestly as he leaves the smokehouse, through the rain and back into the main space at Bum’s.

e restaurant is home to Dennis, who has been its manager, pitmaster and keeper of a nearly 200-year barbecue legacy since July of 2008. e restaurant was opened in 1963 by his father, the late Latham “Bum” Dennis, who died Dec. 9.

Fi een years ago, when Bum’s wife, Shirley Dennis, su ered a brain aneurysm, he decided it was time to retire and tend to her recovery. It was a di cult time for Larry Dennis, but not just because of the workload that comes with running a popular restaurant. His customers and co-workers are his friends, he said, and probably the most special part of his job.

“My parents were my friends too,” he said. “It was a really bad time. Several years there it was really bad, because I couldn’t call them and ask them stu because I didn’t want to bother them.

“ ey weren’t here for me to laugh and joke with, eat with.”

At the time of his mother’s recovery around 2018, signs began to show about Bum Dennis’ own condition.

“We could tell something was up,” Larry Dennis said.

It was Alzheimer’s, and Bum Dennis would live with the disease for the next ve years. Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia, impacts thinking and memory.

On the December morning of Bum Dennis’ death, though, his son said there was clarity.

“It was about 8:30 ... on a Friday morning, he woke up, acknowledged all his family was there,” Larry Dennis recalled.

“Except me, I was here working, which was where I was supposed to be also,” he continued. “He went back to sleep and that was it. He died a few moments later.”

A life of barbecue is the only one Larry Dennis said he can really remember wanting. His presence at his father’s restaurant

started early. Very early.

“When my mama brought me home I went under the counter,” he said. “I’ve always been here more than I’ve been anywhere else.

“I’ve never considered any other livelihood, really.”

at might be chalked up to barbecue being in the Dennis’ blood, going back to Skilton Dennis who is credited with running the rst commercial barbecue business in the United States in Ayden in 1830. Even before that, he’s sure, Dennises were cooking hogs over open ames.

“ ere’s been a Dennis cooking barbecue in this area since the beginning of time probably. It goes forever. ey start with Skilton Dennis, you know, but how did his daddy do it? ere weren’t nothing else to cook with but wood, and there were hogs here,” Larry said.

But, at least at Bum’s, that legacy will stop with Larry Dennis.

“I basically go all day every day and get

Dennis works in the smokehouse behind Bum’s every day but Sunday. “There’s been a Dennis cooking barbecue in this area since the beginning of time probably. It goes on forever.”

up in the night and re the pigs,” he said. “Nobody knows how to cook, take up, chop up or anything like that, the barbecue. Nobody knows nothing about that but me. ere’s other aspects of running this restaurant that nobody else knows how to do. If I had to take a day o , we’d most likely have to close.

“Without nobody that’s been here their whole life to back me up, we really don’t have anybody to take my place. is is it. is is the end of the line.”

Does that nearly two-century-old legacy, as “cool as it is to talk about,” cross his mind a lot?

“No, not really,” he said. e present is a far more important period for Larry. A couple bad plates of barbecue could do a lot more to harm that legacy than anything.

“If I were to slobber on my job for a month, that would be

the end,” Larry said. “When people come in here and eat they’re not judging me on what

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“It’s something I ain’t good at,” he said. “When me and those teams get together and they go in my smokehouse, which is state of the art as far as wood cooking goes, we can see similarities that we developed separately but kind of at the same time.

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“Even though we became untied and started cooking di erent things di erent ways ... we kind of fray back together a little bit.”

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The desserts are phenomenal and absolutely delicious.”

“You ain’t gonna mess up on somebody’s food many times.” at didn’t seem to be an issue for customers, who were complimentary of the restaurant’s patented collard greens and other dishes, or for sta like eresa Dennis, Larry’s wife, who said she is partial to the smothered pork chop. And it does not appear that Larry Dennis will lose his afnity for those dishes or others any time soon. On the day he was interviewed, just ahead of Ayden’s Kings of Q Cook-o and Festival, he discussed just how intricate the cra of cooking over an open ame can be.

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The desserts are phenomenal and delicious.”

“I really, really love this type of contest,” he said. “ is is like if you lived in a big neighborhood and everybody was real into cooking on the grill.”

In a small town like Ayden, nding those kinds of connections can be important. Dennis is glad he has the restaurant to bring people together, and though he doesn’t believe he has “anything” to compare it to, it’s important.

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It’s a di erent animal than his style of whole hog cooking in a smokehouse, he said, but the custom-built cookers and style of competitors in what he

“This place is a little slice of perfect middle of Ayden!”

“I would imagine that this is the way all small-town restaurants are that serve breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Dennis said. “ ey all, I’m sure, have a real close connection with their customers and they’re, really, densely intertwined.”

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Bum Dennis opened his restaurant in 1963 and it grew into a center of community in downtown Ayden. It had to shut its doors during the pandemic but even then served take-out and drive-through. Photo by Deborah Griffin

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Father, son mark 20 years of guiding clients through life’s journey

By Donna Marie Williams

Ayden’s Tommy Pate never imagined his son, George, would join him in the family business when he started the Journeys Group, yet today the two work side by side helping people navigate their nancial journeys together.

e father-son duo with a folksy approach and a popular radio show are now marking the 20th year of their home-grown rm and building it into a compa ny they say will guide their clients through a lifetime.

“It’s a journey that we get to go on,” Tommy said. “If you look at the logo, it’s either depicting a sun coming up or going down depending on where you are in life. is is a journey that people allow us to take with them.”

Tommy started the business in 2003 when he and a partner purchased the former Ayden Loan and In surance at 556 St. Located on Street ever since then, George joined the

rm in 2018. ey arrived at the location from di erent paths.

Tommy had been working as a life insurance agent for 19 years. “Life insurance was a good job, but you couldn’t help everybody get straightened out. I told my wife one night that I was really good at making people money, but that didn’t make them happy. She told me to do something that

people that money is a tool that they can use opposed to money using them. … It became more important to talk about their life goals and what they were trying to achieve and making their money t instead of making their life goals t their money.”

It was important to Tommy that his business incorporate a Christian approach as well, he said.

is is a tough business. I believe that if you do the things God wants you to do, you’ll be successful. I wanted the busiect the way I try and live. I felt like that was the right way to run it and wanted to try and honor him with what we do. It didn’t start out as a ministry, but it kinda ended up as that

Business has been great since he started Journeys, he said. “We started at $0 and today we handle close to 100 million dollars. We’re in 17 di erent states,” Tommy said.

“People are always surprised we’re in a little town with close to 5,000 people. People are always surprised you can build a business in a small town. You can, but you just got to work for it.”

Tommy, le , and George Pate are the father-son team behind The Journeys Group. Photo contributed by The Journeys Group

While building the company, Tommy was surprised by his son’s decision to join the business in July 2018.

“I have a degree in biology with a concentration in neuroscience. Before I was doing this, I was working in a research lab in Winston-Salem. I just felt like I was spinning my wheels and not making a di erence or helping anybody,” said George, adding he called his father and inquired about joining the rm.

“He said I want you to know this is not just a port in the storm. is isn’t something you stop in for six months to a year while you try to gure out what you want to do. is is a hard gig and if you’re going to come do it, I want you to be in it for the long haul.”

George remained committed and began learning the ropes from his father.

“It was as much a surprise to

him as to me,” George said. “I had never expressed an interest in the business. It just wasn’t something I wanted to do … But I love it.”

Tommy added, “It’s pretty

much a people business and he’s a people person. He had been here about four months and said this has pretty much nothing to do with money and everything to do with people. I said ‘ at was exactly right.’” eir relationship in the business has brought them even closer together, and both are willing to learn from the other, they said.

“We work very well together. I’m very receptive about what he has to teach me because I don’t know anything compared to his 40 years. But on the other hand he’s incredibly receptive if I have a new idea,” George said.

Tommy added, “He’s much more tech-savvy than I am. It’s kind of like having a good recipe — which would be me — and bringing in some new spices and avors. It makes it better … Sometimes we forget we’re father and son and act just like friends.”

Despite the fun they have, the pair remain committed to their clients, they said.

“One of the most important things to both of us is keeping the core values of how the business is run on a client level. We like the di erent types of inter-

actions we have with people. We want to keep that, but do it in a more e cient way,” George said.

“As we’re growing, we want to make sure we maintain that down-home, personal feel while making sure we can serve people more e ciently.”

e Journeys Group is a holistic rm, o ering services ranging from nancial planning, budgeting, small business assistance, retirement planning, investing and more.

“If it involves money and people we deal with it,” Tommy said, adding they work with clients in all nancial ranges.

“In my 39 years, I’ve never had anybody not retire when they wanted to retire and I’ve never had anybody that had to go back to work a er they retire. We’re conservative with our projections. If the market is doing 8 or 9 percent, we project 6. Typically when people retire with us, they have 25-30 percent more to retire with than what they need,” Tommy said.

“We don’t like to be in this situation where everything has to work perfectly for you to retire because it never works.” ey don’t want clients to be intimidated, George said.

The Pates say they work well together, with dad delivering the proven recipe and son adding some spice in the form of new ideas. Photo contributed by The Journeys Group

OUR STUDENTS ARE CAREGIVERS, DESIGNERS, ENTREPRENEURS AND BUILDERS.

Taking Care of Business, the Pates’ radio show, is one way the team breaks down financial planning for their clients, the Pates said. “We’re very approachable. We’re not ostentatious people,” Tommy said, adding they have been referred to as redneck and folksy financial planners. Photo contributed by The Journeys Group

“We’re here to guide people and help them navigate … Our job is to take them from saying ‘I’ve always wanted to do this’ to ‘I’m going to do this,’” George said.

Tommy added, “People’s fears keep them from living their lives. We teach people how to enjoy life … We teach people that their dreams are not unattainable. You may have to wait for it … but there is absolutely nothing in this world you can’t do if you plan for it.”

e two pride themselves on customer service that is relatable and welcoming to clients.

“We’re very approachable. We’re not ostentatious people,” Tommy said, adding they have been referred to as redneck and folksy nancial planners.

eir radio show and podcast, “Taking Care of Business,” is featured at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays on 103.7 FM and 97.3 FM locally, broadcasts in Raleigh,

and is available on their website, www.thejourneysgroup.com.

Listeners have told them that they have gotten to know the duo because they listened to them on the radio.

“ e whole point of the show is to make this stu approachable,” George said. “It’s designed to take away all the smoke and mirrors and show the man behind the curtain and show normal people, who don’t do this, that this stu really isn’t

that complicated. e industry has fooled people into thinking this stu is complicated but it’s really not. By doing that, we’re approachable, because we are spilling the dirty little secrets.”

e two are growing the business by expanding their radio broadcasts and o ces.

ey recently opened a second location in Edenton.

With his own retirement in mind, Tommy plans to pass the business to George.

“

ere is nobody I want to have it more than him … I have no doubt he will do a good job … He will take it to heights I never thought about. I’ve done the foundational work. He’ll take it and turn my mud hit into a skyscraper,” Tommy said. Even while he’s working with George on the eventual transition, however, he said it will be gradual and always put clients rst.

“ e long-term plan is I will never retire. e long-term goal is for me to work whenever needed, and he takes all the new clients and I take care of all my old clients. I never felt like you can say, ‘OK I’m done. anks for the businesses for 20 to 30 years.’”

e Journeys Group is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through ursday and 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays. For more information call 252-746-6785 or visit www. thejourneysgroup.com.

Jessica Paramore, le , and Makenzie Chandler round out the team at the Journeys Group office at 556 Third St.

Photo by Donna Marie Williams

Photo by Donna Marie Williams

Employee Spotlight: Sarah Radcliff Clerk’s experience, versatility deliver consistency for town

By Donna Marie Williams

Ayden Clerk Sarah Radcli has been a staple of consistency for the town and her experience and versatility have helped it navigate years of sta ng changes.

Radcli joined the town as clerk and executive assistant to the town manager in July 2016. She started the job with varied experience in government.

“When I came here, I had 10 years of local government experience — both in city and county. I had been all over. at helped me a lot with the di erent things I deal with here on a daily basis.”

Radcli assists the town manager in daily operations, prepares the Board of Commissioner’s meeting minutes and agendas and prepares travel arrangements when needed for town sta .

“I am the manager’s assistant — the eyes and ears … I pretty much know everything that is going on,” Radcli said.

She also works with department heads and citizens and works to keep everyone informed by managing the town’s website and Facebook page.

“I’m always learning something new. Being in a relatively small town, as town clerk I have my hands in a lot of di erent

projects. ere are a lot of different things going on,” Radcli said.

“I’m always learning something new and it’s challenging and keeps things interesting. I’m never bored.”

During her time, she has been front row to turnover. She has seen three di erent town managers and interim town managers, four nance directors and changes with the town’s human resource o ce.

“I had to ll in a lot where it was needed. I’m one of the only ones that’s been here any length of time to know what’s going on. It’s been challenging and it’s been challenging for the town,”

Radcli said, adding she feels the town’s new town manager, Scott Howard, will be good for the town.

“Scott started May 5. He’s been wonderful to work with. I think he is going to do a lot of great things for Ayden. I think he is going to be a big asset to the town. All of the managers have been good to work with. at de nitely makes it easier for me.”

A graduate of Washington High School and with associate degrees from Pitt Community College in general education and business administration, Radcli began her career in government with the Pitt

As Ayden’s town clerk and executive assistant to the town manager, Sarah Radcliff is involved with most aspects of the town’s operations. Contributed photo

County Tax O ce before transitioning to the City of Greenville Planning Department. From there, she moved to the Pitt County Clerk’s O ce and served as a deputy clerk. She also received her N.C. Clerks Certi cation during this time.

“I liked that, but there was an opening in nance. I had worked in nance and banking before I started working in government,” Radcli said.

Four years later, Radcli saw that the Town of Ayden was seeking a town clerk and executive assistant and decided to apply for the job.

“With this job, you do all types of things. I don’t do just one thing. I missed my clerk friends and I missed that networking. is job also o ered more of a leadership role than I had in nance,” Radcli said.

Radcli serves as the rst vice president of the North Caroli-

ANDY’ S GRILL

& Recreation

4264 Lee St., Ayden • 252-746-2228

Open

“The Pool Room” a common name heard throughout Ayden, has been in operation in downtown Ayden since the 1940s.

Renamed Andy’s Grill & Recreation in 1971, the Stocks family bought the iconic business and expanded its ser vices from a pool hall to a restaurant that also ser ves breakfast, lunch and dinner. “We were Andy’s way before the chain and outlasted them,” said owner and manager Johnny Stocks, whose father, Andy, bought the business in the early 70s.

Stocks has watched his customers grow up over the years and their families expand. “Being in business 50 years, you develop relationships. Friends and family come to Andy’s when they are in town from D.C. and New York, just like they do at Bum’s and Skylight (Inn). “I have seen generations grow up, like kids who used to come in with their grandparents and now come back with their kids. I love it.”

Radcliff, seated at center, hosted a workshop at the Ayden Renaissance Center for the NC Association Municipal Clerks in the eastern region in April. Currently the association’s statewide vice president, she will be sworn as president in August. She says the group is a great educational and networking resource. Contributed photo

na Association of Municipal Clerks. In August, she will be sworn in as the group’s president.

e association serves as a networking and information hub for clerks across North Carolina’s 100 counties.

“We keep all the clerks in North Carolina informed on all the policies and updates from the (N.C). School of Government. We work with the School of Government and League of Municipalities to make sure clerks are all up to date on policy and proceedings on any new laws that come out,” Radcli said, adding there are additional committees within the association that members can join.

“It’s great for networking. e association is really good for having a clerk you can call … If a new clerk comes in and doesn’t know what to do, we match them with a mentor. We try to do it with someone that is local and in their area. ey talk and work with them to help them get accustomed to the way things are done,” Radcli said.

For three years, Radcli has also served on the town’s Collard Festival Committee as treasurer.

“I joined the committee because the mayor is very active with the Collard Festival … I joined so I would have more knowledge of what is going on, so I could help the mayor,” Radcli said.

“It’s a small committee with great people to work with. I enjoy it.”

Radcli currently holds certi cations as an International Certi ed Municipal Clerk, N.C. Municipal Clerk Certi cation, notary public and is working to earn her Master Municipal Clerk Certi cation the highest certi cation available for clerks.

She hopes to always be an

asset to the town of Ayden and strives to be helpful.

“I hope to continue to grow in my learning and learn more about the town and all the di erent departments,” Radcli said.

“I just want to continue to

be an asset to the manager and department heads in any way I can. I want to be able to help people and help citizens and keep them informed of things going on,” Radcli said. When she’s not working,

traveling, shopping, spending time with her two cats and three dogs, and going to the beach. She is also the proud mother of Emily, a recent graduate of D.H. Conley High School.

Radcli

enjoys

Radcliff, pictured here with Mayor Steve Tripp, U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy, Mayor Pro Tem Ivory Mewborn and Assistant Town Manager Stephen Smith, from le , had 10 years’ of experience in local government when she joined the staff in Ayden. “I had been all over. That helped me a lot with the different things I deal with here.”

Radcliff said Scott Howard, Ayden’s new town manager, has been wonderful to work with and will be a big asset to the town. He’s the third manager since she started in 2016.

Meet in the middle

Ayden Middle School provides extra summer opportunities for students

By Kim Grizzard

The summer break is o en lled with camp for younger children and jobs for older teens. But there is a sometimes a gap for kids in middle school who are too old for one and too young for the other.

Although Marieka Harrison spent her earlier career teaching elementary school before becoming a high school assistant principal, she knew that something needed to be done for kids who were caught in the middle.

“ ere are not a lot of camps for them, or camps they can be involved in are pretty expensive,” she said. “It’s just not a lot to o er.”

Five years ago, when Harrison took the job as principal of Ayden Middle School, she decided to do something about that. So even before the coronavirus pandemic prompted state lawmakers to require schools to o er instruction in the summer, Harrison made a break with tradition and opened her school’s doors during the break.

“I do worry about some of my students when they go home and they’re just kind of sitting around with nothing to engage them at all,” she said. “ is kind of gives them that opportunity.”

Every summer since 2018, Ayden Middle has o ered students a chance to spend time on campus when school is out. What

started as a summer reading program has grown to include other areas of interest, attracting students to come to school when they could stay home.

Media Coordinator Joy Hill wasn’t sure what to expect that rst summer. She wondered if middle schoolers would get their parents to bring them once a week for a program in the media center a er the kids had been in school all year.

“ e rst year I did it, my (own) children were old enough to be here, so I knew I would have three,” she said, laughing. “But it kept growing and growing.”

Some weeks, more than 20 students turned out, and more than 40 took part in at least one session.

Ayden Middle School provides a Summer Reading Camp and other options for students to help keep them engaged when school is out. Photos by Pitt County Schools

“Everybody’s interested,” Hill said. “It was pretty amazing the number of students that have showed up.”

Students who came discovered that Summer Reading Camp covered more than books. Weekly programs, which featured snacks and cra s, were part of annual themes such as “Getting to Know North Carolina” or “A Universe of Stories,” which is about space exploration.

Rising sixth-graders, many of them exploring the school’s media center for the rst time, found that in addition to books, the space serves as a home to two rabbits and hosts several visiting dogs. Hill, who fosters pet for Pitt Friends, brings animals to work with her, giving students a chance to interact with them.

“It wasn’t really like read a book and be quiet,” Ayden Middle student Nick Russell said. “We did fun activities. It wasn’t just book club; it was more than that.”

Like Russell, who attended for the rst time last year, the majority of participants are rising sixth-graders. But the

program is open to all middle schoolers, including those who have nished eighth grade.

Harrison said the program seems to have been especially bene cial for students who have just completed elementary school and are nervous about beginning middle school.

“We deal with a lot of students now that have a lot of anxiety about middle school, period,” she said. “What it does is it kind of eases that because the environments are non-threatening. ey already begin some relationships with some of the teachers and the sta , so when they come back it’s just not as stressful. It also has built some relationships and done some team-building among peers.”

Although the entire Pitt County Schools district implemented a Transition to Middle and High School program last summer to help students get o to a good start, it was the Summer Reading Camp that gave Russell his introduction to middle school.

“( e camp) kind of showed me how I need to be and where I need to go,” said Russell,

who had to miss the transition program because of baseball. “It really helped me out. Some of the stu that I learned from there I still use.”

Like the transitions program, summer enrichment camps are o ered free of charge to students. Over the last few years, the programs have expanded. Teacher Jason Wade led a STEM program in 2019, even converting it to a virtual program in 2020 when students could not be on campus. In 2021, arts and music programming were added.

Harrison said school leaders have found that students who attend summer programming seem to have fewer disciplinary problems than those who do not attend. Based on the success of the program, Ayden Middle decided to keep it going, even though it had to be worked around state-mandated summer school o erings that took up six weeks of the summer of 2021.

“When we had the major shi and summer school was mandated by the state, we still were able to nd space to t in our summer camps,” Harrison said.

“We did music art and STEM. We still did our reading camp.”

Teachers, who are paid a small stipend to participate in the extra summer o erings, have to schedule their programming outside the regular hours for summer instruction.

Why are they willing to spend the extra time at school? Hill said that there is little or no time in the summer school schedule for middle schoolers to visit the school library and check out books that interest them. While the local library has its own summer reading program, much of that is geared toward younger readers.

“Books and reading are my passion, and I want students to do something in addition to playing video games all summer,” Hill said. “I want the want them to open their minds and their brains to be able to problem solve. It helps build the skills through the summer.”

Numerous studies have shown that summer enrichment activities help prevent or lessen summer learning loss that has typically been observed when schools are closed from June until August.

Harrison said Ayden Middle plans to provide additional summer enrichment again this year in reading, music and arts, even though it is already hosting summer school in July and a Transition to Middle School program in August. Only STEM camp is not on the schedule this summer because Wade is traveling with a team of students to a national competition in Louisville, Kentucky.

“I felt like kids needed something outside of the of the academic piece,” Harrison said. “It’s just the opportunity to be creative. I think that’s why this has been something that we’re holding onto. We just felt like this was just important to do to support our students.”

Students have a chance to read with dogs during the camp, one of the ways educators keep students engaged.