Wilson Woman, Spring 2013

Spring 2013

Wilson

The ‘Women in Business’ Issue

How best to renovate your kitchen

Plus more local recipes!

Louise McKinnonThe newest selection in the Wilson Woman Icon Series sits down to answer our survey

2 SPRING 2013 WILSON WOMAN

Our newest Wilson Woman Icon, Louise McKinnon, poses in her home in front of one of her most treasured possessions: the Lord’s Prayer, written in Chinese by a

friend of hers in college. Photo by Gérard Lange.

On the cover

4 Operation:Kitchen. HowoneWilsoncouplerenovatedthemost importantroominthehome,andtipsforhow youcandothesame.

8 IamWilson Profileandarecipefromalocalrising culinarystar.

10 ‘AboutTown’ Seewhichofyourfriendsandneighbors havebeenoutandactivethiswinter.

12 WomeninBusiness SeedozensoftheWilsonwomen whoareyourlocalbusinessowners, managers,activists,agentsandmore.

18 WilsonWomanIcon OurseriescontinueswithaninspirationalQ&A withtheco-founderofCHEW.

22 FoodSeries WecatchupwithexperiencedlocalcookElaine Webbandasktoborrowacoupleofher time-testedrecipes.

24 DaytripsfromWilson AlistofsomegreatN.C.placesandactivities withinaneasydriveofWilson.

26 Ready.Set.Garden. TheWilsonGardenTourreturnsin May.Here’swhatyouneedtoknow.

Table of Contents

The garden of Carol Wikfors and Sheila Forbes, above, is one of eight gardens featured on the 2013 Wilson Garden Tour. Learn more on page 26. Submitted photo

Above

WWW.WILSONTIMES.COM

2001 Downing Street, Wilson, NC 27893www.wilsontimes.com

www.wilsonwoman.com

Morgan Paul Dickerman, IIIPublisher

____________________

Shana HooverDirector of Sales and Marketing

(252) [email protected]

Bradley HearnSpecial Sections Editor

(252) [email protected]

Account Executives:

Lisa Pearson(252) 265-7827

[email protected]

Beth Robbins(252) 265-7849

[email protected]

____________________

Contributors

Writers:Janelle Clevinger, Bradley Hearn

Art:

Gérard Lange | Graphic DesignJanelle Clevinger | Photography

Bradley Hearn | Photography

____________________

Christopher M. Barsanti, MD

Edward C. Brown, III, MD

Christopher C. Hasty, MD

Philip S. Perdue, Jr., MD

Anthony F. Skalak, MD

Jacob R. Bosley, MD

Josiah W. Duke, MD

Denis M. McGillicuddy, MD

Eddie N. Powell, II, MD

Bruce D. Whilhelmsen, MD

810 W.H. Smith Blvd.Greenville, NC(252) 757-2663

www.orthoeast.com


Renovations should be tailored to your needs

FFor five years after purchasing their new home, Barb and Greg Levine worked on renovating every room in it.

Except the kitchen. The Levines had no clue how to tackle that particular room.

“We knew that we wanted to redo the kitchen, but didn’t know how to do it ourselves,” said Barb Levine. “We could never envision where to put everything with three doors leading in and out of that

one room.”The Levines were sure

of one thing: their current kitchen just was not work-ing for them.

“The kitchen had no flow,” Levine said. “We had one place where we could both be in the kitchen and could move back and forth.”

Levine describes a “nightmare stove” that sat in the peninsula, and wall-paper that “must have been 100 years old,” adding with a smile that the house is

only around 49 years old.The Levines knew that

one thing had to go imme-diately, and they were able to replace it themselves — a wagon wheel chandelier that dominated the kitchen décor.

In the spring of 2012, Levine walked into Wendy Winstead’s office at Cre-ative Designs in Wilson and started discussing a pos-sible kitchen renovation.

It turns out that Levine had been to another firm,

but the designer was going to base his job quote never having seen the kitchen.

“Never use a designer that never comes to your home before sending a quote or a plan,” stressed Winstead.

Winstead starts a kitchen renovation project by asking clients particular questions to get a good idea of the client’s lifestyle and what is necessary to include in the new kitchen (see questions accompany-

With the help of Wendy Winstead, Barb and Greg Levine completely redesigned their kitchen into the beauti-ful, productive space that they always wanted.

Story and photos by Janelle Clevinger

Not All Kitchens Are Created Equal

WWW.WILSONTIMES.COM SPRING 2013 5

Byline

ing this article on page 7). Winstead makes sure

that the person who does the majority of the cooking in the kitchen to be remodeled has the most input into the kitchen’s new design.

“I make sure that every single thing I do design-wise will help that cook,” Winstead said. “Because I’m the cook at my house, I know how impor-tant that is.”

Levine had looked through photographs of kitchens in magazines and kept com-ing back to one photo. She showed the photo to Winstead who used it as a jumping off point.

“I’d say we have a big percentage of that kitchen in this one,” Winstead said. “It certainly helps when a client can show me a kitchen that he or she likes already.”

When the design planning begins, Winstead looks at the square footage of the kitchen and decides where the appli-ances should go. The Levine kitchen is considered large (280 square feet) and yet they did not need any space for eating in that room.

“Barb and Greg eat in their sun room which is lo-cated directly off the kitchen,” Winstead said. “If they had wanted to eat in their kitchen, I would have configured less cabinet space.”

And cabinet space they have!

“A lot of the money spent by the Levine’s is in their cabi-nets,” Winstead said. “They have double door cabinets, also called “full overlay cabi-netry,” meaning that you can use every inch of the cabinet because there is no frame go-

Much of the Levine’s renovation was centered on installing new, spa-cious cabinets.

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ing up the center.”The Levine’s new kitchen also has

rollout and pullout shelves, a built-in Lazy Susan, and even an appliance “garage.”

Not much was changed structurally to the Levine’s kitchen, although no hint of the old kitchen remains.

“The most we did structurally was to move the door to the sunroom to accommodate the stove,” Winstead said. “A lot of the structural redesign had to do with the view from different doors and seeing symmetry.”

Living without a kitchen

Winstead says that the average time spent without a working kitchen during a remodel is about three weeks.

“I always tell people to have a plan for those three weeks, especially if you have children,” Winstead said. “You are going to have to figure out where to cook, wash dishes, store food … everything you do in a kitchen.”

The Levines set up a temporary kitchen in another room of the house used as an office.

“We basically set up a hotel kitchen in our office,” said Levine. “We had a mini refrigerator, coffee pot, dishes, glasses, microwave, crock pot; and used paper plates a lot, but washed what we needed to in the bathroom sink.”

Greg Levine noted that they were actually without a kitchen sink for one day.

The Levines put all their kitchen drawers and the contents of the cabi-nets on the dining room table for easy access to whatever they needed.

a perfect kitchen

The design process with Wendy and Creative Designs began in spring and was completed by Labor Day.

“The most amazing thing about this kitchen is just how easy it is to work with more than one person in there

6 SPRING 2013

While Greg Levine’s favorite aspect of the new kitchen is the island, Barb prefers the new, spacious cabinets.

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now,” Levine said. “We can actually have a lot of people in the kitchen now. For Thanksgiving, we actually set up a buffet on the center island.”

The island is Greg’s favorite part of the kitchen, while Barb has enjoyed her spacious cabinets.

Winstead achieved her goals of not only making the kitchen attractive, but also making it a productive work space for the Levines.

“I wanted this to be a regular kitchen, not the kind you see when you look in a magazine and have a lot of ‘fru fru,’” Winstead said. “I wanted it to be pretty, but very usable.”

Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before Renovating Your Kitchen1. What do you like about the kitchen you

have noW?

2. What kind of grocery shopper are you – buy in bulk, several shopping trips per Week, or someWhere in betWeen?

3. do you use your kitchen for anything other than cooking and eating?

4. are you right-handed or left-handed?

5. do you have young children?

6. do you bake often?

7. have you chosen or Will you be choosing neW appliances?

8. Who does the majority of the cooking in your home?

9. do you consider your lifestyle formal or casual?

10. do you have any ideas or favorite design photos that can be discussed and utilized?

*Courtesy of Wendy Winstead, Creative Designs Showplace Manor.

Designer Wendy Winstead wanted the Levine’s new kitchen to look great, but most of all, she wanted to maximize its functionality.

2801 Ward Blvd., Wilsonwww.shoppingbrentwood.com

Teresa Williford isn’t afraid to try new things. A personal chef and popular fixture at the Wil-

son Farmer’s Market, she recently opened her own store, Williford’s Coffee and Bake Shop, located at 101 Railroad Street in Elm City. The new shop of-fers a variety of dessert items, homemade breads, sandwiches, boxed lunches and salads, along with a rapidly revolving menu of new — and sometimes extremely unique — items.

She’s now an adored and celebrated baker, but her skills were not the product of any formal culinary training. Rather, they were hard-earned and relatively self taught -- the product of years of fearless experi-mentation. In fact, cooking and baking is a second career for her, something that she has only pursued in earnest for the past seven years. She has simply used her love of learning to sharpen her skills from any and every source she could.

For starters, she came from a family that enjoyed cooking. From grandmothers to great grandmothers, aunts and uncles, everyone loved to cook and bake.

“Back then, every Sunday, you’d go to grand-mother’s house after church for lunch,” she said. “We’d alternate between the two grandmothers. And I learned a lot from them.”

For most of her life, she always cooked, but mostly just “Southern, comfort food,” she says, until


By Bradley Hearn

six or seven years ago, when she was looking for a career change after working eight years at the Elm City Town Hall.

She knew she loved to cook — and was rela-tively good at it — but the skill was still underdevel-oped as a profession option. That’s when she poured herself into studying: old cookbooks, websites, obscure recipes, books, any place she could learn and experiment.

Her culinary world truly opened up, however, when she became a personal chef in the area and joined the Personal Chef Network (PCN), a online community of personal chefs spread around the country that traded advice, recipes and other stories with one another.

Before that, it was the same Southern way of cooking she’d learned from her familial mentors. “It was more than just ‘bring it in from the garden, put it in the oven and bake it,’” she says. “I was exposed to so many different cuisines, from Middle Eastern food, really spicy food, everything.”

She fell in love with her new career as a personal chef, cooking sometimes up to a month’s worth of food for clients to freeze and eat ‘til she came back around. But during this time, she was also still experimenting and developing her baking skills.

These experiments eventually landed her at the Wilson Farmer’s Market, selling a wide variety of

cakes and breads — five-grain bread, cinnamon rolls, croissants, red velvet cakes, banana pudding cake and many other items.

These baked goods immediately became popular and even won her a “Best in Show” award at the Wilson County Fair for her Italian cream cake.

It also landed her in Our State magazine when a friend from the PCN asked her if she could incorpo-rate a series of North Carolina-related ingredients — from Krispy Kreme doughnuts to “Nabs” to red-eye gravy — into cakes for a feature in the magazine. Ever the student of trial and error, Williford accepted and one of her five featured cakes even graced the magazine’s cover.

She’s open to anything, and the eclectic mix and revolving menu at Williford’s Coffee and Bake Shop proves it. Her loyal customers at the farmer’s markets will be disappointed not to find her out there as much this year, due to the time demands of the new brick and mortar store.

But with the sweet smells and longer lines pouring out of the building in Elm City, they’ll certainly know where to find her.

So follow her on Facebook to see the daily menu offerings and what she’s mastered this week. Often times, it’s something new.

Lucky for us, she’s not done learning yet.

Self Starter Local baker Teresa Williford opens her own shop in Elm City


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Cake Preparation

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About TownEyes of the World: MLK, Jr. Photography Exhibition and WAAA ExhibitionPresented by the Arts Council of Wilson

photographs by Gérard Lange

Ginny Moore, left, and Elizabeth Cohen.

Amy Hughes, left, and Sarah Warden

Carolyn Harmon, left, and friend.

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Wilson Active Artist Association featured artist Janice Gravley, center, and her daughters.


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WWilson Women in Business

Tammi BarnesWhat she does: Barnes is

an artist, teacher and owner of Sweet Martha’s Whimsy.

other: Tammi Barnes is a high-energy, mixed-media

artist who loves teaching art and creating new artis-tic ideas to sell in her shop,

Sweet Martha’s Whimsy. Tammi’s background is in Marketing and Sales, and

she uses that background to come up with new and ex-

citing ventures for her store and classes.

Ann VickersWhat she does: Vickers is a REAL-

TOR® and broker with The Chesson Agency and holds GRI (Graduate REALTOR® Institute) certification, is an ABR (Accredited Buyers Repre-sentative) and “Green” designated.

other: As well as a member of both Wilson and Rocky Mount MLS, she is a member of First United Methodist Church, a member of Pink Ladies cancer support group and involved with the Chamber of Commerce, recently as a member of the Diamond Dip committee. When not working or volunteering, Vickers enjoys spending time with her four grandchildren.

Betty Lancaster, RN, BSNWhat she does: Lancaster serves as the WilMed Nursing Care Cen-

ter Administrator, providing leadership for and administration of all Nursing Care Center operations.

other: Previously, she served as Director of Clinical Services at Wil-son Medical Center for 14 years and manager of a medical floor for 14 years. She is a member of The Bridge of Goldsboro and serves on the greeter committee. She also participates in community outreach pro-grams such as the Soup Kitchen and loves spending time with her family.

Sandy OwensWhat she does: Owens is

a vice president with BB&T and a mortgage loan officer.

other: She has over 28 years of experience in real estate/ finance/ banking and over 19 years as a mortgage loan officer. She is a mem-ber of the Wilson Board of Realtors, treasurer of Wilson Home Builder’s Association and the secretary of Wilson Crimestoppers.

Sharon AllenWhat she does: Allen is a licensed

esthetician and the owner of Merle Norman Cosmetic Studios and Spa in Wilson and Knightdale. Her services include waxing, facials, chemical peels, airbrush tanning, professional make up artistry and brow tinting. In 2010, she expanded the studio to include the spa and The Pink Pearl accessories and jewelry company by Tracy Anderson.

other: She is married to Jimmy Allen, and they have one son, Joshua.


WWilson Women in BusinessMelissa Overton, RN, BSN

What she does: As the owner of Advanced Medical Training Solutions,

Overton is a nurse/instructor for courses for the American Heart Association (AHA) Ba-sic Life Support (CPR), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced

Life Support (PALS), Pediatric Emergency Assesment, Recognition and Stabilization

(PEARS), First Aid, Blood Borne Patho-gens. She is also able to create customized

trainings based on request and needs as-sessment for any healthcare setting.

other: With over 15 years of nursing experience in critical care (ED and ICU),

nursing education, EMS and clinical office staffing, she is part of AHA Training Center Faculty for all AHA programs and a candi-date for AHA Regional Faculty as well. She

is also an active member of New Begin-nings Community Church.

Wendy WinsteadWhat she does: Winstead, the

owner and senior interior designer of Creative Designs in Wilson, has been ASID and NKBA certified for over 20 years. Her extensive knowledge and experience give her an advan-tage creating new designs that meet the style and lifestyle of her clients. Creative Designs has a welcoming atmosphere with unique furnishings and accessories, and offers a “Do It Yourself” center where clients can select their own fabrics, furniture and materials for their home.

other: Wendy likes to create new dishes for her customers, friends and family. Her favorite taste testers in-clude her two sons, Tristan and Tyler, along with her husband Don. She serves on the Wesley Shelter board and is passionate about kids who are victims of domestic violence and child abuse. She is the founder of Kastles 4 Kids, a non-profit ministry that decorates bedrooms for children in recovering situations.

Steadman LanierAmy WigginsWhat she does: Wiggins is the owner of the Brentwood store

The Nook.other: She is currently a board

member of Wilson Education Partnership and the Wilson Medi-

cal Center Auxiliary Board. She attends First Presbyterian Church

with her husband and son.

Dee WarrickWhat she does: With 26 years

of service, Warrick is the principal agent and business owner of the Dee Darden Warrick Agency of Nation-wide Insurance, an On Your Side® certified agency offering auto, home, life and business insurance. To bet-ter serve her client base, she recently opened a second location at 3042-B Forest Hills Road.

other: She has served and/or sup-ported the American Heart Associa-tion, Wilson County Youth Athletic Association, Life Underwriters As-sociation, American Cancer Society, First United Methodist Church, United Way, Wilson County Junior Golf As-sociation, American Red Cross, Arts Council of Wilson and the WilMed Foundation. She has received the Na-tionwide Insurance Champion Award and the Pacesetter Award.

Angie BassWhat she does: Bass is the

co-owner of Churchwell’s Jewel-ers, located in The Shoppes at

Brentwood. other: Bass is the proud

mother of two girls.


WWilson Women in BusinessHope Anthony

What she does: Anthony is the owner of Anthony Web Design, spe-cializing in professional web design and website development, website design templates, website hosting,

domain name registrations and search engine submission..

other: She is a board member of the Triangle East Home and

Garden Show and a board member of Forest Hills Pool.

Angela DailWhat she does: Dail is the as-

sistant manager of Wilson Hard-ware Co., which was established

in 1907. She has 29 years of ex-perience in hardware retail. other: She enjoys the pro-

motions in Downtown Wilson and offers specials during The

Theater of the American South in May and the Vollis Simpson

Whirligig Festival in Novem-ber, where thousands flood the

streets and stores of Historic Downtown Wilson.

Anthony Web Design3005 Eliza Pl.252-243-1819Mon-Fri, 8-5

Eliza StephensonWhat she does: Stephenson is an

interior designer with experience in both commercial and residential markets. You can find Eliza’s studio inside James Grey & Co., located in historic downtown Wilson.

other: She has a BFA in Studio Art from UNC-Chapel Hill, Parsons School of Design and a BS in Interior Design from ECU. A mother of two children, Mallory (3) and Russel1 (1), she is also a board member of Preservation of Wilson, Barton College Friends of Hackney Library and First Presbyterian Weekday School.

She is a member of Saint Timothy’s Episcopal Church where she serves on the altar guild and the interiors commit-tee. She also enjoys tennis.

Steadman LanierWhat she does: Lanier is the

owner and buyer for Belle & Co. other: The mother of two

boys, Lanier is also involved in the Arts Council of Wilson,

YMCA, Chamber of Commerce and First Presbyterian Church.

Amy Wiggins

Linda DewWhat she does: Dew is the op-

erations manager of ReCollections at Wilson Hardware and Wilson Hardware Co., one of Wilson’s old-est locally owned businesses. She is also co-owner of K&L Enterprises (a restaurant equipment business) here in Wilson.

other: For 44 years, Linda has been involved in promotions for Downtown Wilson, especially Christ-mas Tree Lane and Friday Night Christmas Shopping. She is excited about the November opening of the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, which will bring people all over the world to Historic Downtown Wilson.

Anna FurgasonWhat she does: With over 14

years of experience as a certified Honda sales consultant, Furgason has recently been promoted to In-ternet Sales Manager for the store, handling the internet department sales of new and used cars.

other: Furgason is active with scouting and serves as both a merit badge counselor and committee member for BSA Troop 4 in Wil-son. She is an alumna of NC State and Wilson Community College and attends Raleigh Road Baptist Church. She has one daughter, one son, and two grandsons.


WWilson Women in BusinessBeth Conover

Stephanie SommervilleWhat she does: Sommerville is the

owner and artistic director of Toe 2 Dance, offering classes in Classical Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Mommy & Me, Ballroom, Yoga, Pilates, Zumba and Turbo Kick. Look for their Spring Performance on June 1 & 2 at the Boykin Theater..

other: She is involved with the an-nual Nutcracker Fundraiser for the Wilson Pregnancy Center, which has raised over $27,000. She is an instruc-tor at Community Christian School, Building Blocks, Kinder Kastle and Kiddie Campus. Additionally, she is a certified instructor from the American Ballet Theatre and is also certified in Yoga, Pilates and Zumba. In 2012, Stephanie also received her 1st degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She takes classes in New York City on a regular basis at studios such as Steps, Broad-way Dance Center, Alvin Ailey and Joffrey Ballet and more.

Penny WhitfieldWhat she does: Whitfield is a

real estate broker and owner of The Whitfield Agency, LLC.

other: She graduated from East Carolina University and now has over 8 years of experience in real estate with seven years being a “Multi-Million Dollar Producer. She is a Director on the Wilson Board of REALTORS®. She is also a member of the National Association of REAL-TORS®, the North Carolina Associa-tion of REALTORS® and Biltmore’s Who’s Who.

Kathy Vaughan

What she does: Vaughan co-owns Vaughan’s Jewelers with her husband Bill, where she serves as the company’s secretary-treasurer. Her duties include — but are not limited to — sales, bookkeeping, tax reports and the scheduling of employees.

other: Though born in California, Vaughan has lived in Wil-son since she was two years old. She is a graduate of Atlantic Christian College with a teaching certification and a B.A. in Spanish. While at A.C.C., Vaughan served as the president of the Phi Mu pledge class and later as the vice president of the stu-dent government. In recent years, she was also a recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award from Barton College.

After a teaching career, Vaughan joined her husband in operat-ing Vaughan’s Jewelers. Currently, she is an active member of First United Methodist Church, having served previously on the administrative board currently on the altar and worship com-mittee. She also served as the president of the United Methodist Women, from whom she received the Mission Award.

Though gardening and flowers are her passion, her real joy comes from the opportunity to work with her husband, their son Tripp, Judy Lamm, Callie Wilkinson and Ashley Bass.

Vaughan is also the proud mother of Kara Borders and grand-mother of Stella Borders.

What she does: Conover is a REAL-TOR® and broker with Breedlove

& Associates, where she serves as a personal real estate advisor to assist you in buying or selling real estate in

Wilson and surrounding areas.other: She is a NC Real Estate

licensee since 2003, a Mulit-Million Dollar Producer, member of the Na-tional Association of REALTORS®,

Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®, Wilson Board of RE-ALTORS®, Team Leader of Mama Bear’s Cubs/Relay for Life of Wilson.


WWilson Women in BusinessDebbie McDaniel

What she does: McDaniel is the owner of Fine Print Stationery, a full-service stationery shop special-izing in wedding invitations, party invitations, wedding programs, customized napkins, personalized note cards and any other wedding or stationery needs. Fine Print Sta-tionery also carries unique gifts

other: She is married with two daughters.

Susan WetheringtonWhat she does: A co-owner of

the business with her husband, Mark, Susan serves as secretary/treasurer, which includes record keeping, tax reports, personnel du-ties and marketing. Susan and her husband have owned the company since the death of her father, Jessie Hill, in 1988, who established it with his wife Becky in 1976.

other: She is an active member of Ascension Lutheran Church, where she currently serves on the Worship Team, Social Ministry Team, Mutual Ministry Team, in the choir and as a pianist as needed. She and her hus-band have two children and enjoy spending time with their family and friends at White Lake.

B&J Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.3517-B Airport Blvd.

252-237-5578Mon-Fri, 8-5

Beth RobbinsWhat she does: Robbins

has worked at The Wilson Times as an advertising ex-ecutive for three years. She is dedicated to her clients with an emphasis on gaining knowledge of their business and communicating their ad-vertising goals.

other: She enjoys spend-ing time with her family, as well as cooking, decorating and going to sporting events.

Phyllis BallanceWhat she does: The co-owner

of Richie Ballance Flooring and Tile, Ballance is in charge of all the company’s bookkeeping, sales and design. The company has 21 years of experience in the flooring business and received the Mohawk Industries National Dealer of the Year award in 2009.

other: When not enjoying time with her three granddaugh-ters and time at the beach at Emerald Isle, Ballance loves volunteering at her church, Little Rock OFWB Church.

Lisa Pearson

What she does: Pearson has worked at The Wilson Times as an advertising executive for 26 years.

other: Pearson is a board member of the Wilson Crisis Center. In 2010, she completed the Chamber of Commerce Dynamic Lead-ership course. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Beth, and grandmother of grandson Malachi.


The cofounder of the CHEW sits down to answer questions on her life’s journey and what she hopes for Wilson’s future.

LLouise McKinnon is nothing if not gracious and humble.

Though she is a guiding force behind Children’s Hunger Elimination of Wilson (CHEW), a nonprofit founded last year to combat the chronic hunger faced by thousands of Wilson County children, she refuses to take credit for its growing success. Any mention of its building momentum, the hundreds of students they regularly feed or the local resources they efficiently use to achieve it is met with resistance and deflection.

The fact of the matter — and the one she is quick to point out — is that the manifestation of CHEW is the result of many churches, individuals, business leaders, school officials, volunteers and other gener-ous souls in the Wilson community coming together.

But another fact is that the organization’s inception occurred because of an question she asked while leading a Bible study in Saratoga. She asked what was being done about hunger in the area. It turned out, some Methodist women in the area were al-ready feeding some local children. She immediately came back to Wilson and began making calls to see what could be done here.

And step by step, little by little, key personalities joined in. Every person she joined up with — from Jennifer Lantz at the Economic Devleopment Coun-cil, to Flo Batten at First Presbyterian, Sean Bulson at the Wilson County School System, Kay Johnson at Wilson Medical Center, Doug Radford at First Free-will Baptist — had a role to play. And they eagerly jumped on board to help take the nascent idea in the direction it needed to go.

“It’s like people in Wilson were just waiting for the opportunity,” she said.

And when she began calling area churches to sponsor specific schools, the same thing happened: they joined in without hesitation. “I wasn’t trying to talk them into anything. I was just letting them know about it. A lot responded.”

GUIDING PRINCIPLESThough retired from BB&T, McKinnon would first

and foremost refer to herself as a preacher’s wife and a Christian. Her husband, Rev. Jim McKinnon, served as the pastor at First Presbyterian in Wilson for over 25 years.

Perhaps, the founding of CHEW is really just the most recent manifestation of a life that gravitated to-ward service and the needy — a life that was guided by her Christian principles.

She says she has always been drawn to these things, and her life always felt on its proper course when she was in pursuit of it. While living in Charlotte, for example, she took great pleasure in participating in clothing drives for poor children at the school where she volunteered and substitute taught.

But sometimes, hindsight is the only way to see the meaningful turns one’s journey takes. It’s only now, years later, when viewed in the full context of her life, that she can appreciate the impact that it had on her and how she was instinctively drawn to help.

“That’s the type of thing that has always had meaning for me. It’s interesting to reflect on the things that had meaning in your life.”

McKinnnon says that she can’t recall a time in her

life when her faith hasn’t been the biggest part of it. And reflecting still, she sees now how the benedic-tion that her husband used to close his service and charge his congregation — the lines she has heard each Sunday for over 40 years — have either sub-consciously or consciously shaped her world view.

Specifically, these words: “You have been re-deemed for a purpose. So go now and live in the midst of God’s purpose for your life...”

Perhaps being the embodiment of charitable principles and gravitating toward causes like CHEW is part of her life’s purpose? Perhaps it’s the culmina-tion? Or only the beginning? That’s not for us to say.

Though she is credited as a cofounder and spear-headed it’s growth, she knows it ultimately doesn’t matter who was at CHEW’s genesis and will always emphasizes the larger power at work in bringing all these like-hearted citizens together in a solitary fight for the good of the community.

“I don’t think it’s any mistake or luck that CHEW has come along. God is simply using me,” she said. “I have never been in a situation in my life where I was more aware of God’s influence and love.”

With an estimated cost of $12,000 per month to feed the chronically hungry children of Wilson County, CHEW certainly has a long way to go. But it’s steady momentum is buoyed by a great sense of love and purpose by the many business leaders, volunteers and donators of the Wilson community.

And at its heart, you’ll find Loiuse McKinnon. Gra-cious and deflecting, a Christian woman trying her best to always “live in the midst of God’s purpose” for her life.

by Bradley Hearn

Louise McKinnon


Continued on page 20

The third installment of an ongoing feature, the Wilson Woman Icon Series seeks to glean words of wisdom and guidance from accomplished and well-regarded women in the Wilson community through our standard eight-question survey. For this issue, we asked Louise McKinnon, chairwoman and cofounder of CHEW. As McKinnon takes time to reflect on the organization’s steady growth, and the charitable spirit of the many citizens that spurred it into action, it only made sense to turn to her for advice for the women of Wilson...

1 ) W h a t h a s b e e n y o u r l i f e ’ s b i g g e s t s t r u g g l e ?

McKinnon: My biggest struggle has been to embrace the present moment, to be truly present to the things that are taking place in my life right now... not to be distracted... to be sensitive to the opportunities that God is providing me right now at this present moment to express Christian Love to another person.

Henri Nowen has a devotion entitled ‘Living the Moment to the Fullest.’ In it he says, “Patience is a hard discipline... Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.” (from ‘Bread for the Journey’)

2 ) W h a t h a s b e e n y o u r p r o u d e s t m o m e n t ?

When my 15-year old grandson came over to me and, out of the blue, said, “Grammy, when you no longer remember your name, I am going to take care of you.” Brandon lives in Waycross, GA, a long way from Wilson, NC! His father is a Presbyterian minister and I don’t know if he was aware of a situation in their church in which a person was struggling with dementia. His family had just come up to Wilson for a visit. The love I felt for my grandson overwhelmed me and I was filled with deep, deep gratitude. I know that I’ll be in good hands.

3 ) W h a t a d v i c e w o u l d y o u g i v e a y o u n g w o m a n s t a r t i n g h e r p r o f e s s i o n a l l i f e ?

Be very careful how you define “success.” Be very intentional as you do so. “Success” can completely consume a person if you are not careful. Follow your dream. Develop those gifts that bring you joy and fulfillment! Look forward to going to work. Lead a balanced life. Don’t sacrifice those things and those persons nearest and dearest to you for success. Live your professional life with honesty, integrity and compassion.

4 ) W h o h a s b e e n t h e m o s t i n s p i r a t i o n a l f i g u r e t o y o u ? W h y ?

I realize that I am very deeply blessed to be able to say that I do not remember a time in my life when I have not felt deeply loved by God, nor do I remember a time in my life when my discipleship has not been of primary importance to me. A very loving God has provided me with two inspirational figures who have enriched my life and enabled my discipleship. The first is Welford Hobbie, who was my minister during my high school years in Tarboro. A courageous preacher, this wise, winsome, humble, compassionate, courageous Christian man of sterling integrity exemplified for me the life of discipleship I wanted to live.

Then God, in His abundant grace, gave me my beloved Jim. My husband of 46 years encompasses all of those qualities that Welford Hobbie possessed. Jim embraces all whom he meets in Christian Love. He is the most compassionate and perceptive man I have ever known. He has the incredible ability to accept each person where he finds them. Even in the most difficult situations, he believes a person is doing the best they are capable of doing at that point in time, and he’s respectful of that. Add to these qualities a wonderful sense of humor and you can glimpse just how richly God has blessed me!

5 ) W h a t d o y o u c o n s i d e r t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t v i r t u e s a w o m a n m u s t p o s s e s s ?

Honesty, integrity, compassion, humility (not to be confused with weakness), a strong sense of her own personhood.

6 ) W h a t d o y o u v a l u e m o s t i n t h e w o r l d ?

The thing that I value most in the world is that my sons share Jim’s and my faith commitment to Jesus Christ. Both Trip and John are men of integrity who are deeply compassionate Presbyterian ministers. They possess many of the same qualities their father has and each is married to a woman who shares his faith commitment. I also experience God’s presence in my grandchildren.

Monetary contributions can be mailed to CHEW at P.O. Box 728, Wilson NC 27894-0728.


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7 ) W h a t i s t h e b i g g e s t p r o b l e m f a c i n g W i l s o n m o v i n g f o r w a r d ?

The depth of poverty in our county. The U.S. Census American Community Survey reported that in 2011 it was estimated that in Wilson County: 26 percent lived below the poverty level, up about 2 percent from 2010; 41 percent of children and teenagers lived below the poverty level, up about 3 percent from 2010; 18 percent of Wilson County residents who were gainfully employed in 2011 lived below the poverty level.

8 ) W h a t i s y o u r b i g g e s t h o p e f o r t h e f u t u r e o f W i l s o n ?

Several weeks ago, Jim stated in one of his sermons: “We must never underestimate the power of God working through ordinary people in everyday circumstances when they are willing

to be sensitive to the character of God and the empowerment of the Spirit.” This is my hope for the future of Wilson as our citizens become increasingly sensitive to the character of God and the empowerment of the Spirit not only in our private lives, but also in our professional, corporate and political lives.

When we formed our nonprofit, The Children’s Hunger Elimination of Wilson, Inc. (CHEW), to provide food over the weekends for our chronically hungry children, we consciously acknowledged the suffering of many in our county. Many wonderful things are being done in our community to motivate and enable the learning of our young people. I believe CHEW is supporting all of these efforts by providing food to those in direst need.

The thing I was not prepared for was how much potential the “poorest among the poor” have: those children who are left at home during summer months while their parents are working... those not able to get to a feeding site or summer camp. These children are a treasure trove from God! I want these children to know that their community cares about them... that we believe in them! My biggest hope for the future of Wilson is that we will become a county where all of our children, including the poorest among us, are able to hold onto and realize their dreams!

A pipe dream? I don’t think so.

Consider for a moment the situation in which Mother Theresa found herself when, as a young nun, she went to her superiors and told them of her desire

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to build an orphanage with a vision of hope for the poor. Sister Theresa is said to have told her superiors: “I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage.” Their response was to chide her gently by telling her that with three pennies there was absolutely nothing she could do. “I know,” she replied, “but with God and three pennies I can do anything!” At the time of her death, her Missionaries of Charity had 610 missions in 123 countries.

As a community we have consciously acknowledged the depth of poverty in Wilson County, in the year of our Lord 2013. We, too, have a dream from God. And that dream is that in Wilson County no child shall be prevented from learning, growing, and developing their God-given potential because of hunger or poverty. And each of us has three pennies. All God is asking is that we share the three pennies He has entrusted to us in meaningful ways in our community.


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1- 1/2 box yellow cake mix5 eggs1/2 cup vegetable oil1 1/2 cup water3/4 cup sweetened fresh or frozen blue-berries

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top of cake until it springs back. Cool com-pletely on wire rack.

Icing Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese softened 1 cup sugar3/4 cup sweetened blueberries1 16 oz Cool Whip

Icing Preparation

Mix first 2 ingredients until blended well. Fold in blueberries, then fold in Cool Whip. Smooth icing onto cooled layers and gar-nish with additional blueberries.

CChicken & Vegetable CasseroleIngredients

2 large chicken breast (cut in strips)1 large can of French Fried Onions 1 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup1 10 oz can of cheddar cheese soup1 1/2 cups 2% milk1 16 oz bag of frozen Broccoli NormandySalt & Pepper to taste

Preparation

Spray cooking spay on bottom of 9 x 13 Pyrex dish. Place uncooked chicken breast in dish. Mix together vegetables, milk and soup and pour over chicken.Cover and bake at 350 Degrees for 1 hour. Place French Fried Onions on top of casserole and bake for an additional 5 minutes until brown or as desired.

Serves 4 - 5 people

Elaine WebbElaine Webb was an employee of Wor-

rell’s Seafood for over 15 years and man-ager for 10 of those years. Her love of cooking has continued since her retirement eight years ago, and she has decades of ex-perience making a variety of different cakes upon request for her family and friends for holidays, birthdays and special occasions. Her many cakes include strawberry, carrot, pineapple, coconut, lemon, Honey bun, Ha-waiian Sunset, chew bread, Hershey Bar, as well as peach and sweet potato jacks...

She was kind enough to share a couple recipes with us for this issue...

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Spring Craft FairOn March 8-10, take a quick drive to Raleigh to check out the wide variety of handmade crafts at the Spring Craft Fair at the State Farmers Market on Lake Wheeler Road. www.statefarmersmarket.org

Test your steak skillsThink you’re master of the grill? Find out just how good you are at the 1st Annual North Carolina Steak Cook-Off Championship in Winterville, NC, in conjunction with the Winterville Watermelon Festival. Or just come to watch and eat some great food. The contest will be over the week-end of April 12-13, rain or shine. http://www.ncsteakcookoff.com/

See HistoryHaven’t been to the NC Muse-um of History in a while? Come see what you’re missing. From temporary exhibits that explore the making of the classic film Gone With the Wind or NC in the Civil War, there’s always a new piece of history to take in.http://ncmuseumofhistory.org

Things to do in Eastern NC this Spring...

February is the time here in Eastern North Carolina where we already get glimpses of the warm weather ahead and start making plans to shake the cabin fever of the winter months off. Here are some activities and destinations within a day’s drive to help usher in spring.

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WWarmer weather is right around the corner, and its arrival welcomes the re-newed bloom of many area gardens. Take advantage of the season and enjoy some of the best gardens Wilson has to offer with the return of the 2013 Wilson Garden Tour on May 3 and 4.

The 2013 Wilson Garden Tour will fea-ture eight local gardens throughout Wilson and is open, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days.

Tickets for the event are $25 per person, and free for children under 12 years old. Like previous tours, all proceeds benefit the Children’s Secret Garden at the Wilson Botanical Gardens.

The 2013 Tour will feature the gardens of: 1) Mr. and Mrs. Tim Webb, 8620 Tyson Farm Rd., Stantonsburg; 2) Dr. and Mrs. James Cummings, 2900 Falling Maple Drive; 3) Dr. and Mrs. Jim Taylor, 3003 Wolf Trap Dr.; 4) Mr. and Mrs. Ken Hill, 3601 Myrtle Woods Ct.; 5) Ms. Carol Wikfors and Ms. Sheila Forbes, 509 Lafayette Dr.; 6) Mr. and Mrs. Ben Skinner, 521 Mount Vernon Dr.; 7) Mr. and Mrs. Dickie Barnes, 2006 Hermitage Dr.; 8) Mr. and Mrs. Bill Andrews, 2305 Canal Dr.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the Tour as well. For more information, call 252-237-0113.

Tickets will be available at all gardens during the tour. They may be purchased prior to the tour at Wilson Ag. Center, Raleigh Road Garden Center, The Flower Pot and The Nook.

The garden of Carol Wikfors and Sheila Forbes, shown above, is one of eight gardens featured on the 2013 Wilson Garden Tour. Submitted photo

The Wilson Garden Tour returns for 2013

2013 Wilson Garden TourDaTe: May 3 anD 4, 2013TiMe: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.CosT: $25 per person, children under 12 years old are free.

More inforMaTion: 252-237-0113

WebsiTe: www.wilson-co.com/arboretum or facebook/wilsonbotanicalgardens

faCebook: Wilson botanical Gardens

aDDiTional evenT: an evening recep-tion with a silent auction will be held on friday, May 3, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Wilson Woman’s Club, 402 broad street

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inspire“ Barton’s theatre major comes to life in the Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre and, with Broadway and regional talent backing this program, the stars are the limit. We will be adding a musical theatre concentration this year in addition to our concentrations in design, management, and performance. Come be a part of something big; share with us, and the world, this thing you do called theatre.”

Adam Twiss, director of theatre, assistant professor of theatre

Documents

Wilson Woman, Spring 2013