Suffolk Living March/April 2022

suffolklivingmag.com

Podcast A GUN SHOP AND GOING GREEN

march/april 2022 • vol. 13, no. 2

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An award-winning senior services: Residential Living Transitional Rehabilitation Memory Support Home Health Assisted Living

757-923-5500 www.lakeprincewoods.org A new name, a new design, a new beginning.

Same great mission.

Downtown Suffolk 102 Western Ave Suffolk, VA 23434 757.539.7695

Harbour View

5837 Harbour View Blvd Suffolk, VA 23435 757.686.3636 www.howell.dental Ralph L. Howell, Jr., DDS I R. Leroy Howell, Sr., DDS C. Danielle Howell, DDS I Melissa L. Campbell, DMD

FEATURE

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Trivelle Gambrell keeps the conversations real during the Wait a Gam Minute podcast.

CONTENTS mar-apr | 2022 11

WHERE AM I? | Think you know Suffolk well? Then see if you can identify this photo.

Advertising rates and information available upon request.

Subscriptions are $20 annually in-state; $25 annually out-of-state; $30 for international subscriptions.

Please make checks payable to Suffolk Publications, LLC P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23439

18 Gun Shop

Richard R. Carroll's Southern Gun Works on South Main Street is a must-see for military history buffs.

ON THE COVER

24 Go Green

Inspired by his daughter, Breon Clemons works to provide healthy produce for schools.

Cover by Jimmy LaRoue

publisher's note mar - apr

2022

Loving spring

EDITORIAL Jen Jaqua Photographer

Jimmy LaRoue Writer Rachel Austin Writer news@suffolklivingmag.com

ADVERTISING

Earl Jones Marketing Consultant Lindsay Richardson Marketing Consultant Dana Snow Marketing Consultant sales@suffolklivingmag.com

PRODUCTION Troy Cooper Designer

ADMINISTRATION Betty J. Ramsey Publisher Hope Rose Production

Spring has sprung in Suffolk and we’re absolutely loving it, even as we acknowledge lingering susceptibility to sudden thermometer dips well into April. Such is spring in Tidewater: If you don’t like the weather today, chances are good you’ll love it tomorrow. Or vice-versa.

Regardless, this season of renewal and rebirth is one of our favorite times of year in Suffolk, who puts on her best face when the flowers begin to bloom. In the slow return to normalcy from two years of COVID-19 disruption, we encourage you to get out and explore our town.

Our “What to Do” list is a great place to check out some options.

Elsewhere in this edition, legendary Tidewater journalists Phyllis Speidell and John H. Sheally II give readers an inside look at Richard R. Carroll’s labor of love, Southern Gun Works on South Main Street. Call it a museum, call it a bookstore or call it what you will, but it’s a fascinating place to spend an afternoon if, like us, you have an interest in military history.

We promise we’re not being profane when we encourage you to check out Trivelle Gambrell’s “Wait a Gam Minute” podcast, streaming from her East Washington Street studio.

“I actually love podcasting,” Gambrell told our Jimmy LaRoue. “I actually love meeting people — the relationships and connections that are built. And the episodes always seem to turn. We could be talking about something, but it always seems to turn into something for somebody else, and just about inspiring people.”

Then there’s LaRoue’s inspiring story of entrepreneur Breon Clemons, who started GoGreen Farms and Greenhouses in 2019 and in just three years now serves farm-to-table food to an astonishing 300,000 students in more than 200 schools across nine divisions, not to mention his other customers, like hospitals, retailers and restaurants.

“Imagine my company being like Sysco, but totally different,” Clemons says. It’s David vs.

Goliath all over again, and David is holding his own, bidding for contracts left and right, often successfully, against mammoth food distributors.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. As always, we are deeply appreciative of our many advertisers and readers, whose support makes our magazine possible.

Betty Ramsey, Publisher

Suffolk Living is published six times per year by Suffolk Publications, LLC. P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23439 www.suffolklivingmag.com • (757) 539-3437

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2022-2023

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what to do Send us your news To submit your calendar or news item, simply email it to: news@suffolklivingmag.com

Walk on the Wild Side Exhibit THROUGH MAY 3

This Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts exhibit depicts the beauty of wildlife throughout the region and the world, including highly collectible decoys, wildlife and waterfowl art, all while showcasing wildlife artists working in woodcarving, paints, sculpture, photography and mixed media. Artists include carvers Jim Gordon, Art Latimer, Mary Linton and Doug Brady, wildlife painter Linda Phillips and wildlife photographer and painter Janet Ogren (pictured above). 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

APRIL 2

APRIL 4 AND 30

Vinyl Radio comes at you with a wash of vocal power and a righteous regard for the great rock-n-roll music of the 1970s at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. These music city pros combine their considerable talents in an experience that captures the essence of an era when guitars, grooves and melodies ruled the airwaves.

Performing the music of The Eagles, America, CSN&Y, Bad Company, Doobie Brothers, Boston, Aerosmith, Styx, Queen, Led Zeppelin and more. 8 p.m.

Cedar Hill Cemetery Stroll departs from the Suffolk Visitor Center Pavilion at 4 p.m. An official Virginia Civil War Trail site, Cedar Hill Cemetery has long been an attraction for history buffs and even walking groups. The Suffolk Division of Tourism offers a guided stroll through the pleasant 32-acre cemetery, rich in history and natural beauty. The 75-minute daytime tour will offer unique insights into Suffolk’s heritage as tour-goers traverse the cedar-lined terrain dotted with timeworn headstones. Reservations are required and

cancellations are expected no less than 48 hours prior to scheduled tour. Call the Suffolk Visitor Center at 757-514-4130 to reserve a spot.

APRIL 9

“Headlines and Footnotes: A Downtown Suffolk Walking Tour” departs from Nansemond Brewing Station, 212 E. Washington St., at 5 p.m. Downtown Suffolk contains a multitude of antique buildings, new businesses, old stories and fresh food. “Headlines and Footnotes” explores the streets of downtown Suffolk’s

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what to do historic district, complete with revived century-old mansions, repurposed schools and warehouses, forgotten architectural gems, and a glimpse into future developments.

APRIL 13, 16 AND 30

Join the Great Dismal Swamp Safari from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tour departs from the Suffolk Visitor Center. The narrated Swamp Safari, one of Suffolk’s most popular attractions, fills up quickly. The three-hour tour is led by a biologist specializing in the unique habitat of the Great Dismal. Learn about the history, lore, vegetation and wildlife with this adventure that includes a brief walk to Lake Drummond. Sunscreen, insect repellent, comfortable clothes and shoes are recommended. A small snack and beverage is provided. This tour is not recommended for very small children. Call the Suffolk Visitor Center at 757-514-4130 for reservations.

Hill Cemetery from 11 a.m.-noon. Suffolk’s citizens, like in most other American localities, have served and sacrificed in the name of freedom. The 60-minute walking tour highlights and honors the graves and memorials of soldiers from Suffolk and old Nansemond County who died in combat during the two World Wars, Korean War and Vietnam War. Advance reservations required. Participants will meet at the porch of the Seaboard Station Railroad Museum.

APRIL 20 AND 23

The Great Dismal Swamp Guided Nature Walk will be from 10-11:30 a.m. Meet at the Washington Ditch Boardwalk parking lot. Enjoy a biologist-led nature walk and learn about the flora, fauna, wildlife and history that abound in the 112,000-acre wilderness. Reservations are required. Call the Suffolk Visitor Center at 757-514-4130 for reservations.

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APRIL 16

Take a Hometown Heroes Tour of Cedar

will be from 3:30-5 p.m., departing from the Seaboard Station Railroad Museum parking lot. This 75-minute walking tour explores the hidden meanings buried in Suffolk’s Historic Cedar Hill Cemetery. The tour will feature Victorian-era symbolism, burial practices, funerary industries and mourning rituals, highlighting how the residents of Suffolk both lived and died in the 19th century. Cedar Hill Cemetery is more than two centuries old, with roots that harken back to the founding of Suffolk.

“Victorian Suffolk: Dying To Be There, A Guided Discovery of Cedar Hill Cemetery”

APRIL 24

Take a kayak excursion of the Great Dismal Swamp's Lake Drummond from 9:15-11:30 a.m. Departs from the Suffolk Visitor Center. Experience the unusual and breathtaking Lake Drummond, a 3,108-acre bowl-shaped lake located near the center of the Great Dismal Swamp.

Guided kayak excursions are facilitated by a water-adventures outfitter with years of experience. All equipment is included with registration fee of $40. Sunscreen,

Experience you can count on. Literally.

Farmers Bank offers the sophistication of a big bank with the heart of a community bank — proving that prompt and courteous service never goes out of style.

Visit our Northern Suffolk location in the Harbour View East Shopping Center.

FARMERS BANK

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1919

farmersbankva.com • 757-242-6111

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what to do insect repellent and comfortable clothing recommended. Participants must be at least 10 years of age or older; anyone 17 and younger must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Bring a snack and bottled water.

Constant’s Wharf, College Court and Suffolk’s historic Lakeside neighborhood.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra

APRIL 30

The Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform from 8-10 p.m. at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. The 18-member ensemble continues to play many of the original Miller arrangements both from the civilian band and the AAFB libraries. Additionally, it also plays some more modern selections arranged and performed in the Miller style and sound. Tickets are available for $32$48 at https://suffolkcenter.org/

APRIL 24

The Chowan University Singers and Men’s Chorus, combined with the Chowan Community Chorus, will present a special concert at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts from 3:30-5:30 p.m. This classical choral concert will feature the Requiem of Gabriel Fauré. Additionally, the Chowan Singers and Men’s Chorus will sing works ranging in style from classical a cappella music to contemporary gospel, including choral standards by Felix Mendelssohn, Thomas Tallis and Alice Parker.

APRIL 30

Historic Suffolk Narrated Bus Tour departs from the Suffolk Visitor Center at 2 p.m.

See Suffolk through the eyes of years gone by. Suffolk’s rich heritage dates back to the

APRIL 30

early 17th century, when Capt. John Smith first encountered the Nansemond Indians on the Nansemond River. Guided by a Suffolk historian, the tour will introduce participants to the people and places that made Suffolk the city it is today. Highlights of this windshield tour include Cedar Hill Cemetery, Riddick’s Folly House Museum,

“Legends of Main Street: A Suffolk Ghost Walk” will depart from 524 N. Main St. at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for seniors 60-plus, military and children 9-12. Follow a costumed guide through the shadows of historic Main Street discovering stories, legends and "unexplained occurrences" by lantern light. Tales of unsolved mysteries and unresolved affairs abound throughout Suffolk's historically hip Ghost Walk.

Reservations required at https://www.visitsuffolkva.com.

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where am I?

I

n each edition the Suffolk Living staff provides a challenge of sorts, testing how much of Suffolk you really know. We photograph some location in Suffolk that is readily accessible and open to the public, and see if you can tell us where it is.

If you know where this photo was taken, submit your answer, along with your name and contact information to news@suffolklivingmag.com. If you’re right, you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card.

So, if you know where this is, let us know. If you’re right, you could be a winner.

Go out and enjoy Suffolk!

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in the news

Marley McClusker of Nansemond River High School and the Governor’s School for the Arts won best in show for her mixed media artwork “Gaia,” above, and “Blossom,” below, as part of the Exhibit of Excellence: Suffolk Student Art 2022.

Works of artistic excellence from city students

Story and photos by Jimmy LaRoue

To peruse the Suffolk Art Gallery’s Exhibit of Excellence from the hands and creative minds of the city’s high school students is to bear witness to their talent and vision on display.

The exhibit, which was on display Feb. 1-25. 25, features 10th-, 11th- and 12thgrade students from King’s Fork, Lakeland and Nansemond River high schools, the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy upper school and the Governor’s School for the Arts. It is presented by the Suffolk Art League in cooperation with the Suffolk Fine Arts Commission.

Norfolk State University fine arts professor Solomon Isekeije, the show’s juror, selected 116 artworks for the exhibit. This year, 104 students entered 186 artworks to be juried.

Due to COVID-19, rather than hold the normal in-person ceremony to kickoff the exhibit and honor award-winners, the Suffolk Art Gallery held a 10-minute virtual ceremony streamed on its YouTube and Facebook pages.

It awarded Marley McClusker of Nansemond River and the Governor’s School best in show honors for her mixed media works, “Gaia” and “Blossom.” Syd Osborne of King’s Fork and the Governor’s School earned first place for his screen prints, “Phobia Inception” and “Burning Touch.” Second place went to Emma Conrod of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy for her Ebony pencil and watercolor “Heart Ache,” while third place went to NSA student Matt Nichols for his clay and underglaze artwork, “The Smelly Snail.”

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Honorable mention awards went to the following:

Lily Taylor Bivins, “Could You Be Loved?”

Mixed Media, NSA Shannon Connor, “Christo Magic” Charcoal, NSA Bianca Frenz, “Fear and Fire” Computer Art, NSA Matt Nichols, “Modern Mona” Mixed Media, NSA Alexandra Stenson, “Matriarch” Computer Art, NSA Juror’s Choice awards went to: Krista Booker, “The Chase” Paper Collage, NSA

❤

Senya James, “I 80’s” Mixed Media, Nansemond River Sean O’Keeffe, “Berry Much So” Photography, NSA Jack Oliver, “Part of the Game” Photography, NSA Faith Page, “Red Clouds” & “Our Song” Acrylics, NSA Nicole Pendleton, “Desolate” Photography, NSA Marlin Price, “Be Smart, Don’t Smoke” Mixed Media, NSA Noelle Ryan, “Clear as Glass” Glass, Enamel Paint, NSA Cliff Thomas, “Stride” Photography, NSA

Top: Syd Osborne of King’s Fork and the Governor’s School earned first place for his screenprints, “Phobia Inception” and “Burning Touch.” Below left: Emma Conrod of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy won second place for her Ebony pencil and watercolor “Heart Ache." Below right: Matt Nichols of NSA won third place for his clay and underglaze artwork, “The Smelly Snail.”

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‘Unapologetic and unfiltered’ Wait a Gam Minute host is as “Good As Me.”

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Story and photos by Jimmy LaRoue

T

he warm and cozy feeling you get when you step inside Trivelle Gambrell’s East Washington Street studio gives way to some heavy air as she and her brother begin to discuss their father on her Wait a Gam Minute podcast.

It didn’t take a “Gam” minute to realize the emotional weight of the discussion, but while it was helpful for her to have it, Gambrell hopes it, and the topics she covers, will be helpful to her listeners, and yes, viewers. Those who tuned in not only heard the emotion behind the discussion, but also saw the tears streaming down her face.

“I actually love podcasting,” Gambrell says. “I actually love

meeting people — the relationships and connections that are built.

And the episodes always seem to turn. We could be talking about something, but it always seems to turn into something for somebody else, and just about inspiring people. I want people to listen to the episodes and learn something and feel inspired because we’re talking about everything, healthy conversation, although we’re unapologetic and unfiltered.”

Her show — she describes it as a talk show, interview-ish type podcast — comes twice a week and can be found on all major podcast platforms and on YouTube, and has been going strong since

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Wait a Gam Minute podcast host Trivelle Gambrell looks to her executive producer, Shante’ “Mz. Gogetta” Hall, not pictured, during a recording of one of the shows. Gambrell describes the podcast, which comes out twice per week, as “unapologetic and unfiltered.”

April 2020. She named the show “Wait a Gam Minute,” not after the expression with a more profane word that rhymes with Gam. Rather, Gam is taken from her last name, Gambrell.

Gam, she notes, is also short for “good as me.”

“We just have conversation through the conversation,” she says.

Gambrell, who also manages a home health care company and is a photographer, describes her initial shows as “garbage,” but with more shows, she’s realized that, “Oh, there’s something here.”

Gambrell finds her guests and her topics organically, occasionally surveying her followers on social media, and then she learns what each guest is comfortable talking about.

She usually books her guests about a month in advance.

“I don’t want somebody to come and they

not be themselves,” Gambrell says.

When she asked her brother to come on the podcast to talk about their father in a recent episode titled “Fatherless,” there was no hesitancy on his part to share. Her father, though, did not want to be on the show.

“He was pretty much forthcoming with it,” Gambrell says of her brother. “And I did reach out to our father as well, and he declined.”

But most people feel comfortable talking with Gambrell, and though she describes herself as an introvert, she is comfortable behind the mic and getting her guests to open up; in other words, as her show description puts it, they “often talk about everything issues with everyday people.”

And reviews from listeners indicate they’re getting the point of the show — “great banter

and a fun listen!,” one review says while another uses fire emojis while saying “this podcast got the sauce.”

“It has evolved a whole lot, actually, from when I first started until now,” Gambrell says.

“It has turned a lot. I’ll be honest, it turned a lot because I was doing it my way, and I had to realize that I had to do it — I had to be in alignment with God. Once I did that, it turned. We’ve interviewed celebrities and everything, and it’s always a yes. Things just seem to keep going and … fall into place.”

She has high hopes for the show’s future.

“I want to see it go to syndicated radio,” Gambrell says, “and just continue to be a positive brand, a household brand, and television, conferences, shows, you name it.”

Just Wait a Gam Minute, and you’ll surely find her.

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Trivelle Gambrell, top right, with her brother Dejuan Gambrell during a recording of her Wait a Gam Minute podcast in her East Washington Street studio, which has room for guests to listen in on the live recording of the show.

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More than a gun shop Story by Phyllis Speidell Photos by John H. Sheally II

W

hen is a gun shop more than a gun shop?

When it is also a micro-museum of military history, housing artifacts and mementoes ranging from the Civil War to the Vietnam conflict. Uniforms, mess kits and other military paraphernalia crowd the shop floor, inviting visitors to look, ask and learn. The display pieces each have their own story — stories that shop owner Richard R. Carroll is happy to share.

Southern Gun Works on South Main Street is also something of a bookstore, with new and vintage books of military history, some autographed, from Colin Powell to Stalin’s Eagles. Hundreds of military art prints by wellknown artists including John Shaw and Mort Kunstler stand in stacks along the walls.

While Carroll, a retired U.S. Marine, is well known as a dealer in contemporary and collectible firearms, his real love lies in history. His obsession with military history springs from his own family story and that of his father and two uncles who served in World War II. His father, Pfc. Richard A. Carrroll, served with the 101st AirBorne and suffered severe wounds on Christmas Day 1944 at Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge. Just 23 and recently married, he was medically discharged in September 1945.

Vintage military uniforms abound at Southern Gun Works on South Main Street.

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Richard C. Carroll, photo at left, loves to talk history with visitors to Southern Gun Works. Below, Salute to the Tuskegee Airmen

by John Shaw is among the featured artwork.

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His older brother, Harry, a waist gunner, survived when his B-27 went down a few miles outside of Rome, Italy, but spent 20 months in Stalag 17B, a German prison camp.

Upon release, he continued to serve in both the Army and the Air Force.

In March 1945, Tom, the youngest brother, had been less than 30 days in a German combat area, when the family learned he was missing in action. Three years later, his remains arrived to be buried in Norfolk.

Pfc. Richard Carroll and his wife divorced when their son, Richard R. Carroll, was very young, and from his 11th birthday, the boy grew up without his father in his life. A desire burned within him, however, to learn more about his father and uncles and their role in the military. That quest, the people it led him to and his own 30-year career in the Marines fueled the younger Carroll’s interest in wider military history. Southern Gun Works reflects the diverse history he has encountered over the years.

Mike Coughlin, who worked in the shop when it was Classic Firearms, stayed to work for Carroll when he bought and renovated the business almost 30 years ago. Today, Coughlin is well versed in not only firearms, but also the military displays lining the front half of the shop.

In recent years, stories with a local connection surfaced about World War II submarine warfare — the threat to the East Coast, including Norfolk, Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks — and the heroism of the Merchant Marine captains and crew, many from Gwynn’s Island and Mathews County, who dodged Nazi U-boats to deliver troops, equipment and supplies to Allied troops in Europe.

Carroll’s own fascination with submarines grew as he met retired U.S. and U-boat submariners and collected their stories and photos as well as memorabilia displayed in the shop. A coffee mug that belonged to Hans Goebler. who served in a U-boat control room, reminds Carroll that when Goebler was captured and sent to work as a prisoner of wra on a Louisiana cotton farm, the elderly farm couple took a liking to him and, according to Goebler, offered to bequeath the farm to him.

Goebler, however, preferred the sea to the farm.

Richard Carroll's love of military history has roots in his own family's war service.

Another U-boat crew member created a large scrap-art model of a U-boat on display in the same case. He later became an ophthalmologist in the United States in the 1950s.

Carroll’s interests go beyond submarines.

One of the John Shaw paintings in the shop illustrates the story of a German ace Luftwaffe pilot, Franz Stigler, and a 21-year old American pilot, Charlie Brown, who met in the skies over Germany in 1943. Brown’s plane, badly damaged in a bombing mission, seemed likely to crash as it flew toward England. The fuselage was so badly ripped apart that Stigler could see wounded crew members aboard.

When Brown refused to surrender, Stigler disregarded protocol and instead of shooting

down the plane, flew next to the B-17 Flying Fortress, escorting it safely out of range, Years later, in the 1980s, a grateful Brown finally tracked down Stigler. The two pilots reunited and became good friends.

Another display pays tribute to Carlos “Gunny” Hathcock, the Arkansas farm boy who became the premier U.S. Marine sniper in Vietnam. Known as Long Tra’ng or White Feather for the feather he kept tucked into his hat, Hathcock had 93 confirmed kills, an enemy bounty on his head and a mission to train other U.S. snipers.

Hathcock semi-recovered from serious burns suffered when rescuing seven fellow Marines from an anti-tank mine explosion in

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Above, vintage photos of respected military leaders line a wall at Southern Gun Works. Below, an example of the military artifacts on display.

1969, but a few years later, multiple sclerosis forced his retirement from the Marines. He settled in Virginia Beach and worked with local law enforcement, training snipers and swat teams until his death in 1999.

Because Hathcock knew both photographer John Sheally and Carroll well, his family donated items displayed in the shop.

Another of Carroll’s acquaintances, Brig. Gen. Charles Edward McGee, an American fighter pilot and one of the last members of the Tuskegee Airmen, passed away in Bethesda, Maryland, in January, but his story lives on in his biography in the collection of military history books in the shop.

Seven years ago, Carroll, home from the shop and relaxing with his wife on their deck, saw a pair of doves flying over. One dove swooped down and landed on Carroll’s head.

“No one will believe this,” Carroll said as his wife shot a photo. The bird flew off but retuned the next day and the next, until one day the dove, badly injured, crash-landed on the deck. The Carrolls rushed the dove, by then named Petey, to the vet, who told them Petey, unable to fly far, could not survive in the wild.

Once recovered, Petey moved in with the Carrolls. He has a large cage, but also has the run, or rather the flight, of the house and still perches on Carroll’s head or shoulder. Maybe Petey is a sign of peace for a man who has spent his life honoring the military.

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through the lens: Gladys Wiggins

G

ladys Wiggins is a Nansemond County native who retired from the federal government in 2015 and now lives on her parents’ farm.

She enjoys participating in Camp Community College Encore program, being involved in activities like roadside trash pickup and health awareness events, and living on her family farm and enjoying and maintaining it, together with her siblings, as fourth-generation descendants. We’re always looking for amateur and professional photographers who want to share their views of Suffolk. If you’d like to have your work considered, send an email and a selection of at least five of your original photos to news@suffolklivingmag.com.

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TOUR SUFFOLK

Book your Suffolk tour today! Groups welcome. Custom tours available.

Discounts available for seniors, military & children under 12.

757.514.4130 | Find Complete Tour Schedule: VisitSuffolkVa.com /visitsuffolkva

Historic Downtown Suffolk Narrated Bus Tour

Legends of Main Street: A Suffolk Ghost Walk

Great Dismal Swamp Safari Narrated Bus Tour

Great Dismal Swamp’s Lake Drummond Guided Kayak Excursion

Guided Kayak Excursions

(Nansemond River; Lone Star Lakes or Bennett’s Creek)

Great Dismal Swamp Guided Nature Stroll or Underground Railroad Pavilion Tour

Headlines and Footnotes: A Downtown Suffolk Walking Tour

Victorian Suffolk: Dying To Be There.

A Guided Discovery of Cedar Hill Cemetery

Cedar Hill Cemetery Guided Stroll or Cedar Hill Cemetery Hometown Heroes Walking Tour

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Business owner makes it easy to GoGreen Story and photos by Jimmy LaRoue

B

reon Clemons started GoGreen Farms and Greenhouses in 2019, and in just three years has expanded his food hub and farm agribusiness from a small, 5,000-square-foot Portsmouth warehouse into a much larger, roughly 70,000-squarefoot one just off of Pruden Boulevard in Suffolk’s Virginia Regional Commerce Park.

His business started out servicing just one school district, and

from there it has built up to the point where it services upwards of 300,000 students across Virginia — more than 200 schools in nine school divisions — now with farm-to-table food. He partners with 20 farms, including his own and provides that food to not only schools, but also hospitals, retailers, restaurants, food banks and partner distributors.

“Imagine my company being like Sysco, but totally different,”

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26 suffolk living Clemons says. “My biggest competitor is Sysco, so I bid against them on contracts all the time.”

Clemons, a Suffolk native and a Nansemond River High School graduate who studied urban agriculture in college, wants to have an impact in his hometown, and beyond.

That’s a big reason why he came back to Suffolk, and he gives a big assist to the city for its help.

“I’m from here (and) I want to impact the whole region, so that’s what we’re doing,” Clemons says. “We’re a nonprofit that owns a for-profit.”

He compares the business model to Amazon, or a hospital that operates as a nonprofit but has subsidiary for-profit companies that allow it to do for-profit things. He saw a need to create more links between small farms and institutions wanting local food.

“We had to do the same thing because we started growing too big, and some of the things started not lining up with the nonprofit mission,” Clemons says. “So we had to transition over.”

His business builds school gardens and community gardens, which he says separates them from a typical food company.

“We’re a food hub,” Clemons says. “So as a food hub, we aggregate for local and regional farmers. That is how I’m able to compete with the likes of U.S. Foods and Sysco because I’m able to have the capacity, first and foremost.

But then, how they can’t compete is I have local, fresh regional food, and my cost is pretty much the same, and that’s how we’re able to compete.”

But he has a personal reason for wanting to grow his business — his daughter.

“That was what made me start, my daughter growing up,” Clemons says. “I’m a fifth-generation farmer, so growing up, all I knew was fresh produce, and that’s all she’s ever known.

I have a nice huge garden at my home. It made me realize, she’s about to be 3 — this is a while ago. She’s about to be 3 at the time, and it’s like, ‘Man, do I want to put her in public schools, but they eat like trash. Then it had me thinking, ‘Maybe I could figure out how to put local produce into school systems.”

Clemons did his research and studied procurement laws, and his business took off from there. He says he took his fresh produce to major school districts, offering a product he

Breon Clemons is a Suffolk native and owner of GoGreen Farms and Greenhouses.

describes as “second to none,” and has grown.

But he said as a small business, he and his employees provide a personal touch to their customers.

“I mean, imagine being able to get collard greens, right, picked on a Saturday, and we pick them up on a Sunday and then they go right to a school system on a Monday,” Clemons says. “Super fresh versus, let’s just say, Sysco might deliver to Walmart, right? Those apples probably took two weeks before they got to Walmart, being through Sysco’s chain, just because of where they’re sourcing them from, the travel time, things like that. And by the time you put it in your mouth, the apple may be two weeks old. You don’t even know it.

The taste, the look, it’s a lot different.”

His new warehouse will store food items briefly before they are sent by truck to clients across the state. And while locally-sourced produce is important to Clemons, he’s branched out.

“My competitors, some people like to call my company a monopoly crusher, because I pretty much expose what these big corporations are doing,” Clemons says. “I’m able to let them know what’s going on, where their products are coming from.”

And, at the same time, be able to provide it for them at a more competitive price.

“I’m all about the volume,” Clemons says.

“I could care less about the price because volume equals to the same thing. I’m all about just trying to service the entire community as a whole, impacting them the right way, not really, more or less, chasing a dollar.”

Among the items going out — fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, packaged snacks and organic produce.

With the goal of directly impacting lives, Clemons and his employees feel empowered as he fosters a family atmosphere among them.

They provide a personal touch with customers as GoGreen aims for a greater impact across the region and state. Their goal is to impact the young. It’s why Clemons has brought his company to schools and school divisions.

“Nine times out of 10, when the kid comes home, they’re going to bring something home and the parents are going to wonder where you’d learn that from,” Clemons says. “That’s going to translate to the next generation.”

His daughter certainly knows where her food comes from — she sees his company’s trucks at her school — and so does Clemons, and that fills him with pride as he says, with a chuckle: “It’s coming straight from her father’s company.”

suffolk living 27

Sister Cities The Sister Cities International’s 33rd annual Young Artists and Authors showcase featured about 150 students who created art with the theme, Generation Rescue: Sustainable Water for All. PHOTOS BY JIMMY LAROUE

suffolk scene

Bruce Spiro, president of Suffolk Sister Cities, left, and MaryAnne Persons, committee assistant chairwoman for the Young Artists and Authors.

Rory Rockwood, a senior at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, earned a Best-in-Show honor for her artwork, “Every Last Drop.”

Kennedy Dryden, a senior at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, earned a Best-in-Show honor for her poem, “Shore Invasion.”

Mayor Mike Duman presented awards to the student artists during the Sister Cities International Young Artists and Authors showcase.

These were among the roughly 150 artworks featured during the Sister Cities International Young Artists and Authors showcase at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.

28 suffolk living

on vacation

Suffolk Living designer Troy Cooper and former Editor Tracy Agnew Cooper visited Charleston, South Carolina, in February. Tracy is pictured with Suffolk Living and one of the horses at Old South Carriage Co., which offers horsedrawn carriage tours throughout the city.

Troy is pictured with Suffolk Living at the fountain in the Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Airport Hotel & Convention Center.

We love to see all of the fun and unique places you go.

If you take Suffolk Living on vacation, be sure to snap a photo with us and send it to news@suffolklivingmag. com.

suffolk living 29

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30 suffolk living

Last edition’s Where Am I? The unusuallooking spire included in our last Where Am I? challenge is on the front of Main Street United Methodist where am I? I Church. Only two people got the correct answer, and Cathie Stewart was one of them. She was randomly chosen to receive a $25 gift card.

Find this month’s challenge on page 11.

suffolklivingmag.com

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suffolk living 11

Road Warriors KEEPING WARM AND CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY

january/february 2019 • vol. 10, no. 1

Chicken Swap FOWL, FESTIVAL AND FUN TIMES AT RESPASS BEACH

Community Garden

september/october 2018 • vol. 9, no. 5

AND VOLUNTEERS THAT LOVE BOOKS may/june 2019 • vol. 10, no. 3

n each edition the Suffolk Living staff provides a challenge of sorts, testing how much of Suffolk you really know. We photograph some location in Suffolk that is readily accessible and open to the public, and see if you can tell us where it is.

If you know where this photo was taken, submit your answer, along with your name and contact information to news@suffolklivingmag.com. If you’re right, you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card.

So, if you know where this is, let us know. If you’re right, you could be a winner.

Go out and enjoy Suffolk!

Read Suffolk Living Magazine ONLINE

issuu.com/suffolk

Correction

Ray Miltier photographed this scene, which he titled “Amtrak Passenger Train Rolling Through Windsor,” in April 2018. The photographer featured in the January/February 2022 edition in the “Through the Lens” feature, Richard Livesay, inadvertently thought the photo was his own and submitted it as part of his photo spread for that feature. Livesay, and Suffolk Living, regret the error.

suffolk living 31

scrapbook

LUMBER: Montgomery Lumber Company was one of the many lumber businesses that came to Suffolk in the late 19th century. As a 1915 publication describes it, “This company has very extensive lumber interests and gives employment to a small army of workmen in their logging camps as well as in their mills.” The company did a brisk shipping business from the wharf in Suffolk.

—COURTESY OF “SUFFOLK IN VINTAGE POSTCARDS” BY SUFFOLK-NANSEMOND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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