Made in the High Country 2022

A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF

AEV

Sexton Farms

Goodnight Bros. Naylor Forge

Goodnight Brothers

A classic in a post-COVID world

When COVID-19 threw the whole world for a loop in 2020, Boonebased Goodnight Brothers Country Ham faced their own set of challenges. With a nearly-constant depleted workforce and continuous changes to operations to re flect the rapidly-developing CDC regulations to fight the virus, Goodnight’s managed to maintain their business. However, this would prove to be no easy task — and one that would ultimately reassure Watauga County that Goodnight’s will con

tinue to be a long-standing tradition long after the effects of COVID-19. Goodnight Brothers holds the title of providing both Bojangles and Hard ee’s restaurants with their country ham — no easy

order to fill when coupled with a lacking workforce and additional retail orders flooding in online. The real work started when PPE to protect against the virus was mandated on top of the already-strict attire and

health regulations within the production plant. Employ ees were growing weary fast of staffing shortages, long hours and the worry for their family and friends.

Created in the High Country, available throughout North Carolina.

Goodnight Brothers products arelocally produced in the High Country,but did you know our various products can be found in retail stores, food service distribution locations and restaurants across the state?

Nothing beats aclassic and our signaturecountry ham is just that! Youcan find avariety of our Dan’I Boone Inn Country Ham locally in Lowes Foods and Harris TeeterofBoone, as well as in numerous Dollar Tree retailers across the state.

Switch things up with our newest product, Goodnight’sDry Cured Hickory Smoked Thick Cut Bacon. This can be found locally at Lowes Foods of Boone as well as through many food service distributors and various restaurants in the state for your enjoyment.

Snack on with Goodnight Brothers Pork Skins, now available in multiple Circle Kconvenience stores throughout Watauga and Avery Counties, as well as in the Triad area! Available in Barbeque, Original, Hot &Spicy,and Sweet Mild BBQ, you’re suretofind aflavor you’ll love!

With so many products available, how could you ever choose just one?

Goodnight Brothers •372 Industrial Park Drive •Boone, NC 28607 800-828-4934 •www.goodnightbrothers.com

“At the beginning of the pandemic, we saw a sharp drop in production, due to obvious staffing shortages,” said VP of Sales and Mar keting Tony Snow. “But as the pandemic progressed, we began facing even more challenges, like the rise in price for packing materials and transportation costs.”

To combat these trials, the Goodnight’s Brothers management team had a two-part approach: changes to what products they offered and ensuring that those who make said prod ucts maintain a paycheck through the duration of the crisis.

“We wanted to be sure to do our part to both pro tect our employees’ health and livelihoods, while also maintaining a sustainable level of production”, said

General Manager and VP, Bill Goodnight. With this thinking in mind, Good night Brothers continued to pay their employees a percentage of their wages when out with COVID-19. In addition to those im plementations, they made changes to their packaging and product offerings to accommodate for the cost of production materials. With such changes, Good night continues to receive a general reaction of accep tance and support from the community. It came as no surprise that those who love the classic country ham would continue to show support for what they love.

“What’s more inspir ing has been seeing our employees’ reactions to facing these challenges as a collective,” said Diana Manitu, head of Human Re sources. “It hasn’t been an easy go for anyone the last few years, but when I see our employees interact with one another, and I’m seeing

these average people like me able to smile through the adversity that I know we have all cried through, it’s humbling. To know I work with everyday superheroes like that.”

In a post-COVID world, the Goodnight Brothers workplace has undergone a number of changes, and they say they don’t have plans to stop, even with the momentum of the pandem ic panic slowing.

“Internal shifts to offer easier product ordering and receiving processes are already under way, along with an array of other exciting changes to better our employees’ workday ex perience,” said Snow, who recently celebrated his 22 years with the company.

“The pandemic has shown us where we can improve, and the better our systems are as a company, the better job we can do providing our employees with not only a job they like, but a career they love.”

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Goodnight Brothers bacon.

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Goodnight Brothers holds the title of providing both Bojangles and Hardees restaurants with their country ham.

AEV providing emergency vehicles in high demand for over 30 years

BY NATHAN HAM

Since 1991, Ameri can Emergency Ve hicles has produced quality emergency vehicles in Ashe County. Like many companies, AEV is continuing to be affected by the disruption in supply chain, but the director of sales Randy Barr says the orders continue to come in and they’ve got a record backlog of units to build.

A go-to brand for man ufacturers such as Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, International, Freight liner and Ram, Barr said the company expected in excess of 1,500 inbound orders between October 2021 and October 2022.

He added that this would be one of the highest in bound order years in their history.

Greg Warmuth, division controller at AEV, said he’s proud of the team they’ve built over the years.

With the continuation of COVID-19 and the added supply chain issues, War muth and his team did not panic or shutdown.

“Our facility is set up to build more than 1,300 vehicles every year. That’s one out of every four ambu lances in the United States, meaning one out of every four ambulances come out of our Ashe County facilities,” said Warmuth. “We also have our vehicles on five continents. The expectations of our vehicles are also very high from our customers. I’ve seen people come in with head lamps and inspection glasses to

make sure they’re perfect.”

Warmuth also touched on the job shortage and how they’ve seen the impact, despite their 400-employee work force.

“We are very fortunate that we have been able to stay open, but we have had openings with no-show applicants,” Warmuth said.

While years of hard work and good products have led AEV to become a leading manufacturer of ambulanc es in the United States, Barr said recent trends in the industry have made AEVbuilt ambulances account for 25% of the ambulances on the road in America.

Last year, AEV made the move into its current facility located at the former Gates Rubber Company building. The company used to oper ate two plants in Jefferson, the REV Remount Center on Gates Road and its head quarters on Don Walters Road. The headquarters has since moved into the former Gates building. The 210,000-square-foot REV Remount Center focuses on remounting vehicles — putting an old “box” onto a new chassis.

The building cost $2 million to renovate and was mostly completed through the work of local contrac tors. A majority of the company’s employees come from Ashe County, with Barr saying the company currently employs approxi mately 400 people.

Another aspect of AEV’s involvement in the com munity is an annual charity program, where employees

can choose to donate any amount of their salary to a large pot, which is then matched by the company. The employees then vote to decide how the money is spread between chosen charities, which are mostly local ones. In 2021, the program led to more than $54,000 being donated to more than a dozen organi zations.

The company is also one of only a few in the state that is certified through the North Carolina Department of Labor’s Star Program. The program is designed to recognize employers and employees who have implemented effective safety and health manage ment systems and maintain injury and illness rates that meet the criteria for participation.

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AEV currently employs approximately 400 workers at their factory in Jefferson.

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AEV-built ambulances account for 25% of the ambulances on the road in the United States.

Old Barn Winery

A welcome addition to the High Country

BY NATHAN HAM

This summer, the Old Barn Winery opened its doors to an eager crowd of residents and visitors alike, adding another must-see stop in the High Country.

Owners Greg and Robin Sexton, who also own and operate Frosty’s Choose & Cut and Sexton Farms,

held a grand opening event on July 4 and have had a steady flow of visitors coming by to sample fine wine.

Visitors at the Old Barn Winery are typically treated to live music and food trucks on the weekends, along with lots of great conversations with friends, family and other visitors that want to enjoy a nice glass of wine. Old Barn Winery offers a wide variety of white wines, red wines and rosé wines.

As the months get closer to Christmas time, you’ll start to see trucks with trees in the back and plenty

of minivans with trees strapped to the top. The Sextons have been growing Christmas trees since 1960 when Byron Sexton planted the first tree seedlings on about 80 acres of land.

Since then, Sexton Farms has expanded to include Frosty’s Choose & Cut on Beaver Creek School Road in West Jefferson where Greg along with his sons Andrew, Matthew and Thomas usher in a fourth generation of family Christ mas tree farmers in the High Country.

Much like every other

Getting an edge on life Naylor Forge

Welcome to Naylor Forge. My name is Ashton Naylor and I am the founder of Naylor Forge, which is a Veteran and family owned and operated business in Watauga County. My passion is for all things forged, especially edged weapons. Naylor Forge is a Service Disabled Veteran owned Blacksmith Shop that specializes in traditionally made and styled cutting tools from high carbon steels to pattern welded Damascus, all made in house at Naylor Forge. All forging, grinding, heat treating, fit, finish and leather work are done in house. Naylor Forge is the sole author of its work. No two items are exactly the same.

Any imperfections in our work are ours alone, which is what makes our product unique.

The Naylor Forge Story

My career in the Army spanned 32 years with 25 years of service in the Special Forces Regiment where I commanded at every level from Detachment Commander up through SF Group Command. I am retired now in the High Country work ing as an artist blacksmith.

My journey as an artist blacksmith began in earnest in the spring of 2002 upon my return from the invasion of Afghanistan. Full time black smithing in begin earnest after many combat deployments and retirement in 2013 from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Now that I am retired from the Army, living and working in the High Country, I still partner with veteran artist blacksmith and

other professional blacksmiths around the country, to use this trade as a means of occupational therapy for Veterans, active or retired. I have not met a blacksmith to date that was not excited and willing to teach me and others who were interested in this art. As long as I am able, I intend to do do the same.

Americans love their knives especially those made by hand for use in combat or for hunting. I have learned that nothing is more satisfying for a serving soldier, veteran or hunter than using a quality hand made knife or any other rugged cutting tool.

The American Soldier is Forged in the warrior tradi tion for combat with the final Heat Treat in the “Crucible of Combat.” Cold Steel & the Edged Weapon is the best illustration for a Warrior. “De Oppresso Liber!”

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The Old Barn Winery is located at 2152 Beaver Creek School Road in West Jefferson.

SEE WINERY

WINERY

Christmas tree farm in the area, the Sextons specialize in Fraser fir trees, a species that is native to the area and excel at growing at higher elevations more than 3,000 feet and up to as high as 6,000 feet. According to the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association, the tree’s resilience, needle retention, form, dark blue-green color, pleasant scent and outstand ing shipping characteristics has led to the Fraser Fir to become one of the most pop ular Christmas tree species in the United States.

Growing Christmas trees isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot more than just putting seeds in the ground and expect

ing a completed product in a short period of time. Producing a Christmas tree is an investment, with the average tree requiring from

7 to 10 years of growth in order to produce a tree that is six to seven feet tall.

For more information and events going on at the Old

Barn Winery, visit oldbarn winery.com/. For more information on Frosty’s Choose & Cut, visit www. gofrostys.com/.

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Greg and Robin Sexton are pictured here with their sons Andrew, Thomas and Matthew.

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Old Barn Winery offers a great selection of white wines, red wines and rose‘ wines.

Winkler Knives

A master of the craft

Winkler Knives has been manufacturing high quality edged tools in Watauga County since 2006. The company’s High Country roots and history date back much farther.

Daniel Winkler is internationally known for his craft. He became a full time knife maker in 1988, achieving the rank of American Bladesmith Society Master Bladesmith in 1991, the same year his partner Karen Pitts Shook joined his knife making venture as a sheath maker. Karen’s and Daniel’s families both settled in the Boone/Blowing Rock area in the mid-1850’s. Now married, the couple make their home just outside Blowing Rock on land that has been in Karen’s family since they first came to the Mountains in 1856.

Winkler’s craft, influenced by edged tools of Frontier America, led to Daniel being commissioned to forge knives and axes for principal characters in the motion picture “Last of the Mohicans” in 1992. The movie spurred international recognition of Winkler’s unique style, also attracting the attention of a member of United States Naval Special Warfare.

Discovering that Daniel made Magua’s tomahawk, the Tier 1 Operator came

to Winkler looking for a specialized combat/breaching axe. The axe Daniel forged for that operator back in 1992 has been on more than 1,500 deployments and was the catalyst for Winkler Knives. That first axe was well received, but did not receive government funding.

Daniel’s initial contact retired from the Navy, but returned to serve his country after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. This time the Patriot joined the U.S. Army Special Operations Force, returning to service with his decade-old Daniel Winkler Axe. The operator’s teammates wanted the axes, so Daniel forged

a total of 17 axes before realizing demand exceeded his capacity. That is when Daniel decided to start a small custom manufacturing operation.

Starting out in half of a warehouse in Boone with a couple of old grinding machines and one part-time employee, Winkler Knives II was born in 2006. The “II”, meaning also, was to differentiate between Winkler’s hand forged blades and the manufactured ones.

Demand for Winkler Knives II products grew steadily, but was catapulted when a team specific knife was mentioned in Mark Owen’s Book, “No Easy Day,” the

firsthand account of the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden.

Shortly thereafter, “II” was dropped from the name and the artistry known as Winkler and Shook originals were no longer made. The popularity of the product line has continued to grow and brand recognition recently became even more prevalent due to the Amazon Prime Video Series “The Terminal List” starring Chris Pratt. The series is based on the best-selling book by retired Navy SEAL Jack Carr. Carr has written

a total of five best selling books, all of which feature Winkler Knives’ RnD Full Size Axe, which is also prominent in the Prime Video Series.

Today, supported by an international following, Winkler Knives produces an extensive line of axes, knives and pry tools. The company employs 24 full time employees under the leadership of Daniel Winkler and Karen Shook. Still serving the Special Operations Community, Winkler Knives products are also used by law enforcement, first responders and out-

door enthusiasts around the world.

The product line can be seen at www.winklerknives.com and locally at Mast General Stores in Valle Crucis and Boone. Winkler Knives plans to launch a specialty retail store in October 2022 at 520 Church Road in the Foscoe Community. The store will feature Winkler Knives products, apparel, swag and other outdoor gear, as well as a museum chronicling the history of the brand.

Follow Winkler Knives on Facebook and Instagram.

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The Last of the Mohicans featured work by Winkler Knives.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY WINKLER KNIVES The Terminal List featured work done by Winkler Knives.