gaston
Volume 1 / Issue 5
magazine
the heat is on
exclusive
Giving Back to Where It All Started More Than Just A Magazine
September / October 2016
gastonelite.com
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gaston
Volume 1 / Issue 5
magazine
The Heat Is On... See the exclusive interview by ARA Marketing Solutions, LLC
the heat is on
exclusive
Giving Back to Where It All Started More Than Just A Magazine
September / October 2016
gastonelite.com
Hassan Whiteside
4
Publisher’s Page
12
Second Wind
16
What’s Happening: Protection for the Protectors
18
CAM’s Corner
20
Healthy Living
22 Weekend Explorer:
The Greenway Gotha Style
Where did summer go? It’s back-to-school, football season, cooler weather and the scent of pumpkin spice throughout our homes! This season is the favorite of many of our readers. We at Gaston Elite are humbled that we were selected for an exclusive story from Debbie and Hassan Whiteside. It was very exciting to have the opportunity to meet Hassan and watch him interact with young kids that play at the center he grew up in playing basketball. The donation he is making back to his community is priceless and life changing in the lives of youth in our area. Enjoy the last of the nice weather and get out and explore our beautiful Greenway. If you have not gone out there in a while, checked it out; it’s a must! Our county has so much to offer and we at Gaston Elite would like to say thank you to our advertisers, readers and local businesses that join together to bring economic and residential growth to the towns that make Gaston County great! We hope you enjoy this edition. Please let our advertisers know that you saw them in Gaston Elite. Like and share our links on FB; and we appreciate any feedback and ideas.
Respectfully,
Pam L. Goode Pam L. Goode, Owner ARA Marketing Solutions, LLC 704.490.3804 Pam@aramarketingsolutions.com
Jose D. Martinez Jr. Cell: 704.245.8131
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Giving Back to Where It All Started... Article By:
Pam L. Goode
ARA Marketing Solutions, LLC.
“A lot of people have read my story, few have witnessed it, and only I know how to live it.” – Hassan Whiteside #JustDifferent
One of the most remarkable stories out of Gaston County is that of Hassan Whiteside. Our very own, 7’0” superstar who just signed a 98-million-dollar contract with the Miami Heat, is Gastonia’s claim to fame. This didn’t come easy for this local guy, turned NBA’s highest paid contract. Over time, Hassan has had to overcome obstacles, critics and people who never believed in him. It didn’t matter, though; he has the only fan he needs, his mom. I came to know Debbie over the past few months in an exchange of text messages where I was letting her know I wanted to feature Hassan in the magazine. One day, out of the blue, she called me. We talked for hours and I felt an immediate connection. We connected because we were both passionate about our sons and how we would not let anyone steal their
Hassan Whiteside
Dwayne Beale
Brandon Martinez
dreams. Debbie is a soft spoken, classy lady that has a gift of reading people who are as genuine as she is. I could see very clearly that it was her dedication to her family and her hard work ethic that influenced Hassan to keep his dream alive. She is prepared at any moment to be there for him. The staff at Gaston Elite had the pleasure of meeting Hassan and unanimously agreed that you could see when he looks at her, that he has complete confidence in the fact that she never stopped believing in him. Hassan’s road to stardom didn’t come easy. He overcame many obstacles to reach his ultimate goal. He has proven numerous critics wrong, and his mom never once doubted he had the talent to be where he is today. Debbie did not allow anyone to shut down his dreams. Her faith, combined with surrounding herself with people that have been with her throughout the good times and the bad, have brought Hassan to achieve all of his dreams. He recognized early in life that his mom sacrificed a lot for him and prioritized getting him to where he needed to be. His parents
Ryan Martinez
Bryan Martinez
had separated when Whiteside was a toddler, and he always seemed to be enrolling in, or leaving one school for another. Whiteside had never played organized ball, habitually arriving too early or late to play for his school. His mother, Debbie Whiteside, worked every job she could to provide for him and his six siblings. They stayed nomadic during Hassan’s formative years.
“There was always a reason,” he said. “There was always something.”
Debbie, a single mother who worked four jobs to stitch together a living, chuckles when people tell the remarkable story of Hassan’s rise to NBA stardom. “They don’t know the half of it,” she said while chuckling again and shaking her head. She told me a story about a difficult time financially when Hassan was approaching middle school and she was laid off
from her job. The family lost their home. It was at that moment Hassan promised his mom,
“One day I am going to buy you a house that no one can take from you.”
“ The Professional Touch “
I would say that dream is about to come true for her. Hassan’s story is one that many dream of, but very few can ever achieve. His mom never stopped believing in him. It wasn’t just his physical stature that made her believe he was special; it was the way he would rise up after being knocked down, never more so than in the years after he lost his childhood home, the last anchor of stability in his life. “God has a plan for you,” she’d remind him as he passed through three middle schools and six high schools. During his stay at the last of the high schools, he lived in New Jersey with his father, Hassan Arbubakrr, a former American football defensive end in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League. When Hassan was in elementary school and asked to list his top three “What do you want to be when you grow up” options, his were NBA player, NBA Player, and NBA player. His teachers criticized and ridiculed him. Debbie continually scolded the teachers and expressed the need for teachers to encourage, not tear down young kids dreams. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. Hassan began high school and was faced with being cut from his Forestview High School basketball team by former coach Dan Ghent. “He said I wasn’t tall enough, and that I would never play basketball Hassan Whiteside
as a career,” said Whiteside. Debbie went straight to the coach. “He told me, ‘You can’t buy height, Ms. Whiteside.’ See, Hassan was my height at that time in his life (5 foot 11). I had to go home and tell him it wasn’t anything he did or could do. But that really hurt him, not making that team.” Ghent didn’t want him on the varsity high school team and subsequently never went on to win a state title in school history. Ghent has since been replaced and now coaches the high school golf team, where it is rumored that he has discouraged and lost local talent on that platform as well. Now standing at 7’0”, with a new Miami Heat contract, this local superstar has come back to Gastonia to invest in his community.
“This place is going to look like it should”
Debbie Whiteside
Greg Serpas
Skip Youngblood
said Hassan. “This place” he is referring to, is the Phillips Center located off Hudson Blvd, and the place where he grew up playing basketball. After looking
at many opportunities and options, he chose to give his former gym a facelift, with hopes that local kids in the community can grow up and enjoy the place where it started for him. His mom has spent countless hours organizing and speaking with local officials and contacting people to help make this dream a reality. Debbie chose Royalwood Associates, Inc. to work with getting the center remodeled and is actively working with city officials to get as much renovated at the center as possible. We recently spoke to Greg Serpas of Royalwood. “Royalwood will remove the existing floor, install a new Conner Sports NBA approved maple floor, six new professional grade goals, new cushioned wall pads as well as mechanically refurbish the existing bleachers. We are looking into a new scoreboard as well as shot clocks. This is Hassan’s vision; he will let us know specifically what he wants us to do once he has reviewed all the information,” Stated Greg Serpas of Royalwood Floors based out of Raleigh, NC. Greg was referred to Debbie Whiteside, Hassan’s mother who oversees his foundation and makes day-to-day decisions for this project that is dear to her heart. The Parks and Recreation department has a level of excitement unsurpassed by any other renovation that comes their way. I spoke with Skip Youngblood, Assistant Athletic Director for the Gastonia Parks and Recreation and he said it best. “It is actually quite remarkable what he is proposing to do for the City of Gastonia. Most Parks and Recreation Professionals go their whole careers and don’t get a chance to be a part of something this special. No one ever questions the need for the profession or it’s undeniable role in our society until it’s time for funding it. In this case we are just fortunate that Hassan recognizes the impact the Community Center had in his life and is willing to invest in not just the facility, but in the lives of everyone in the entire community. For me, that just sums up the type of person that he is and the type of upbringing he had. Most of the qualities instilled in him by his mother Debbie are obvious: hard work, dedication, focus and determination. But it’s the ability to be able to remain humble while doing so that sticks out the most. Even to this day when Hassan comes home he always stops by the recreation center and is just ‘one of the guys.’ Not a celebrity, not a role model, not an untouchable megastar on TV, just Hassan, and that
is the most valuable donation he could ever make.” You see, this is not a story about million dollar contracts, celebrity fame and fortune, or stats and stardom. It is about perseverance, reaching back, remembering where you came from and helping others. It’s about a young man that continues to mentor a local teenager that went through some tough times, a young man that was told he would never make it, yet proved the critics wrong. It is about hard work, dedication and a mom that’s always a phone call away. A mom that will go to battle for her son, sacrifice him not living at home his senior year so he could move out of Gaston County athletics and further his exposure. I am convinced that his biggest fan is also his biggest asset, his mom. A mom that is always encouraging, sacrificing and never doubting her child’s ability is something money can’t buy. With age comes maturity and with Hassan’s new contract the sky is the limit for him.
Royalwood
Associates
Contact Greg Serpas for more information. 336-707-9976, greg@royalwood.us Wood Synthetic Rubber
Athletic Weight Rooms Multi-Purpose Commercial Performing Arts Stages Historical/Renovations
www.royalwood.us
919-957-3006
Second Wind
The Cool Breeze of Autumn Breathes New Life Into the Market and Creates a Hot Time to Sell Your Home! Article By:
Sarah Drummond
Carolina Living Real Estate
hough spring tends to get all the publicity, fall is widely recognized in the real estate world as being the second-best time to list and sell your home. A recent article appearing on the personal finance website, www.thebalance.com, entitled “How to Sell a Home in Autumn or Fall” provides an interesting prospective and gives tips on how to maximize the success of an autumn listing. It’s the “75 to 80 days of normalcy,” author Elizabeth Weintraub says, devoid of major schedule interrupters typical of summer such as family vacations and day trips while the kids are still out of school, that offers would-be sellers such an
352 Pamela Street - Gastonia
opportune moment to capture the undivided attention of prospective buyers. This would be before the rush of travel plans and new distractions that the holidays will ultimately bring. In many places, fall foliage will naturally “stage” your home; you can take advantage of this free enhancement to your home’s curb appeal, allowing buyers to view it at its best— during those quickly fleeting weeks when it’s framed by something that looks like a picture from a calendar. Weintraub offers suggestions on how to capitalize on fall’s unique ambiance, through incorporating its characteristic bright colors into your strategy for home staging/décor accents, and also utilizing those irresistible autumn scents—setting out hot apple cider to simmer on your stove or placing cinnamon sticks out on the counter in your kitchen—that will make potential buyers want to linger in your home.
421 Split Oak Trail - Gastonia
708 S Chester Street - Historic District
On the practical side, fall is a good time to be proactive about maintenance issues and demonstrate to buyers that your home is in good condition. Sellers should have their HVAC systems checked and serviced, as the furnace will start to kick on during evening showings, and fireplaces should be cleaned out (and gas ones checked for functionality). Keeping the yard clear of fallen leaves and tree limbs/debris left over from summer storms is a must, and clean windows will show your home in the most favorable light, inside and out. Finally, sellers should be mindful of the fact that the days are getting shorter, and a well-lit home will be like a warm and welcoming oasis in the desert of dusk to weary weekday-night home shoppers. “Pull up the blinds, open the shutters, push back the drapes on every window,” Weintraub says. “Turn on every light in the house, including appliance lights and closet lights.” If you have been considering putting your home on the market but thought that ship had sailed with the end of summer, rest assured that when done correctly, listing in the fall can allow you to achieve results that are just as good, if not even better.
5601 Arrowood Drive - Gastonia
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Saturday, October 22 11am – 6pm The Rotary Pavillion
Everything you want in a Fall Festival! Fun, Food & Great Finds 100+ vendors! antiques collectibles vintage goods shabby chic pottery pumpkins
homemade jams & jellies local wine art & crafts food vendors live antiques auction pottery making demonstrations & more!
PLUS! Live concert with four-time Grammy Award Winner David Holt & Grammy Nominee Master Fiddler Josh Goforth Bring your lawn chairs and plan to stay for the day!
Find the latest info at cityofgastonia.com
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Protection for the Protectors Community Donors Become the Heroes for Local Law Enforcement Article By: Carlos Martinez, M.S.M. ARA Marketing Solutions, LLC
housands of law enforcement professionals in the United States and around the world are working in dangerous environments and they do not have a ballistic vest to protect them from these threats. In an ever-changing environment of increased violence and use of high-powered rifles there has never been a better time to protect the protectors of our communities in Gaston County. Thanks to the donations of some local business owners in our Gaston County area, now, the Belmont, Dallas, and Gaston County Police Departments are well equipped with ultra hard steel body armor systems produced by the local manufacturer Premier Body Armor, which is located in Kings Mountain. President and CEO Andy Warlick, of Parkdale Mills, has made an unprecedented donation to both the Belmont and Gaston County Police Departments to
Louie Dean
Lt. Walls
ensure that these brave men and women are prepared to deal with the dangers of their work and more importantly to ensure that these folks understand that the Gaston County residents care and support their law enforcement officials. Mr. Mick McMahan made a donation of 10 Premier Body Armor vests to the Belmont Police Department. Mr. Louie Dean has also purchased a total of 13 Premier Body Armor vests for the Dallas Police Department. Citizens everywhere are worried about the sanctity of our national security and realize that it starts with protecting those that serve our communities everywhere. The donors say they hope that their gift inspires communities across our nation to do the same for their officers in this time of need. For all of the countless times our Officers have protected us, we now have an opportunity to provide this life saving equipment to help protect them and help watch over them.
Captain Lynch
Frank Stewart
#BlueLivesMatter #NeverCompromise www.PremierBodyArmor.com
Mick McMahan
Pearl Burris
Testimonial
Pam Goode’s ARA Marketing Solutions, LLC and Gaston Elite Magazine are a powerhouse of marketing prowess. Pam exudes a polished, worldly professionalism, yet she manages her clients with a humble, homegrown, “the customer is always right”approach, being extremely respectful of budget and not merely advertising—but advocating for you with a tenacious sincerity. Her team is honest, friendly, and shares the same high standards of customer service. Gaston Elite Magazine gets me tremendous exposure and puts me in front of the valueconscious consumer that is my desired target market; and, in the past 2 months, I have taken 3 new listings that were a direct result of ARA’s marketing efforts on my behalf.
Sgt. Joe Quinn
Wil Neumann
BACK TO SCHOOL BLUES! Article By:
Pam L. Goode ARA Marketing Solutions, LLC.
t’s that time of the year again and my kids are heading back to school. It’s so much fun to sleep late with them, enjoy when their friends are over, and play outside with them. It is sad enough that my mom is at work all day, and now that everyone will be gone. I am sure to miss my kids tremendously. Summers are typically full of fun for everyone in the family – including us fur babies. Does anyone think about what happens to us when kids head back to school and the house is suddenly quiet and lonely? While there is certainly nothing wrong with taking us out for picnics, hikes, swimming, or running,
keep in mind that warm weather can be dangerous. 1. Schedule an appointment with your vet. Our It’s hard for us pets to keep cool when the sun is anxiety might have an underlying medical cause. Vets beating down, and we don’t sweat like people do. may have some additional ideas to help relieve our stress. Here are a few tips to keep our paws cool this summer! With this sudden change in daily routine, we may experience depression or separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is triggered when we become upset because of separation from the people we are attached to. Signs that we might be suffering from separation anxiety include destructive or anxious behaviors like: howling, chewing, pacing, sudden soiling carpets or floors, and attempting to escape from the house or yard.
Here are some things that can help us overcome the “back-to-school blues”
2. Check out some doggie day cares in your area. A day or two of supervised play and exercise may be beneficial to us. I know this is an option my mom has looked into for me.
3. Take us for long, morning walks to allow us plenty
of exercise! I enjoy laps all around the pool in the afternoon when my mom gets home to tire me out.
4. Spend quality time with us when you are at home; include
us in family activities. One of my favorites is watching my favorite player “Cam” during Sunday afternoon football games! I am always assured of how loved I am. Make sure to show your furry friend him they are an important part of your family. My best advice and favorite activity is go outside and blow bubbles! Try this with your baby! Relax and enjoy this time of year before it gets too cold to play outside!
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It’s autumn and pumpkins can be found everywhere! They’re piled high at farm stands and farmers markets. Most will become Jack O’ Lanterns, but pumpkins are not just for carving. They ‘re a very edible winter squash, the most popular member of the squash family. Pumpkins have a rich flavor, they’re highly nutritious, and they have a long storage capability. Pumpkins are a wonderful source of beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body. Just one half cup of cooked pumpkin supplies the daily requirement of Vitamin A with only 38 calories! Pumpkins are also a tasty source of carbohydrates and potassium. Many of us choose to bake with real pumpkin and some of us like the convenience of already prepared canned pumpkin or puree. We at Gaston Elite Magazine selected our favorite Fall pumpkin recipe to share with you!
Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Ingredients -2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened -1/2 cup white sugar -1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract -2 eggs Eggs -1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust -1/2 cup pumpkin puree -1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon -1 pinch ground cloves -1 pinch ground nutmeg -1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
503 Long Ave. Gastonia, NC 28054 GastonPickers01@aol.com Check Us Out on Facebook
Business Hours: Sunday 1pm-6pm Mon.-Thurs. 10am-6pm Fri. & Sat. 10am-8pm
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving. Tip Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist, cook it evenly, and make clean-up easier.
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Article By: Carlos A. Martinez, M.S.M. ARA Marketing Solutions, LLC
s summer comes to a close, the warmer weather, longer days, and time spent outdoors begins to fade. The start of school, work, cooler temps, and shorter days signify the end of summer and, for many, the disappointment and depression can creep in. Saying goodbye to summer—and also the swimming, boating, barbecues, and vacations that tend to dominate the season—might not be easy. However, the last few weeks before fall can be fruitful. It can be a time to hit the reset button; to take stock of your life, set new goals, and get organized for the upcoming season. And there is no better way to enjoy the great “Green Heart of Germany”—and if you took a stroll today at the Greenway you would see outdoors than to visit Gastonia’s Greenway. why. The Greenway has always been a beautiful place to exercise and reconnect with nature. This year Our routines tend to shift with the seasons. For has definitely become special with some new many families, fall is when kids begin a new additions to help increase fitness and well- school year and join extracurricular activities. being for our community. Complete with a new For others, it may be a time to focus on work, Green exercise area. A portion of the Greenway whether it’s at an office or starting new has been renamed the Gotha Greenway since projects around the house. As you set your new Gotha is in the state of Thuringia, Germany. routine, consider your responsibilities, health It is one of the greenest and most beautiful and wellness as well as your favorite leisure natural areas of Germany and is often called the activities.
Get the whole family involved to ensure that everyone is ready and excited for the fall routine.
*5%commission *Professional photography *Home staging *Contracted a Marketing Company to assist me in marketing your home. *Complimentary Home warranty on your home for the listing period! Now is the time to list. Inventory is low and I will help prepare your home to sell, market your home and provide you with a home warranty during your listing period!
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Sarah Drummond C: 704.604.8849 O: 704.594.3014
sarahdrummond.realtor@gmail.com www.gaston
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