Johnson was joined by fellow inductee Richard Petty, NASCAR’s leadership and local and state government officials. They all turned out for May’s official opening ceremony at the Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte. Race fans packed the plaza surrounding this magnificent piece of architecture to soak in racing’s continued transformation from a rural regional sport to the nationwide, technologically advanced circuit it is today.

When it was time for Johnson to address the crowd, he stood humbled by the awing structure of glass and steel full of memorabilia, race cars and interactive displays. Along with Johnson and Petty, NASCAR included Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., and Dale Earnhardt in its inaugural Hall of Fame Class.

“For me to go in with the first bunch, with Richard and the Frances and Earnhardt, was just unbelievable. It still hasn’t soaked in,” Johnson says. “When you’ve got that kind of company in the process of doing a Hall of Fame, you can’t explain it. It’s just the greatest thing to ever happen to me.”
Johnson had a hand in assembling much of the historical content that’s now included in the Hall of Fame. He was one of NASCAR’s most successful drivers, winning 50 races. As a team owner, he assembled cars for Cale Yarborough, who won three consecutive championships in the late 1970s, and then for Darrell Waltrip, who claimed three more titles in the 1980s.

The Hall of Fame includes plenty of notable artifacts highlighting the sport’s greatest performers such as Petty, Johnson, Earnhardt, Yarborough and Waltrip. It also includes plenty of tributes to NASCAR’s recent successes, such as drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

“I want to tell our fans, you have the best Hall of Fame in the world right here in Charlotte,” says current NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.

Hall of Fame visitors can experience firsthand what it’s like to be behind the wheel or in the pits with simulators that use the latest technology. They also can absorb NASCAR’s 60 years of history through one-of-a-kind artifacts and photographs.
Petty was just as excited about taking in all that the Hall of Fame has to offer as anyone.

“Just to see NASCAR grow to where it is today, to see it finally have a Hall of Fame, and then to be inducted into it on top of that,” Petty says, “of all the thousands and thousands of people it took to get NASCAR where it is today, I’m so glad to have been along for the ride.”

Carteret County Farm Bureau Member Deborah Bell spent seven years working as an occupational therapist, helping patients young and old in clinics and private rehabilitation centers. Then in June of 2003, Bell began to train others to work with people with injuries or physical handicaps. However, Bell instructs dogs, not people. After getting additional training in California and her own working service dog, Bell opened Lifeline Canines, a nonprofit organization that trains service and therapy dogs. Bell’s operation in Hubert has developed more than two dozen canines to serve people in a variety of settings. Bell’s passion for this endeavor was stoked greatly when she obtained her own service dog, Santiago, who was born with only one front leg. Bell says Santiago does everything a service dog is meant to do, adding that he further inspires because he’s overcome a physical obstacle to thrive.

Besides potentially serving for someone who is blind or hearing impaired, Bell described at least two other ways these dogs help. She recalled how a child struggled to button a shirt, but the youngster learned how by dressing a therapy dog. Bell also shared how an adult rehabilitation patient with a severe arm injury played fetch with a therapy dog to boost strength and dexterity. A graduate of Lifeline Canines’ training program, Bell is also a regular contributor to a variety of rehabilitation and counseling departments at Carteret General Hospital. “What people don’t even realize is the impact until they start seeing what the dog does,” Bell says. “Motivation is probably the biggest thing they do. It motivates them to do the work and not think about the pain. It helps with depression. It helps lowering blood pressure. It motivates them to work on goals to get through a rehab program just because of the presence of that dog.” On average, Bell and a fleet of volunteers have to work with a dog for at least two years before it can be certified. It’s not an easy process, but one she welcomes.

“Seeing the end result, seeing the dogs out there working, is definitely very rewarding,” Bell says. “The biggest question I get out in public is, ‘How do you give the dogs up? How do you train them for two or three years and be able to give them up?’ Yes, you miss the dogs, but it’s rewarding when you’ve been teaching them all this time and you see them using the skills you taught them and making a difference for people. I don’t want them fully trained sitting around my house. I want them out in the field making a difference.”

Roxboro Rotary Club

It’s been three years since the Roxboro Rotary Club organized a bus trip for all of the living veterans of World War II from Person County to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Members called it the Person County Ride of Honor. Still, the memories of the experiences from May 7, 2007 resonate throughout the community. Person County Farm Bureau Members Bayard Crumpton and Adam White were on the committee that put together the trip for more than 100 veterans, several of whom also were Farm Bureau members. Veterans who lived near each other but hadn’t talked about their war experiences for decades reminisced and soaked in tributes that left many in tears from Roxboro to the nation’s capital. “The opportunity just presented itself,” says Crumpton, who presented the idea to the club after seeing a CBS News report about a similar endeavor in Hendersonville. “The timing was right. The organization was right. It rolled out in an orderly fashion. We were just lucky enough to be around to be a part of it. I feel very fortunate to be in an area and a community like this.” Person County residents got behind the effort so heartily that two years to the day after the trip, the Roxboro Rotary Club used leftover funds to erect a World War II monument in front of the county courthouse. Along with the monument, the trip still is talked about often in coffee shops, tobacco fields and on front porches throughout Person County several committee members say.

“The more we look back at it, the bigger it gets. You treasure it now more than you ever have,” says Debbie Barker, another committee member. Randy King, who also helped to organize the trip, went with his father, who soon will turn 87. Rotary Club members admit that it would be difficult to top the success of the Ride of Honor. “It was a reunion of all Person County folks who all had a common purpose, who all served. It was almost like a family reunion,” says David Bradsher, who also served on the organization committee. “Had they not done what was done, we wouldn’t enjoy the lifestyle we have today. We don’t know where we would be. This was the supreme sacrifice for America during the period of time.”

Shiloh Farm Ministry

Wayne County Farm Bureau Members Jeff and Phyllis Turner had no idea how their daughter’s diagnosis of ADD would affect them. When their daughter went off to summer camp, she came home and all she could talk about were the horses. Inspired by her newfound focus, the Turners bought one horse. They were so impressed with the progress she made that a year later they had 30 horses. And so began Shiloh Farm Ministry, a nonprofit organization that helps children overcome emotional, mental and physical challenges. Their daughter has since grown up, attended college and is back on the farm as the program director. Now, the farm sees up to 30 kids a day being healed through the power of animals. “It’s amazing to see how the kids get in there and sit and hold a little puppy, and the love in that little animal is enough to change them,” Jeff Turner says. “We’ve seen children who were medicated be able to go off their medications, or reduce what they were taking. And children who couldn’t deal with emotional trauma learn how to express themselves.”

Turner recalls a particularly touching story of a boy who had found his deceased mother. “We overheard him crying and telling this horse about how he had found his mother dead,” Turner says. “He wasn’t able to tell that to an adult, but he was able to get it out when talking to the horse.” The organization is operated entirely by the Turner family, volunteers and donations. “They truly give these kids everything they have,” says Phyllis Brown, a social worker who volunteers at the farm and also a mother who sends her children through their programs. “They work so hard to meet the needs of what they see out here. They even have kids that come off the buses with empty lunchboxes and they fill them.” “We are at the point where we need major funding,” Turner says. “We’re growing daily. We have the largest 4-H program in Wayne County and the only program in North Carolina that has the range of animals that we do. We work with social workers through the school system to bring in at-risk youth. We even get people who drive by and stop to see the animals and when they find out what we do, they know of someone we can help.”

The ministry also introduces children to faith and worship. “We’re able to reach people who wouldn’t set foot in a church,” Turner says. “If you come to the farm, you’re bound to learn something about Jesus. But we do it in a tactful way.” And it’s faith that keeps the Turner family going, even through the heartbreaking stories they hear from children coming to the farm and the financial challenges they face to keep the operation going. “The program absolutely seems to work,” Turner says, “but we don’t take any credit for it. It’s like God dumped this in our laps and said ‘run with it’—and we did.”

However, one of the most popular segments of the event is directly tied to its name. The festival’s Garden Tour allows a dozen of the most devoted horticulture enthusiasts in the area to show off their plants and flowers they’ve worked so hard to cultivate.

“They’re all lovely gardens that people would like to see,” says Gloria Degnan, the festival’s garden tour committee chair. “They have just about every kind of plant material that you could imagine in these gardens. Many will be putting in new things this year.”

This year, 12 homes are included in the tour, dotted along a stretch from downtown Wilmington through Wrightsville Beach. One home marks its return for the first time in five years, another has a well-known reputation with the Cape Fear Garden Club for its creativity connected to each season, and yet another garden has been restored to its former glory, Degnan says.

“One gentleman bought a home downtown just to be on the tour,” Degnan says. “That was his impetus to get everything done by a certain time. That’s a pretty good impetus if you ask me.”
The overall theme for this year’s Azalea Festival Garden Tour is “Gardens for an Afternoon Tea.” Besides the festival hallmark azalea, Degnan expects the gardens to include plenty of hydrangeas, roses and other colorful blooms that enhance the theme.

The Garden Tour runs the duration of this year’s festival, which starts on April 7. During the four-day span, other events that have been connected with the festival for decades will bring more than 200,000 attendees to Wilmington.

“I’m very big on tradition,” says festival president Erica Mearns, who hasn’t missed a festival in more than 30 years.

New twists are being included in this year’s festival, which will be the 63rd. Mearns explained that special tributes to all branches of the nation’s military will be done during all festival events. She’s encouraging current and retired military service members and their families to wear patriotic attire when attending so they can be recognized.

“It’s meant to thank the military and their families for the sacrifice,” Mearns says. “If it wasn’t for them, we recognize that there wouldn’t be an Azalea Festival. We wouldn’t have the freedoms that we do today.”

Another festival addition that will debut this year is the Azalea Cake Challenge, which Mearns indicated was based on some of the culinary shows on cable television. Professional caterers and bakers have been tasked with creating cakes that incorporate the festival’s hallmark flower. Amateur bakers also have been invited to participate.
Mearns is eager for the festival and all it offers to begin.

“It’s Wilmington’s rite of passage into spring,” she says. “It’s a chance for Wilmington to show how it’s a unique community, our beautiful gardens and to really show what Southern hospitality is all about.

63rd Annual
North Carolina Azalea Festival
Wilmington, NC
April 7-11, 2010

How to Buy Festival Tickets

In-Person
Stop by the ticket office located at
5725 Oleander Drive in Wilmington
with cash, check, Visa, Mastercard,
Discover, or AMEX.

Call
(910)794-4650 and order with Visa,
Mastercard, Discover, or AMEX. You can then
pick up your tickets in 24 hours or have
them mailed for an additional $5.

Log On
Purchase Online through E-tix
Visit www.ncazaleafestival.org and click on
Tickets near the top right of your screen.
Tickets can be printed at home.
Tickets not available for all events.

Burt is a military leader authorized to submit small businesses for a micro-grant that is sponsored by the U.S. military. The grants are small, never totaling more than $5,000, but are designed to help small businesses improve operations and in turn bring economic stability to areas of Iraq that are rebuilding.

The recipients of the micro-grants are thoroughly vetted to ensure the legitimacy and sustainability of their business ventures before being awarded the grant.

Burt and his platoon have been providing micro-grants for farmers on the outskirts of southern Baghdad who need help getting water to their crops. Burt says the existing system of pumps to bring water from the Tigress River to the farmers was in need of repair, and with a micro-grant, the company was able to provide pumps to get water from the larger canals to the smaller canals that the farmers can use for irrigation.

Additional grants have been used to get supplies to the farmers.

“We’ve been able to provide water, seed, fertilizer and pesticides,” Burt says. “The rotation before us used a grant to create a farmers’ co-op where farmers can rent tractors and equipment to work their fields.”

Not all of the micro-grants are given to farmers. Some have been used to boost other businesses like ration shops and mechanic shops. Burt’s company has been responsible for 16 grants in the past eight months.

The grants are also helping the soldiers build relationships with people in the area.

“Even during the surge, (the Iraqis) said nobody talked to them or came to see them,” Burt says. “Now they say how much they appreciate what we’re doing and how much it’s helping them. They really trust us and feel comfortable with us for their security.”

And by working closely with members of the Iraqi police, they are able to help the citizens gain trust in their new security.

“Working with the Iraqi security forces frees us up to do other things and allows the people to see them as the good guys and enforcement,” Burt says. “It helps them rebuild Iraqi relationships and get ‘wasta.’”

“Wasta” is an Arabic term for influence and credibility.

“By building up the industry here, it gets rid of the bad people that cause problems and enables the good,” Burt says. “They feel safe and they’re getting the help they need, and they won’t do anything to jeopardize those relationships.”

Burt’s platoon is currently wrapping up its grant projects in Iraq and preparing to return home in February.

…and Closer to Home

North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company workstation specialist Ken Colvin does double duty. He is also Sgt. 1st Class Ken Colvin with the North Carolina National Guard. Colvin initially joined the U.S. Army in 1987 to become a Russian linguist, but by the early 1990s, it was clear to him that computers were his calling. When Colvin joined the National Guard in 2002, he put his professional computer skills to good use.

“I felt a real calling after Sept. 11,” Colvin says. “And I had the skills to make a difference. My dad was a WWII veteran, and he passed those values down to me. Part of it is patriotic, but part of it is feeling that somebody’s got to do it, and if I can’t count on me, who can I count on?”

When Colvin joined the National Guard he was employed at Farm Bureau working in information technology. The skills he had gained professionally transferred to his Guard job of computer support and communication security.

But the true test came in November 2008, when for the first time in his 17 years of service, he was deployed. While Colvin was deployed in Iraq from November 2008 to September 2009, he was in charge of the computer help- desk for his brigade, which included about 2,000 user accounts. Even more importantly, Colvin was responsible for communication security or making sure encrypted radio communications couldn’t be decoded by opposing forces.

Though Colvin hadn’t anticipated being deployed to Iraq after so many years of service, he is happy with the work he was able to do. His family is proud of him, too. “My daughters were shocked when they heard the news,” he says. “But I think they were proud to have their dad in Iraq.”

During the Antiques Roadshow stop in Raleigh last June, an unidentified Eastern North Carolinian made big headlines when it was discovered that she was the owner of the highest appraised antique ever found on the show. Show publicist Erika Denn said the collection of Chinese jade from the period of 1736 to 1795 was valued at $710,000 to $1.07 million. That breaks the previous record of $500,000 set last year in Palm Springs, Calif., for a painting by abstract expressionist Clyfford Still.

The precious family heirloom that’s been passed down, or the one-of-a-kind collector’s item picked up on a family road trip might not be worth millions, but all collectors will verify that everything has a story behind it.

Cumberland County Farm Bureau member Andrew Gillis and his family have been collecting antiques as a way to preserve their family’s history and use it to educate others about what life was like in earlier days. The Gillis Hill Farm has been in the Gillis family since the 1700s. Through the process of restoring some of the original buildings, the Gillis family thought that others, particularly local school children, might be able to learn something from their family history, and they decided to open the farm to the public.

“We wanted to share our history with everyone around us,” Gillis says.

The family offers tours from April to November for schools and groups that are interested in learning more about farming.

“The tours are not just about the farm animals,” Gillis says. “We show them about old farm life, what it was like to live back then, the way chores were done.”

The tours lead children through various scenes where they learn about the old farm equipment, how crops were harvested, how ice cream was made, how clothes were washed and other practical information. The farm features treasures like an old rope bed from the early 1800s, a horse-drawn buggy from 1890, a rifle from 1862, a house built in 1852 and a steam powered cotton gin from 1911.

“It’s our way of still living off the land, but teaching with it too,” Gillis says.

For Rowan County Farm Bureau member Tom Smith, collecting antiques is a way to remember his past. Smith has an extensive collection of John Deere tractors and equipment.
“I grew up on a farm close to here and worked for a farmer that had a two-cycle John Deere tractor,” Smith says. “In the ’80s, I thought I’d get that tractor and fix it up. It’s a way to remember earlier days, and each one of these tractors carries fond memories.”

Smith and his wife both like to collect antiques, and they enjoy hunting for treasures when they travel. “That’s our thing when we’re out travelling together; we just enjoy looking around antique shops to find things,” Smith says.

His wife has a large collection of old irons in a display that shows how irons have evolved over the years. The earliest irons in the collection date back to the 1700s. The Smiths found them while traveling in Europe.

“We both remember our grandmother using these old irons, and that got us interested in the different kinds of irons.”

Smith’s collection might be worthy of a museum display, but he says it’s all just for his enjoyment. In addition to the tractors and irons, the barn where he keeps his antiques also houses other collectibles like butter churns, washboards, flax wheels, hay trolleys, an old school desk, Depression glass and many other items.

Onslow County Farm Bureau member Marion Howard also collects antiques that he remembers from his childhood.

“I was always into old things, and I kept a lot of the things I grew up with,” Howard says.

Howard has set up an antique museum in the loft of one of his barns where he displays a wide variety of antiques from Octagon soap to ice saws to lightning rods to a full-blown tobacco grading station.

“I’m a scrounger,” Howard says. “I don’t throw anything away; I keep it. But some of these are things I’ve bought or found or someone gave to me. People that know what I’m doing always bring me things.”

Some of the farming equipment that Howard has kept over the years originated from his father. “My father was a sharecropper. He started out with nothing, but he was very smart and a hard worker, and by the time he died, he had done very well,” Howard says. “Looking at what he had to work with and what we have now—it shows how far we can come in one generation. I always think, ‘Well, they’re not going to come up with anything better than this,’ and then they do.”

Howard’s motivation for expanding his collection was to showcase what life was like in earlier days. “I want to be able to share this and pass it on,” he says. “You can go to a museum and see lots of things, but they don’t have all the things we used to use on a daily basis.”

“Everything is done at such a fast pace these days and people don’t have time to have gardens like they used to,” Tart says. “It’s hard work, but we farm to have produce to serve the community at large.”
Tart’s family has a special place in their hearts for the elderly. “A lot of older people can’t have the gardens they want because they need help keeping it,” she says. “So we can help them have the garden-fresh food they’re used to. It’s fresh, healthy and they know where it’s coming from.”

Harnett County Farm Bureau members Melvin and Mamie Hughes frequent local farmers markets because of the quality of the food and also to support local growers. “It’s much fresher and tastes better,” says Mamie. “There are more choices here and we like to be patrons of local farmers, especially those in Harnett County.”

Many farmers market customers cite the quality of the food and supporting local farmers as their main reasons for buying local food. In addition to these reasons, there are also other benefits of purchasing local produce.

Heirloom varieties of some fruits and vegetables have become popular and this can be attributed strongly to the popularity of local markets. When produce is grown for mass distribution, certain characteristics that make the fruits and vegetables better adapted for shipping, like thicker skin or longer shelf life, are favorable. Because only certain varieties will produce these characteristics, the varieties available from commercial grocery stores are limited. Buying locally opens buyers to a larger selection of fruit and vegetable varieties.

Shopping at farmers markets also has less obvious benefits like preserving open space and benefiting wildlife. Failing farms mean less green space to enjoy. Supporting small farmers who make the majority of their profit by selling food locally ensures that fields dotted with barns will remain a common sight on the North Carolina terrain.

More than 70 farmers markets currently operate in North Carolina. The markets sell everything from common fruits and vegetables to plants, meats, cheeses, breads, preserves and honey. Some markets are open year-round and welcome customers seven days a week, while others are seasonal.

The Durham Farmers Market is celebrating its tenth year in business and has recently moved from a tented area to a permanent facility. Market Manager Erin Kauffman says that since the market moved to a permanent location, business has boomed. “We’ve grown substantially and quickly,” she says. “We currently see about 3,000 to 4,000 people come through, and we have 60 vendors.”

Kauffman says the market’s popularity has increased significantly since 2007, which she attributes to news stories about eating local and food safety.

“We make sure everything being sold is top quality and clean and that the sellers follow USDA and EPA standards,” Kauffman says.

Kauffman says that vendors choose to sell at the farmers market because of the customers. “They are doing it because they like to do it, and they get excited because their customers get excited. It’s a social event for everyone involved.”

And the customers agree that they are there because of the farmers. “They get a sense of connectedness that they don’t get at the grocery store,” Kauffman says.

4-H is the largest youth organization in the state, with more than 239,000 youth and 23,000 volunteers actively involved in the more than 10,000 different programs statewide.

“We reach young people where they learn and play,” says 4-H Executive Director Michael Martin. “4-H goes to young people so they don’t have to come to us, and we’re as broad as the demographics of the youth we serve.”

4-H began in North Carolina in 1909 as a corn and tomato club in Ahoskie.

“It began as a way to introduce new farming technologies to families,” says Mitzi Downing, NCSU extension assistant professor and specialist. “It’s hard to get the older generations to take on new technology, so it was taught to the youth in hopes that the youth would help incorporate it on the farm. It used youth to grow the village.”

Once the popularity spread, it quickly evolved into a statewide program. Today, North Carolina 4-H has expanded beyond production agriculture and into a club that offers programs from photography to computers and building rockets to raising animals. Youth involved in 4-H learn public speaking, decision-making skills, organizational planning, leadership, teamwork, record-keeping and communications skills.

“We teach them life skills. That may not be something every kid is excited about learning, but they look back on their years in 4-H and realize they came away confident in themselves,” Martin says.

“It’s a great youth development program. I feel very strongly that Farm Bureau and 4-H make a good team, and I feel we have a responsibility to help a good youth organization like 4-H,” said Larry Wooten, president of NCFB, and a former 4-H member.

In North Carolina, 4-H membership is represented by 51 percent rural youth and 49 percent urban youth. Downing says the most popular program in the state is STEM, for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

“We do offer agriculture projects in STEM, but the majority of the projects revolve around aerospace, biology and engineering. The majority of our young people are there to learn a lot of things outside of traditional agriculture.”

Participants of 4-H are encouraged to learn in a hands-on way. Members complete projects based on their interest area. Projects can focus on producing something, developing a skill or raising an animal—and the interest area can be virtually anything.

“All of our programs are very experiential,” Downing says. “If a 9-year-old can actually see force and drag when studying racecars, rather than just learning the terms, it helps them see that science isn’t so boring.”

Rowan County Farm Bureau Member Beverly Pugh joined 4-H when she was eight years old and was a state officer during her high school years. Now a middle school principal, Pugh attributes her career success to skills she learned through participation in 4-H. She plans to attend the centennial celebration and continues to support 4-H efforts.

“It truly was life-changing,” Pugh says. “Had I not had the opportunities I had through 4-H, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

Pugh credits 4-H with teaching her leadership skills, people skills and expanding her views of the world.

“I got a chance to see the world outside of my community. There is one experience in particular that sticks out in my mind,” she says.
“We were at 4-H National Congress in Chicago and we went down to the soda shop in the hotel. My friends and I sat at a table and were surrounded by people from all different parts of the world. We realized we were the only ones speaking English. That was really eye-opening for me because I wouldn’t have seen that in my little town.”

“Our town didn’t have Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, but 4-H gave our rural youth the chance to do things that the city kids did through those programs,” Pugh says. “I would bet that a lot of people my age or younger have a great impact on society because of what they learned in 4-H.”

While 4-H serves North Carolina youth from all walks of life, the roots of the program are still grounded in its agricultural past, and have a strong impact on rural communities.

“In rural communities, so much of the leadership is volunteer,” Martin says. “You’ll find that most people that come forward to lead in those situations were 4-H members. In the clubs, the members run their own meetings and organization, so they learn leadership at a very young age.”

Planning for the centennial celebration began in 2008 with the forming of a committee of 100 4-H partners who identified six focus areas—life skills development, volunteering, leadership, work force, health and wellness, and K-12 program development.

“We chose these areas and focused on how we could support them and grow them throughout the year,” Downing says.

The committee determined that 2009 would be a year-long celebration of 4-H and would culminate with a homecoming in July.

The homecoming celebration will be an all-day event held on July 21. The event will include the induction of 100 past and present 4-H members into the North Carolina Hall of Fame; a reunion; exhibits spotlighting the past, present and future of 4-H; speeches and presentations from notable North Carolinians; performances from several 4-H groups; and a Rockin’ Clover Bash dance.

“We want to reconnect with alumni, tell the story of 4-H today and use the celebration as a platform to launch into a second century of excellence,” Martin says.

When looking into the next century of 4-H accomplishments, Martin sees a solid future. “I’m confident that our motto ‘make the best better’ will still be accurate, our slogan ‘learn by doing’ will still be appropriate and our involvement in the development of youth leadership will still be strong.”

Now, she finds her fix through a burgeoning sport that can be done on North Carolina soil: adventure racing.

The sport is a combination of activities such as mountain biking, paddling and running—similar to a triathlon—but it usually covers a variety of terrain such as woods, fields and rivers. The races last at least four hours, and the longest ones can take up to 10 days to finish.

“I call it a triathlon with mud, but it’s much less structured than any other race you see,” Murphy says. “You really design your own course and design how you approach your own checkpoints. It requires a lot of strategizing.”

Murphy first got involved in adventure racing about three years ago. She participates in two or three races every year with a group of fellow adventure racers from around the Triangle area. She says she enjoys the challenge of the various activities and the camaraderie among her teammates.

“I do half marathons and I do mountain bike races, but there is something special about having all these engaged in one race,” she says. “You have to engage your brain quite a lot.”

One of North Carolina’s biggest adventure racing advocates is Murphy’s friend and teammate, Don Childrey. Childrey, who lives in Cary, has been adventure racing for the past six years and is head of the Triangle chapter of the Trailblazers Adventure Racing Club. A former Eagle Scout, Childrey says he was introduced to the sport by a friend and immediately took to it.

“Once I got involved, I found I loved it,” he says. “I think most people try it and they either love it or hate it. I developed a love of the outdoors and this is another excuse to go out and play in the woods.”

About three and a half years ago, he began designing his own adventure race courses. Since then, he’s designed and hosted five races, and has another one planned for September in the Triangle area. He can’t say where, he says, because that’s part of the sport.

“We give everyone points and coordinates and part of the race is how to figure out how to get to those different points,” he says. “The big difference between adventure racing and other sports like triathlons is navigation.”

Childrey says that adventure races almost always consist of mountain biking, running and orienteering, and they often require paddling. The orienteering portion requires teams to find a series of special markers hidden in the woods, and the running and biking parts usually cover at least five miles.

One aspect that differentiates adventure racing from other similar sports is teamwork. Few people adventure race alone, Childrey says.

“Anywhere from two to four people stay together through the whole event,” he says. “For me it’s a lot more fun because you are with a group of friends. I’ve done some marathons before and that’s a whole lot of solo suffering.

“Because of the team aspect you end up seeing a much more laid-back group of people. It ends up being like a party atmosphere.”

Like Murphy, Childrey says he enjoys the strategy aspect of

adventure racing. The winner isn’t usually the fastest and strongest racer, he says.

“Winners are usually in their late 30s and early 40s,” he says. “It’s not 20-year-olds who win these things. You need to pace yourself, conserve energy and work well with your team.”

Murphy says the sport allows her to capitalize on one of her greatest strengths: her positive attitude.

“I have a strong sense of fun and ability to retain a positive attitude when things get difficult and challenging,” she says. “Adventure racing is really about pushing yourself a little bit harder than the average person. It’s a physical and mental test.”

One of Childrey’s main goals with adventure racing—besides having fun—is to get new people involved in the sport. He says when people finish the “sprint” races—four-hour races—for the first time, they usually say something like, “Has it been four hours already?”

“Time slips by so quickly,” he says. “The pace is a lot less intense than a triathlon. It’s easier than you would think to
go for six hours, but it’s still a good workout.

“I always tell people to go into it with the goal of just finishing the course and having fun and not getting hurt. It’s pretty easy to meet that goal, and you’ll finish and be happy for having done it and there is a great sense of accomplishment.”

There’s dressing up, and then there’s DRESSING UP.
 
For Laughlin, Black and Butson, they’re known nationally for the latter. They’re supreme masters of their sewing domain, taking their Victorian Era craft to award-winning levels. They’ve rocked fashion shows, appeared on TV and offered “Belle Academies” on their Web site. In fact, they joke that they each suffer from OCCD—obsessive compulsive costuming disorder—and it’s incurable.

But the three aren’t just admired for their dazzling style. They’re also recognized for their shooting. Whether toting revolvers, shotguns or rifles, the trio is fast and accurate, hitting such heavy-steel targets as hearts, diamonds, circles, bulls, bears, chickens and tombstones. Occasionally, they’ve captured area competitions.

As much as the Carolina Belles enjoy their guns, they love their garb even more. And, most of all, they cherish their special friendship, forged over the last 10 years.

They come from varied backgrounds. Butson had never shot a gun until she met her husband, Bill, a competitive shooter. Laughlin’s father had a family ranch in Wyoming, so she had shot a little as a young girl but not competitively until she met her husband, Jim. Black has shot guns since she was 6 years old, often hunting with her dad. But when she would attend SASS matches in the Carolinas, she liked the shooting but thought dressing up was “ridiculous.”

That would all change when the three women met around the turn of the millennium. They’d see each other at local club matches in North and South Carolina in cities such as Lenoir, Charlotte, Statesville and Columbia.

But a dramatic turn would occur in Georgia at what’s called a Mule Camp—the Southeast regional championship. Formal outfits were required for the ball, always held after the matches. They couldn’t justify paying hundreds of dollars for gowns, so Butson and Black essentially taught themselves how to sew and made their own. They met in line and hit it off right away. Soon after, they hooked up with Laughlin.

That’s when the three decided to go all out for the next year’s ball. They collaborated on a joint strategy.

“We got together and I said, ‘Girls, if we do this, we have to walk in and slay the place. We have to have dresses that are out of this world,’” Black remembers.

So they labored nearly every Saturday to get ready. They honed their sewing skills. Their outfits were stunning.

“Our dresses were phenomenally gorgeous,” Black says. “When we entered, literally, we stopped the show.”

After that, the three became almost inseparable. One weekend at a South Carolina match when Bill Butson saw them approaching, he said, “Here come the Carolina Belles.” The name’s stuck ever since.

At SASS events, the Belles are not known by their real names. Instead, they go by the aliases Catawba Kate (Kathy), Tornado Alli (Allison) and Fannie Kikinshoot (Malinda).

“There are a lot of people (who) I don’t know their real names,” Black says.

“It’s as much a role-playing game as it is a shooting competition,” Butson says.

Laughlin adds, “Oh yeah, we live in this wonderful fantasy world. We’re like kids who never have to stop dressing up.”

And the trio relishes the chance to pass on their knowledge. In 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina roared through, the trio flew to Fredericksburg, Texas, to shoot a 30-minute program in an Old West town for the Outdoor Channel.

“My costumes got lost in the Katrina mess,” Black says. “I had to beg, borrow and steal outfits for that show.”

Things went much smoother at the 2008 SASS convention in Las Vegas. That’s where they taught a seminar titled “Saloon Girl 101: How to Get in Touch with Your Inner Floozy.” It was packed.

But the Carolina Belles recoil when asked if they consider themselves famous.

“Here we are a 50-plus and two 40-plus aged women who dress like this, and we get our pictures taken like 20-year-old models. We’re moms and grandmothers. It’s so funny when you think about it,” Black says.

“You know, for us, the best part really is that we’ve met the best friends of our lives,” Laughlin says. 

There’s dressing up, and then there’s DRESSING UP.
 
For Laughlin, Black and Butson, they’re known nationally for the latter. They’re supreme masters of their sewing domain, taking their Victorian Era craft to award-winning levels. They’ve rocked fashion shows, appeared on TV and offered “Belle Academies” on their Web site. In fact, they joke that they each suffer from OCCD—obsessive compulsive costuming disorder—and it’s incurable.

But the three aren’t just admired for their dazzling style. They’re also recognized for their shooting. Whether toting revolvers, shotguns or rifles, the trio is fast and accurate, hitting such heavy-steel targets as hearts, diamonds, circles, bulls, bears, chickens and tombstones. Occasionally, they’ve captured area competitions.

As much as the Carolina Belles enjoy their guns, they love their garb even more. And, most of all, they cherish their special friendship, forged over the last 10 years.

They come from varied backgrounds. Butson had never shot a gun until she met her husband, Bill, a competitive shooter. Laughlin’s father had a family ranch in Wyoming, so she had shot a little as a young girl but not competitively until she met her husband, Jim. Black has shot guns since she was 6 years old, often hunting with her dad. But when she would attend SASS matches in the Carolinas, she liked the shooting but thought dressing up was “ridiculous.”

That would all change when the three women met around the turn of the millennium. They’d see each other at local club matches in North and South Carolina in cities such as Lenoir, Charlotte, Statesville and Columbia.

But a dramatic turn would occur in Georgia at what’s called a Mule Camp—the Southeast regional championship. Formal outfits were required for the ball, always held after the matches. They couldn’t justify paying hundreds of dollars for gowns, so Butson and Black essentially taught themselves how to sew and made their own. They met in line and hit it off right away. Soon after, they hooked up with Laughlin.

That’s when the three decided to go all out for the next year’s ball. They collaborated on a joint strategy.

“We got together and I said, ‘Girls, if we do this, we have to walk in and slay the place. We have to have dresses that are out of this world,’” Black remembers.

So they labored nearly every Saturday to get ready. They honed their sewing skills. Their outfits were stunning.

“Our dresses were phenomenally gorgeous,” Black says. “When we entered, literally, we stopped the show.”

After that, the three became almost inseparable. One weekend at a South Carolina match when Bill Butson saw them approaching, he said, “Here come the Carolina Belles.” The name’s stuck ever since.

At SASS events, the Belles are not known by their real names. Instead, they go by the aliases Catawba Kate (Kathy), Tornado Alli (Allison) and Fannie Kikinshoot (Malinda).

“There are a lot of people (who) I don’t know their real names,” Black says.

“It’s as much a role-playing game as it is a shooting competition,” Butson says.

Laughlin adds, “Oh yeah, we live in this wonderful fantasy world. We’re like kids who never have to stop dressing up.”

And the trio relishes the chance to pass on their knowledge. In 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina roared through, the trio flew to Fredericksburg, Texas, to shoot a 30-minute program in an Old West town for the Outdoor Channel.

“My costumes got lost in the Katrina mess,” Black says. “I had to beg, borrow and steal outfits for that show.”

Things went much smoother at the 2008 SASS convention in Las Vegas. That’s where they taught a seminar titled “Saloon Girl 101: How to Get in Touch with Your Inner Floozy.” It was packed.

But the Carolina Belles recoil when asked if they consider themselves famous.

“Here we are a 50-plus and two 40-plus aged women who dress like this, and we get our pictures taken like 20-year-old models. We’re moms and grandmothers. It’s so funny when you think about it,” Black says.

“You know, for us, the best part really is that we’ve met the best friends of our lives,” Laughlin says.