AN ANNUAL LOOK AT THE PEOPLE OF WASHINGTON & BEAUFORT COUNTY
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BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL
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GENERATIONS OF
ARTISTS 8 DANCERS 14
EDUCATORS 18 MILITARY & SERVICE 22
MUSICIANS 26 FIREFIGHTERS 32 CULINARY
ARTISTS
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DOCTORS 40
NURSES 42
ATHLETES 44 FARMERS 46 4
Publisher Ashley Vansant Editorial Matt Debnam Vail Stewart Rumley Mitchell Thomas Advertising Director David Singleton Marketing & Sales Cecilia Prokos Amy Whitaker Scott Williamson Distribution Sylvester Rogers Art Direction Elizabeth Reed Contact information Washington Newsmedia LLC. P.O. Box 1788 Washington, NC 27889 Advertising inquiries 252-946-2144 Ext. 221 Subscriptions & change of address 252-946-2144 Profile is published once a year by Washington Newsmedia, LLC. Copyright 2020, Washington Newsmedia, LLC.
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PROFILE GENERATIONS
Take a look around. You may see a familiar face or two. It might be a friend or neighbor; it could be someone you’ve passed in a grocery store aisle or perhaps seen sitting at a table next to you at a local restaurant. They are the people who live and work here in Beaufort County. They are artists and first responders, farmers and nurses, teachers and chefs. They are the very fabric of a community. In this issue of Profile magazine, you’ll find both youth and maturity, those who have found their passion whether through a career or a hobby. There are those just starting out on their paths with all the excitement and promise that youth entails, and there are those whose many years of experience have coalesced all that promise and passion into purpose. There are plans for the future and there are words of wisdom shared — a new generation pictured side by side with those who have already forged their paths. Behind the scenes or in the spotlight, each individual has a story worth sharing, an individual chapter illustrating the motivations and aspirations of some people we know, and others worth knowing. Profile Generation is a celebration of the people, the way of life and the community to be found right here at home, in this generation and those to come.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHLEY VANSANT
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An evolution of style WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
Gunnar Hardt can’t remember exactly when he became interested in art, but by the time he was 6 years old, his parents, Keith and Crystal, had enrolled him in a class with local artist Pat Boyd. “It was long time ago, but I’ve always been drawing, painting, doing something, even pre-school age, where I would always be coloring something just a little bit differently,” Hardt said. “There’s always been the creativity — I guess they just saw that and wanted to do something about it.” Art became a part of his young life, and in high school, he discovered oils, and his paintings took on a vibrant life of their own. By the time he hit his senior year, a oneman show at Contemporary Art Exchange in downtown Washington saw the sale of nearly
every painting in the exhibit. The draw is abstract style that veers toward realism, and always employing an unexpected use of color. “I’ve always been very focused on color, whether it’s manipulating the color or pushing the color,” Hardt said. Today, at 19 years old, Hardt’s day to day is an exploration of color and style. He rarely uses brushes, instead relying on palette knives to create texture and color to create mood. “They’re still very vibrant, but I’m coming back toward realistic. But color has always 8
been one of the big things,” Hardt said. Hardt is currently taking a year off from college to amass an inventory for future shows and exhibits, while also taking on some commissioned work. At this point, his priority is the evolution of his style, rather than sales. “How I paint has changed so much even in the past year,” Hardt said. “I’ve always just wanted to put something out there that’s different, something that no one would expect so much, especially with the color, and change the way people look at things.”
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Career turned hobby — an all-around artistic life WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
Jeffrey Jakub’s first work of art was his own version of “The Greatest Show on Earth” a backyard circus born of innate creativity and a rough New Jersey neighborhood not conducive to outside play. He moved on to coloring, and by high school, he was on his way to a career in art. “In high school, I got interested in art in the last two years because the teacher was challenging me. I said, ‘Why are you so tough on me?’ And he said, ‘Because you’ve got something, but you have to find it.’” He found it in a college, where his professors were not academics, but teaching artists. “They gave us inside, hands-on knowledge of what you were learning and how to apply it, instead of theory, theory, theory,” Jakub said. The college experience segued into a job as art and advertising director of a well-known men’s store, then creative director of an advertising agency that took him all over the U.S. In between were freelancing and teaching. But after he and his wife Rima bought a house in Pamlico Plantation and Jakub had spent a few years commuting from Washington to Atlanta, he decided to make a change in lifestyle and his artistic life. “At that point I turned everything to fine art,” Jakub said. “My hobby now was my career. I call it, ‘Work during the week and on the weekends I’m doing my hobby.’ So I paint every day. It used to be that I would struggle to find something to paint. Now, it’s almost like I have to throw a dart.” Jakub has become known for his lifelike watercolors, some so realistic they pass, at first glance, as photographs. But far more to his work than technical skill — what he paints resonates with people, from a crowded New York City street to field workers picking tobacco. “I try to touch the sense, so you can feel it and you can smell it. Art is not just visual, it’s emotional,” Jakub said.
WORDS OF WISDOM
TRY DIFFERENT THINGS, forge ahead, break new ground. IT’S THE SELF-CONFIDENCE THAT’S THE HARDEST
THING TO HAVE IN ONESELF, AND REALLY, WHEN I TEACH, I PROJECT THAT TO (MY STUDENTS).
YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU’RE DOING. YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE. JUST DO IT. IT MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER.
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Dance — An expression of self WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
When most toddlers are struggling with staying upright, Mackenzie Rouse was dancing. By the time she was 8, she’d joined Centerstage, the competition dance team at Danceworks studio in Washington. While she’s no stranger to big stages and dance competitions — the troupe attends regional and national contests annually — last November, Rouse danced on her biggest stage yet: the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. Rouse won a regional competition scholarship to attend the Macy’s weeklong dance camp, culminating in the parade performance. “The parade itself was amazing. I don’t even know how to describe it. … You felt famous, because everyone looked so happy to see you,” Rouse said. “So many people, walking down the street — it was a parade of glitter and sparkles.” The Macy’s parade may be a highlight of the 18-year-old’s dance career so far, but dance is much more than performance for Rouse: it’s a way to communicate. “I struggle sometimes getting out my emotions. I don’t do good at doing speeches or just talking in an interview, but when I dance, I don’t have to worry about that. It’s just me moving my body, and I’m a lot more confident doing that and expressing myself,” Rouse said. It’s also an expression of mom’s influence: Jane Rouse encouraged both her daughters to be active. “She always wants me and my sister to be physically active. She wants us to do something — it doesn’t matter to what it is — she just wants us to be healthy. She loves watching us do what we love to do,” Rouse said. A dance career may or may not be in Rouse’s future, but she plans to try out for East Carolina University’s dance team in the fall. Ultimately, she wants to share her passion with others. “If I can inspire someone to do what they love to do and find a healthy way to express themselves, even if it’s not dancing, that’s what I want to do,” Rouse said.
IF I CAN
INSPIRE
someone to do what they love
TO DO AND FIND A HEALTHY WAY TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES,
EVEN IF IT’S NOT DANCING,
that’s what I want to do.
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WORDS OF WISDOM
IF YOU HAVE A DREAM like that, or an inclination, go for it.
Don’t just sit there and not do something about it, THERE’S A PLACE FOR YOU
in the dance community.
IF YOU’RE INSPIRED TO DANCE,
go find someone to teach you.
I have an 82-year-old woman in my tap class; she started out holding onto the bar she could barely balance.
Now, a year later, she can do tap dance combinations across the floor without holding the bar.
YOU CAN DO IT. YOUR AGE IS NOT A DETERRENT.
Dancing the night away WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
Gayle Watson came late to the dance — she was in her 20s when she first took ballet. Decades later, she can usually be found doing tap combinations or twirling across the dance floor with fellow ballroom dancer and husband Paul Hager. Watson owns Dance Academy East, where she teaches six tap and ballroom classes a week, private classes and plenty of choreography for wedding dances. It’s a second career of sorts; she’s largely retired from Watson In Homes, the interior design/ reupholstering shop now operated by son Jeremy and daughterin-law Susan. But dance remains in her future indefinitely. “I do it for health reasons, plus, I’m just not the kind of personality, even in my retirement, to sit around and watch TV. It keeps me active and keeps my mind engaged,” Watson said. “It’s been proven that ballroom dancing, and dancing in general, helps prevent mental decline.” Dance, for Watson, has also had an unexpected benefit: at a ballroom dancing event a teacher from Greenville set romance in motion. “She said, ‘You need to come to my class. I have the perfect
partner for you.’ She wasn’t trying to set me up romantically. She was trying to say we were dancing on the same level,” Watson laughed. “But the first dance we did together was to an East Coast swing, and it was a marriage made in heaven.” Today, Hager is president of the local USA Dance chapter and Watson is the hospitality events coordinator. The two host regular dance events at Arts of the Pamlico’s Turnage Theatre. According to Watson, the more dancers, the better — she’d love to see everyone on the dance floor, regardless of experience. “I want to be an inspiration to other people that it’s never too late to dance,” Watson said. “It’s just great to be active. You can still be active and dance on your level, at your age. … If tap dancing, ballroom dancing, any kind of dancing, is on your bucket list, there are people in this area who can help you fill your bucket.” 16
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An adult that loves them THE KIDS ARE WHAT MAKE IT WORTH IT.
You have kids from all sorts of home lives and backgrounds.
Even if I don’t know their home life, I STILL WANT TO BE AN ADULT THAT LOVES THEM.
WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM
One of the freshest faces in John Small Elementary School’s roster of teachers, Olivia Collins has spent the past semester wearing many hats at the school. A fourth-grade teacher, she has helped her students understand math, science and social studies — a little bit of everything. “I’ve always kind of found myself around kids,” Collins explained. “I was a camp counselor in college and in high school I reffed different sports, so I knew I enjoyed kids. But I didn’t know for sure when I went to college.” A visit to the Elementary Education table during her orientation at East Carolina University sold her on pursuing education as a major, and the further she advanced in the program, the more certain she was it was the right choice. After interning at JSS, she was offered a job there after graduating in the spring of 2019. “The kids are what make it worth it,” Collins said. “You have kids from all sorts of home lives and backgrounds. Even if I don’t know their home life, I still want to be an adult that loves them.” For Collins and her fellow teachers, she says there’s a sense of always having to stay on their toes, being prepared for whatever direction a class might go, despite of meticulous planning. “We always have to be prepared to answer any crazy question or be prepared to admit we might not know all the answers,” Collins said. “You never know what’s going to come. I’ll have this great lesson plan and it goes nothing like I plan. You kind of have to be prepared for the unexpected.” In the long run, Collins hopes to one day take on the role of an administrator and a supporter for her fellow educators. “The people at John Small are awesome,” Collins said. “College can only prepare you so much, so having people who have been there many more years is awesome.” 18
WORDS OF WISDOM
REACH OUT FOR HELP.
Reach out to the e x p e r i e n c e d
TEACHERS.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO TALK TO THE OTHER TEACHERS.
Look online for support. Read blogs. Keep learning from other teachers AND LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS.
…
You have to address what’s going on with a student in order for them to learn.
Back to school WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM
After a career spanning from 1982 to 2014, one might think 32 years in the classroom would be enough. Not so for Chris Donahue. After a full career of educating young minds in Florida, she spent three years in the pharmaceutical business when she moved to North Carolina. “I swore I wouldn’t go back,” Donahue said. “In the pharmaceutical factory, I was working in an office, and it was good. But I just missed helping people; feeling like I was doing something worthwhile.” It was a ninth-grade English teacher who sparked Donahue’s desire to teach. Watching that role model explain literature to her students, Donahue decided that she wanted to do the same one day. Upon entering the classroom at age 25, she says her fellow teachers continued to inspire and encourage her all the while. “Students come and go, and administrators come and go,” Donahue said. “But in a school, the backbone is usually the teaching staff. They stay there the longest. The teachers who were five years, 10 years older than me, it was as though they raised (those of) us who came in.” 19
Of all the aspects of teaching, Donahue says the politicization of education over the past 25 years has been the subject of much public discussion, but is sometimes misunderstood. “All states have tests that we teach to and teachers are held to those numbers,” Donahue said. “Teachers’ evaluations, in most states, are tied to the performance of their students. It ties the teachers’ hands as far as what they want to do. The people making these decisions are politicians, not educators.” Even still, she feels as though teaching has given her the chance to reinvent herself over the years to adapt to technology and the changing situations of her students. “The future students will not read the way I read when I was a child,” Donahue said. “This world is evolving so quickly.”
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DID YOU KNOW?
For the Love of Learning Washington Montessori Public Charter School 2330 Old Bath Highway ay Washington, NC 27889 252-946-1977 www.wmpcs.org
Kindergarten through 12th Grade - Public Charter School 21
Tradition of service: the next generation First, it’s to
BETTER MYSELF,
but hopefully
MAKE AN
IMPACT
on the people around me.
WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
Lucas Wood’s path was made clear the day he received his acceptance letter from Virginia Military Institute. “My grandfather was in the Marine Corps, and growing up, I spent a lot time with him,” Wood said. “My plan is to get my degree in economics and business. It used to be that if you went to VMI, you had to join the military after, but that changed. I plan to take a commission into the Marine Corps, either way. I’ll enter the Marine Corps as an officer.” Wood graduates from Washington High School in June and will attend VMI’s summer transition program in July, a short, immersive program designed to help cadets acclimate to the institute and earn credits for a class before the regular year starts.
The decision to attend VMI and join the Marine Corps came naturally for Wood. He comes from a family tradition of service, both in the Boy Scouts and the military, which led him toward his future career. Wood started in Cub Scouts and joined the Boy Scouts in 2014. “My dad and his brother were both Boy Scouts,” Wood said. “A few of my friends that I knew joined and then I like camping and doing stuff in the outdoors. I figured it would be something exciting.” The excitement turned to service when Wood earned his Eagle Scout designation last year. His Eagle Scout project will 22
ultimately benefit military veterans: he built a series of raised vegetable beds in the gardens of Rose Haven, a future group home for female veterans recovering from PTSD and/ or substance abuse. Wood said he sees his future in the military as a way to continue bettering himself. “The Marine Corps is the toughest mentally and physically is what I’ve heard, and I want something that will push me to make me the best that I can be,” Wood said. “First, it’s to better myself, but hopefully make an impact on the people around me. I’m not sure how that’s going to play out.”
A found calling, later in life WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
Chris Stancliff laughs when she says that when she married husband Keith in 1989, she married the Navy. Five years later, he would be the officer swearing her into service. Stancliff’s stint in the Navy arose from her passion for athletics. She’d played sports all her life, but when she found track and field, she found her niche. In junior college, she excelled at high jump, discus, shotput, heptathalon, earning a full scholarship to a four-year college to thrown javelin and shotput. After college, she continued to compete independently and was competing at a meet at the U.S. Naval Academy when she asked the head coach if they had any openings — they did. “I had just turned 30 years old, and they had to get a special chit for me to join the Navy,” Stancliff said. “Essentially, I was Naval Reserve on active duty. I was the assistant track coach for the throws, and I was a physical education instructor for the midshipmen at the naval academy.” Representing the Navy, she competed at the U.S. Olympic trials in 1996, and was named Athlete of the Year for the entire Naval fleet in 1995 and 1997. But it was later, through her work with the Spire Institute, an Olympic training site in Ohio, that she was invited to be a coach for the Air Force’s Wounded Warrior games. “Athletes apply to come in, people who are Purple Hearts, PTSD, disabled, medically retired, medically discharged — all people who are doing these things to get on with their lives, to give them purpose,” Stancliff said. “I just give them another opportunity, another purpose, something different that they probably thought they would have never done or competed in. I make friends with a lot of them, reassure them that there is somebody out there they can rely on if they need it, someone they can call, if they want to work out or just want to talk.” Stancliff coaches at events throughout the year. In January, she coached at a meet in Honolulu, which will be followed by qualifying games in Las Vegas — all leading up to the Marine Corps’ Warrior Games to be held in San Antonio, Texas, in September. Stancliff’s unique trajectory has led to finding her life’s calling later in life. “I’ve always wanted to coach and one way or the other I was going to find a way to do it,” she said. “A lot of coaches helped me. I just wanted to give back.”
WORDS OF WISDOM
The services is to me, the BEST THING I EVER DID. THE HONOR OF BEING ABLE TO SERVE MY COUNTRY
to me has always been something
I WANTED TO DO BUT DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO DO. It was an honor to be a part of the program,
IT GAVE ME PURPOSE,
it gave me stability, I learned to become more organized.
…
Tr y t o s t a y, m a k e a c a r e e r o f i t
STAY IN, BECAUSE THE BENEFITS IN
THE LONG RUN OUTWEIGH WHAT YOU WOULD GET AS A CIVILIAN. 23
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Shining star — three generations share musical connection WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
Cierra Linton comes by talent naturally — it was passed down by both dad, DC, and grandfather, David. “I kind of grew up with my dad being in a band, and always watched him rehearse, talk about playing gigs,” Cierra said. “One day I picked up a mic and started singing and since then we’ve just been that duo that sings around town, in the car, around the house.” The singing started when she was 8 years old; she’s more recently picked up guitar after a knee injury sidelined her from playing softball. “I got this app called Guitar Tabs and just figured out how to play from there. Of course, (Dad’s) helped me along the way,” she said. Though their talent is shared, daughter and Dad’s styles differ. “So, my dad is more of a honky-tonk country guy. He’s the upbeat, get-a-little-rowdy (player), and I’m more into the newer style music. I just feel like as a teenager, I can relate to that more than the older stuff.” Sunday mornings, however, the three generations of Lintons can be found at Edward Christian Church performing for the congregation. The bond it’s forged is not lost on 17-year-old Cierra. “It’s like an experience you can never it get back. It’s something we all share, and we’re all very passionate about, so we connect in different ways than family connects,” Cierra said. “It brings us closer together.” While she and DC do live shows, this year, she’s been in the studio recording the track for “Wild,” to be released in March on Spotify and iTunes — a track featuring musicians from DC’s Nashville days. Across the board, Cierra is appreciative of the support from her family and friends. “They love the fact that I do it; they call me their rock star,” Cierra laughed. A musical career may be in her future, but right now she’s just focusing on playing and giving people a chance to hear some different music, live. “It’s something I love, but it’s not going to break me down if I don’t do anything. It’s a passion that’s always going to be there with me,” she said. 27
Passing the musical torch WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
“I still remember the first song my daddy taught me to play. It was ‘Secret Agent Man,’” DC Linton said. That was when DC was about 9 years old, but according to his father, David, when DC was all of 16 months old, DC made his first solo appearance singing “Jesus Loves Me” in front of the entire church congregation. “He would stand up in his highchair, pretending to play guitar, I just started putting instruments in their hands, him and his brother both,” David Linton said. For DC, music has been a lifelong passion. “Music fixes everything. It’s a band aid. If you feel bad, it’ll make you feel good. If you feel good, it makes you feel better,” DC said.
DC’s first band didn’t have a name; later, his band, Ghost Ryder, opened for several national acts. He spent a lot of time on the road during those years and spent a couple of them in Nashville playing Printer’s Alley and Music Row, following his dream and sharing the stage with household names in country music. But family took precedence. “I had to come home because I couldn’t leave Cierra here. I was flying home once a month. I don’t regret it — not one bit,” DC said. “I was very fortunate.” That music is a family affair and a special one at that is made clear on a weekly basis. 28
“Every Sunday morning, so my dad plays the bass, I play guitar and my daughter plays. The only thing bad is after I sing my song and Cierra sings her song, I don’t want to come behind her,” DC laughed. “Growing up, I took it for granted. Now, when you’re up there looking at it; it’s like this table — it’s just a big old circle.” DC credits Cierra with getting him back into performing live, and his efforts these days are focused on shoring up Cierra’s burgeoning career. “I just enjoy being the backup band for my daughter,” DC said.
Proverbs spurs generations of music WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
WORDS OF WISDOM I really can’t explain the pride — I’m talking about good pride — I can’t explain the pride that it brings to me.
It’s kind of hard to put it in words, but
IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE
I’VE DONE SOMETHING RIGHT.
… I would just tell Cierra to enjoy.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE DESTINATION. It’s about the journey: enjoy the journey. THE DESTINATION WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.
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The Church of God is always about music, David Linton says, then quotes Proverbs: “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” A self-taught guitarist, David said he didn’t do much with music until he “got into church,” then he began playing bass, starting writing music and working with a gospel group. But when DC and Daniel came along, he recognized his boys’ musical ability and did something about it. “I started putting instruments in their hands, DC and his brother, both. … They just flat out passed me. Then, by the time they were about 15, I felt like I didn’t know nothing,” David laughed. “When my boys moved out of the house — most people get empty nest syndrome — I got empty studio syndrome. They took all the guitars, took all the keyboards.” For 30 years, he’s been pastoring; for the past five of them, he’s had the musical assistance of his family — the natural result of nurturing his children’s talent as prescribed by Proverbs. “I saw music, they were so good at music. I would give them whatever instrument it was, we would get it,” David said. “It got in my brain and spirit so strong that I was going to find their bent.” That musical bent is on display Sundays, and Linton believes the ability is growing with each successive generation. “Cierra, right now — good Lord, have mercy — good God, she can sing,” David said. “I call myself a fair musician; I can get by. But DC is a tremendous musician and singer and songwriter. And Cierra? I think she is going to take him.” David said he thanks God he didn’t “blow the opportunity” to nurture God-given talent. “To me, it makes me feel like I read the signals that music was his thing, and I pushed (DC) the right direction,” David said. “I feel like I did my part. I fulfilled my part of Cierra’s dream, because if I hadn’t done this with DC, he might not have done that with Cierra.”
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A sense of brotherhood WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM
Like many young people, Washington firefighter Kasey Woods went through a lot of different career choices before finding a place with the fire service. “You can talk to a lot of guys that are in it who grew up around it, were on volunteer departments — that was their life and they knew off the bat they were going to be a firefighter,” Woods said. “I did not know that.” Growing up as a Boy Scout, Woods had a desire to do something bigger than himself, something more fulfilling than a career of just going to work and making money. It was watching his brother-in-law go through the fire academy in Wayne County that ignited the spark of realization. “I got on with the volunteer department near my house at 18, which is pretty late, and just kind of got the feel for it,” Woods said. “I liked the sense of service.” In both his time at Nahunta Volunteer Fire Department and Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS, Woods says the camaraderie and sense of brotherhood he shares with his fellow first responders is probably the best part of the job. “It’s being so close to the guys you work with,” Woods said. “You are coming to work, but you don’t really think about it like that.” For the average person looking in, Woods says there might be the perception that his job involves a lot of sitting around the firehouse, waiting for calls. Rather, the team at Washington is constantly working on projects or doing training to be ready to answer those calls. “Everyone’s goal within the fire service should be to leave it better than you found it,” Woods said. “That’s kind of the mentality of the fire service — you should be striving to better yourself so you can better your department and better your community as a whole. You should always be striving to learn more.”
EVERYONE’S GOAL within the fire service SHOULD BE TO LEAVE IT BETTER
than you found it. That’s kind of the mentality of the fire service —
you should be striving to
BETTER YOURSELF
so you can better your department
and better your community
AS A WHOLE.
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A heart for service WORDS OF WISDOM
Come see if you like it.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT isn’t for everybody.
I don’t push people. I WANT PEOPLE TO JOIN THE DEPARTMENT.
If you want to come to a few meetings, or shadow what we do, come see what we do.
This type of profession, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A
HEART FOR IT. If your heart is not in it,
YOU’RE NOT GOING TO LAST LONG IN IT.
WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM
For Derrick Myers, the decision to become a firefighter stemmed from his mother’s influence. She was a preacher and taught him to always help others. For the past 24 years, he’s put that lesson into practice as a member of the Pantego and Belhaven Volunteer Fire Departments. “The best part of the job is that we’re not just a fire department,” Myers said. “We’re also part of the community. So it’s always about networking and helping other programs help the public.” From partnering with the American Red Cross to taking presents to kids in the community during Christmas, Myers says that sense of community service helps the department connect with the people it protects. Likewise, the PVFD is also responsible for a major Fourth of July event each year, hosting the annual Pantego Mud Run as a fundraiser for the department. While the flashing lights and community outreach efforts are both highly visibile to the public, there’s a lot more to the job that the average person doesn’t see. “I think when people call 911, they expect a truck and personnel 34
to show up, but they don’t get to see the other side of what it takes to make sure you’re staying up to date with equipment and all the hours of training,” Myers said. In his time with the department, Myers has served in many roles, from engineer and captain to lieutenant and chief, always working to make his department better. He’s also seen the addition of a program that brought first responders into the fold at Pantego Volunteer Fire Department. Today, the program has eight EMTs and medical first responders, making the department a critical part of responding to medical emergencies. “It’s amazing, within 24 years, how much has changed,” Myers said. “When I first joined, it was a lot of firefighting. Now, the majority is assisting EMS and doing that side of it.”
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252 D I G I T A L
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Striving to be the best WRITTEN BY MITCHELL THOMAS
Starting out in a fast food restaurant jump-started the career of Jamie Davis, who is currently the chef at The Hackney in downtown Washington. After being a cook in the Army, Davis said he knew he was pretty good at it, so he continued to pursue it. “I went to culinary school for a year at Virginia University of Savannah, was blessed to work in a very good restaurant there. I had an opportunity to move up to Maryland, so I moved there and kept doing it,” Davis recalled. There are many dishes that Davis can whip up in the kitchen. His tuna and grouper are a big hit, and a white sweet potato bisque with fried oysters, or a smoked trout roll with sweet potato powder make mouths water. “Getting positive feedback,” Davis said is the most rewarding part of his job. “People saying they love it, saying, ‘Thank you for being here.’ That’s what we shoot for. We try to make every meal awesome.” Davis explained it wasn’t always easy to be a cook, and you have to be dedicated to it. “It’s not that easy taking a group of people that have never been exposed to this type of style of cooking, and showing them how to do it. It’s all the mentoring and tutoring and guidance that goes into it,” Davis said. “It can take 15 to 16 hours a day to do everything you need to get done, so it’s just staying dedicated regardless of how hard it is.” There are many different awards for culinary skills. Specifically the James Beard awards is one Davis is aiming for. “I want to be the best chef in North Carolina. As long as we keep doing what we’re doing at The Hackney, we’ll be star studded before too long. We’re doing some really good things there, right now,” Davis said. “The James Beard award is definitely a goal for myself and my colleagues.”
I WANT TO BE THE
BEST CHEF in North Carolina.
As long as we keep doing
what we’re doing at The Hackney, we’ll be
STAR STUDDED before too long. We’re doing some really
good things there, right now.
36
37
Lifelong chef finds joy in the kitchen WRITTEN BY MITCHELL THOMAS
After spending time in kitchens all across the world, Paul St. Cyr landed in Beaufort County after retiring from 40 years of cooking. St. Cyr said cooking was all he’s ever really known, so he stuck with it. “When I was growing up, my mom was a bartender at a seasonal race track in (Maine), and I was the busboy. When the dishwasher didn’t show up, I washed dishes. The cooks seemed to have a better life than a dishwasher, so I moved to prep, then onto the line, and did it all through high school,” St. Cyr said. His favorite part of the job was the traveling. He got to travel the world making different cuisines. “I’m from Maine, went to California,
worked at a five-star resort in Arizona and the Space Needle in Seattle,” St. Cyr said. “I went on to spend some summers at the Biltmore, and the sou-chef there asked me if I wanted to go to Singapore, and I said, ‘Yes.’” He worked at one of the top hotels in the world among 300 other cooks and amassed even more experience. “As an executive chef, there’s more to it than just cooking,” St. Cyr explained. “You’re responsible for everything: writing menus, you train people — you pretty much run the business. You’re a finance
guy, the HR guy, there are budgets to hit and you have to identify problems.” If St. Cyr could go back, he says he would tell himself to be more mature in his time in Singapore. “I’d probably still be there if I was,” St. Cyr said. “It was such an opportunity. PanAsian food came out when I left. At 24 you’re having a ball. … Had I paid a little more attention, I could’ve made a huge career out there.” His advice to young people would be to experience as many culinary opportunities as they can to see if it’s the right fit.
WORDS OF WISDOM
GO WORK
for a fast food operation. They teach you structure, showing up on time, cleanliness
AND HOW TO WORK. If you feel that you
THRIVE,
then food service could be for you.
38
39
Her first choice, always I hope to take care
OF FAMILIES
THROUGH GENERATIONS.
It’s a special kind
OF PRIVILEGE TO TAKE CARE of families, and their
CHILDREN AND THEN THEY BRING YOU THEIR GRANDCHILDREN.
WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM
For Dr. Randa Soukieh, there was never a question of becoming a doctor. As she puts it, it was her “first choice, always.” “I guess I’ve always had an innate attraction to medicine,” Soukieh said. “I’ve always wanted to help people. I think I’ve always wanted to become a doctor ever since kindergarten, and I never wavered from it going through grade school, all the way through high school and into college.” That passion only grew when she was hospitalized at age 16. Seeing the inner workings of the hospital, she was fascinated by the whole process — the roles filled by the doctors, nurses and entire staff. It helped her determine the kind of doctor she wanted to be and how she wanted to
care for people. Soukieh just graduated from her residency in July and began working at Vidant Women’s Care, where she now practices family medicine. In that role, she’s at the front lines of medicine, working to educate patients and offer preventative solutions to ailments. “The best part of the job is the people you work with, the people you’re taking care of and their families,” Soukieh said. “Another beauty of family medicine is you’re taking care of the entire family, generations of people from all walks of life.” 40
While her residency is complete, Soukeih’s education is not. With the field of medicine constantly evolving, she and her fellow doctors must stay up to date and also work to curb misinformation. In doing so, they can ensure the best care for their patients. “I hope to take care of families through generations,” Soukeih said. “It’s a special kind of privilege to take care of families, and their children and then they bring you their grandchildren. That is a very big honor. I would hope to have that continuity of care with my patients as long as possible.”
Identity: family doctor WORDS OF WISDOM
STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF.
I chose family medicine because
I CARE ABOUT PEOPLE and I dislike disease.
I really have an aversion and dislike for abnormal pathology. If I can help fix that, that’s what I’m doing. I would recommend people go into medicine and
LO O K H A R D AT FA M I LY M E D I C I N E ,
because we are in a shortage now of family practitioners. People are living longer and longer and we’re going to need a workforce that’s going to be able to TAKE CARE OF THOSE PEOPLE AS THEY GET INTO
THEIR 80s, 90s AND EVEN 100s.
WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM
When he first came to Beaufort County, Dr. David Lewis says he can remember doctors smoking cigarettes in the ICU. Now, 26 years later, that has changed, as have many aspects of the medical field. “Modern medicine has come a long way,” he said. “We are able to cure things now we couldn’t before. Maybe the perception is modern medicine can cure everything, and the reality is we’re not there yet. We’ve made strides in technology, procedures and medications, but we still can’t cure the common cold in 2020.” Even so, modern medicine is a far cry from the world he saw that first drew him into medicine. Accompanying his mother to nursing classes at 12 years old, he remembers being exposed to medical
science for the first time. “It fascinated me,” Lewis said. Many years later, he decided to channel that fascination into family medicine. Although he’s taken on a leadership role as Regional Medical Director for Vidant Beaufort’s coverage area, it’s the face-to-face interaction that comes with family medicine that keeps the profession interesting and rewarding. “For me, it’s that patient care that really gives me the satisfaction,” Lewis said. “It’s kind of my identity. I was trained to be a family doctor, and if I’m not taking care of patients 41
and helping them with their problems, I feel like I’m losing a little bit of my identity.” In his work at Vidant Family Medicine Washington, he’s developed-in a strong commitment to Washington and Beaufort County, something not all doctors can say. “One of the biggest things I’ve achieved is an investment in the community,” Lewis said. “I work in the same community I live in, I take care of my next door neighbors, and I’m vested in the community. … You know you’ve got to do a good job, because you’re going to see these people on the weekends or in restaurants.”
Nursing an extension of community care WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
When Laura Ashley Moore was a little girl, her grandmother often took her to work with her. Those days tagging along with Jo Dunbar made a lasting impression, so much so, it inspired Moore to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps. “I felt a strong urge to help people from a young age. My grandmother was a nurse at Autumnfield for almost 30 years, and once she retired, she took care of people at their homes in the community,” Moore said. “I saw the love and passion she had for people and helping people, and she passed that along to me.” As a native of the Pungo community, finding a position as an RN at Vidant Multi-Specialty Clinic in Belhaven was the best-case scenario. “They were looking for somebody new and somebody to work with Dr. (Mark) Beamer,” Moore said. “I was surprised to find that most of the people that worked there, I went to high school with them. I was like, ‘This is perfect,’” Moore laughed. “I love the people — especially the old people. I think I have a special place in my heart for geriatric patients. They’re my fave,” Moore said. Her favorites are what she’s wrapping the future around. Her short-term goal is to facilitate providing the elderly with excess food from local restaurants and schools. “There are elderly people that need meals, and they lack interaction with others (because of) their inability to drive, cook. They’re living with people randomly checking in on them. Sometimes the only meals or interaction they get are the Meals on Wheels program,” Moore said. Longterm, Moore sees an ideal facility for aging. “I’ve always dreamed of having an assisted living community in my rural community with about five ladies that need someone to take care of them. They would have 24-hour access to a nurse; they would have around-the-clock care; meals cooked for them, outings, medication management and transportation to appointments,” Moore said. “That’s been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember.”
42
A second career becomes a calling WRITTEN BY VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
Marie Boyd retired in 1994 from an accounting job at Edgecombe-Martin County EMC in Tarboro. And that’s when she really got to work.
The daughter of a Licensed Practical Nurse, Annie Edwards, who spent her career working at Beaufort County Hospital, Boyd was encouraged by her mother to go back to school and embark on a second career as an LPN. “My momma said, ‘You do it every day at home — go ahead,’” Boyd laughed. “I said I got to do something that I want to do. My mom was a nurse at Beaufort County for more than 30 years, and she pushed, shoved, threatened, so I went back to school at Edgecombe Community College and got my LPN license, and I loved every minute of it.” She had some hurdles to get through: Boyd had to enlist her daughter, a college student at the time, to teach her how to take notes in classes, but she persevered. Twenty-four years later, she’s still at it, working three days a week at Vidant Internal Medicine in Washington. Before that she worked at then Beaufort County Hospital, now Vidant Beaufort Hospital from 1995 to 2007, where she won LPN of the Year in a time when LPNs ran the daily operations and only one RN could be found on each floor. Though she was drawn to nursing because it seemed an ideal job, where she could work part time in her retirement, Boyd actually found her calling. “A lot of people think of it as a job. It’s not. It’s a profession. Your words can give (families) an awful lot of hope and awful lot of information they didn’t know they needed. Just one word can change a person’s outlook,” Boyd said. So far, there’s no plan for a second retirement — Boyd is very much looking forward to receiving the pin designating her 25 years of LPN service. “Who’d have thought 26 years ago that I would be enjoying my job so much,” she laughed.
WORDS OF WISDOM
AN EDUCATION IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN GET.
Take one subject at a time. You don’t have to take the whole gamut.
…
DON’T JUST LEARN YOUR JOB:
you need to learn how the job you do affects everybody else, because it’s important for the patients, families and everyone you work with. 43
Making an impact WRITTEN BY MITCHELL THOMAS
It’s not often you’ll see a 21-year-old become athletic director, but Logan V an S taalduinen jumped on a unique opportunity at Pungo Christian Academy when it was presented. Van Staalduinen graduated from North Carolina State University in the spring of 2019 with a business management degree, emphasizing human resources. During his time at N.C. State, he was a manager for the Wolfpack’s basketball team and claims to have learned a lot. “Learning from them taught me so many organizational skills behind the scenes. I incorporate the little things I learned there, here at PCA,” Van Staalduinen said. “I loved being around an athletic environment all the time.” When the opportunity to become AD at Pungo arose, he jumped on it. “I really love coaching,” Van Staalduinen said. “Just teaching kids something new, watching them grow and mature, while being able to bring in new ideas is what I love to do.” Van Staalduinen explained that there’s so much extra preparation that goes into being the director of a program. “It’s basketball season, but I’m already scheduling volleyball and soccer games for next year, I’m dealing with referees from different booking agents, making sure locker rooms are good for both teams, having people for concessions and tickets, getting Gatorade ready — everything,” Van Staalduinen said. “It’s not all on me, we have great people at PCA to help me out, but we have to be organized.” Van Staalduinen’s career goal is pretty simple. “I don’t ever want to go into a place and think, ‘I just want to be average,’” Van Staalduinen said. “I want to maintain a high level of success wherever I go. I just want to be able to work with kids and make an impact for the rest of my life.
I want to maintain a high
LEVEL OF SUCCESS
wherever I go.
I just want to be able to
work with kids and
MAKE AN IMPACT
for the rest of my life. 44
A rewarding life WORDS OF WISDOM
You have to
PRACTICE A LOT. Do what you can with the
best of your ability. OPPORTUNITIES
are endless, just do what you
LOVE
to do the best you can.
WRITTEN BY MITCHELL THOMAS
George Cumston has traveled all around the globe, flying presidents in the Marine One helicopter, and winning countless table tennis tournaments. In the 1950s, Cumston started playing table tennis in college for his fraternity at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Table tennis was great for passing time, so Cumston continued to play and won tournaments regularly, which usually included free meals. After college he went into the Navy for a flight-training program in Pensacola, Florida. The Navy wouldn’t allow him to fly helicopters after the completion of his training, but the Marines told him he could.
He served from 1956 to 1984 and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. During his ping-pong prime, he was assigned to Marine Squadron One, and at 31 years old, he flew President Lyndon B. Johnson on the Marine One helicopter, then Richard Nixon during the next term. “I met a lot of people, and made a lot of friends,” Cumston said of the best part of his career. “(Ping pong) is just a hobby I’m good at. Some people play golf, some jog, I play table tennis.” Cumston explained that you need many 45
traits to be a good ping-pong player. “It requires good hand-eye coordination, movement and having good balance is critical,” Cumston said. Through his 14 air medals, a Distinguished Flying Cross award, over 280 missions and ping pong endeavors, his most cherished memory was marrying his wife, and said he would tell his younger self to do it again. “In 1959 I got married. … I had just gotten back from a tour in Japan. We went to Jacksonville, North Carolina, to do it, and I’d do it again,” Cumston said.
IT’S HARD WORK,
but there’s nothing like planting a seed
and
watching
that
seed
GROW — nurturing it, harvesting it
A N D R E P E AT I N G T H E WHOLE CYCLE AGAIN.
A perfect way of life WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM
Following in his father’s footsteps, some of Forrest Howell’s earliest memories were spent in the cab of a tractor. He’s been a part of the farm life since he could walk, and farmers from both sides of the family have influenced his career in agriculture. “It’s a perfect way of life,” Howell said. “It’s hard work, but there’s nothing like planting a seed and watching that seed grow — nurturing it, harvesting it and repeating the whole cycle again.” What started with his grandfather’s small farm has grown into a multi-generational endeavor for the Howells. Along with his father, Howell works alongside his brothers, uncles and cousins, producing the same crops his family has been growing in Terra Ceia for years, as well as sweet corn for the family and other hobby crops like watermelon and cantaloupe. “We work with family on a daily basis,”
Howell said. “It’s my dad, two uncles, two cousins and two younger brothers that work on the farm. So you’re with family every day.” While Howell says there are often misconceptions about farming among nonfarmers, his goals of creating a better future for his family is the same as anyone else. Like his father before him, he hopes to leave a healthy, prosperous farm to the next generation. “We care about the same things people outside of farming care about,” Howell said. “We care about safe food. We care about sustainability. We work hard every day on the farm to make sure we are sustainable so 46
we can pass our family business on to the next generation.” Outside of their time in the field, Howell says farmers wear a lot of hats, serving as teachers, veterinarians, volunteer firefighters and amateur meteorologists. But perhaps more than anything else, the work farmers put in serves to feed others. “At the end of the day, farmers are helping other people create those special moments around the table, where they sit with their kids and enjoy a meal,” Howell said. “We have some small part in that, and I think that’s one of the best things about being in the agriculture industry.”
A family tradition WRITTEN BY MATT DEBNAM
For the Howell family of Terra Ceia, life on the farm started with a lumber mill founded by Vernon F. Howell Sr. As a young man, Forrest Glenn Howell watched his dad buy land, timber and small farms in the early 60s. The first big farm Vernon Howell bought was a 560 acre Dutch dairy farm in Terra Ceia in the 1970s, complete with tulips and all. “I always had a love for being outside,” Howell recalled. “Being a small child, it was just normal to be playing out in the dirt. I stayed with (my father) most of the time and got involved with the farming. We’ve enjoyed farming. It’s been a family business since the 1970s.” Today, the Howell family tends close to 10,000 acres in Beaufort County, mostly growing corn, wheat and bean crops. Alongside his children and grandchildren, Howell says he finds a strong sense of satisfaction in watching the seeds they plant together grow into something greater. “You plant your crops, you like to see them grow,” Howell said. “You nurture the crops, feed them and make sure you do the best you can with Mother Nature’s part. You’ve always got to have the rains at the right times and all, but I guess one of my favorite parts is harvesting.” For the non-farmer, Howell says people seem to be disconnected from that process — a general misconception that food just comes from the grocery store. In turn, he feels that leads to less appreciation for farming as a whole. But above all, Howell says he’s proud of the work he and his family have put in, all with the goal of leaving something behind for the next generation. “It’s been a very blessed thing for us,” Howell said. “I’ve enjoyed it.”
WORDS OF WISDOM
You’ve got to do
YOUR BEST TODAY. Prices of commodities have not changed much in the last 15 to 20 years.
IF YOU’RE NOT AT YOUR BEST,
yo u ’ re o u t s o m e t i m e s . 47
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