No matter how simple or complicated the dish, Johnson declares that every one of her recipes and cooking techniques all contain the same ingredient.

“Love,” she says about cooking, a passion that’s led to awards, successful fundraisers, classes, a website and a soon to be published book, Tales of a Well Fed Family.

Johnson says, “I hope I encourage people to cook. My whole mission is the well-fed family. Every time someone on Facebook or the website leaves a message, I can’t even tell you. I literally get choked up. Even if it’s just one person, that’s how strongly I feel about this mission.

“I see how it’s affected my whole family, sitting down at the dinner table and having that quality time,” she continues. “Families need to know cooking doesn’t cost much. Cooking with your children doesn’t cost much. You’ve got to eat anyway, right?”

Origins of Cooking with Elise
Before she ever had a website Tales of Well Fed Family or segments on television, Johnson grew up in the kitchen with her Portuguese grandmother, who immigrated to the United States but didn’t speak English.

The unofficial cooking training took place in a multiple-story dwelling near Boston in Fall River, Mass., where Johnson’s grandparents occupied one floor and her parents and siblings lived on another. Johnson sought refuge in her grandmother’s kitchen because her schoolwork was a struggle. Johnson talked little because she battled a speech impediment until about age 17.

“I survived school,” Johnson says. “Having dealt with the speech impediment for years, I would come home and visit with my grandmother and just relax and cook.”

While there might not have been much verbal communication, Johnson says she learned many of the cooking fundamentals she uses and shares today in classes and videos on her website, “Cooking With Elise.”

Johnson recalls there was only one rule in her grandmother’s kitchen.

“Her biggest rule was hair up because I had really long hair, or you’re not in the kitchen,” Johnson says.

“I think a lot of what I did with my grandmother is I just followed her example,” she continues. “Whatever she was doing, I would try to do. I certainly couldn’t do it well or as well as she did, but she let me do it, which was a big deal. It was her letting me do it with her, like peel the potatoes and wash them, stir pots and whatnot. A lot of times she didn’t have to speak. It was the case if I had paid attention enough, I would get it. It might have taken me a while, but I eventually got it.

“That’s one of the things I tell parents when they come to my classes— you have to let the children actually do it,” Johnson adds.

Teaching Others to Cook
Johnson has been married toher husband, Michael, for 20 years and has two sons, Nathaniel and Alexander, who now attend college. Keeping the household humming while homeschooling her children kept Johnson busy during a stretch that included a move to North Carolina—first to Asheville then Raleigh.

It was in Western North Carolina that the possibility of teaching others to cook became a reality.

Johnson often shared treats with her new neighbors, having become one of the first families to move into a rapidly growing subdivision. Word spread through the community of more than 500 households that the delicious baked goods and casseroles came from Johnson’s kitchen.

“The next thing I knew, they wanted to order the food,” Johnson says. “I told them, ‘I don’t take orders. That’s not what I do, but I can show you how to make it.’”

Neighbors and members of her church were Johnson’s first cooking students. She looked to tailor her classes toward the attendee demographic— young adults learning the basics or parents with finicky eaters in
their household.

One successful class led to another, then another. Johnson then rolled out a website and uploaded tutorial videos. Her reputation grew even more when she entered charity cooking competitions and defeated chefs from
highly respected culinary academies. Then for more than a year, she had a regular segment on “My Carolina Today,” a lifestyle television show on WNCN-TV in the Triangle.

“For me, cooking is the way I love people,” says Johnson, who also has been featured on the Food Network. “When I cook for people, strangers, anybody, I see cooking as the one thing I can do really, really well. It’s the one thing I can enjoy and can include everyone in it.”

North Carolina Connection
Now residing in this state for more than 10 years and firmly entrenched in North Carolina, Johnson described what she likes most about what the Tar Heel State has to offer.

“One of the things I appreciate about North Carolina is the farmers. I’ve become friends with farmers,” Johnson says.

“I tr y to weave the products I can get locally into the recipes I make,” she continues. “I think a lot of people enjoy that because they might have just picked up their ingredients elsewhere but instead they can go to the farmer’s market.

“It’s fun to be able to highlight the local farmers,” Johnson adds. “I really try to get to know them by name.”

Whether it’s farmraised beef and vegetables or nuts and fruits from a nearby orchard , Johnson stressed those are the ingredients that make the best dishes.

“It’s a big deal. The intensity of the flavor is incredible. It’s always better for you because you’re getting the nutrients at their best,” Johnson says.

“I’m big on the locally grown products,” she adds. “You’re going to help your neighbor. You’re going to help the people that this is their livelihood. This is how they feed their families. You know the difference when you bite into something local.”

My Grandmother’s Meatballs
On certain evenings the phone would ring in our apartment upstairs from my grandmother. My grandmother would say, “Come downstairs and eat, sweetheart!” She was serving one of my favorite meals…Spaghetti and Meatballs! I’d look up at my Mom with a huge smile across my face and say, “Mom, I’ll be back!”

1 lb. ground beef
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
Handful of fresh chopped parsley
About 1 cup of fresh bread soaked in a little milk (squeeze out excess milk)

Combine all of the ingredients. Bake the meatballs in a 350 degree oven until the meatballs have browned a bit. The meatballs will continue cooking in the sauce, so I never cook them all the way through in the oven. Cooking them the rest of the way in the sauce adds an immense amount of flavor! I bake the meatballs only until they are browned enough on the outside so that they do not fall apart when simmering in the sauce or gravy.

My Grandmother’s Spaghetti Sauce
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes, broken up with your fingers
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 bay leaves
Garlic and onion powder (my grandmother would put it in so that it looks like she’d dusted the top of the sauce with it)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings (crushed between your fingers to release the flavors)
1 teaspoon dried red crushed pepper
A pinch of sugar to round out the flavors

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, saute the onion, green pepper in olive oil until softened. Add garlic and cook a minute more. Add remaining ingredients and let simmer on low. Add the meatballs and let simmer for one hour making sure the sauce and meatballs do not burn on the bottom of the pan.

Garlic Knots
1 1/2 tablespoons dry active yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Sea salt as a finishing touch

In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, sugar and oil. Let proof for about five minutes until the mixture is nice and foamy.

Begin adding flour, one cup at a time, and the salt. Stir just a bit after each addition of flour. When all of the flour has been added, turn onto a board or counter using a little flour. Begin kneading the dough and add only a little extra flour when needed. Only add extra flour when the dough gets too sticky to handle.

Wash out your bowl with warm water, dry and place dough inside.

Cover with a clean dishtowel and set in a draft-free place.

Allow the dough to double in size, which could take between one and two hours.

When your dough has doubled in size, lightly grease two baking stones or sheets and have them ready for use.

Cut your beautiful dough in half to make it easier to work with. Place a little flour on the counter and roll out the dough to a rectangular shape approximately 10 x 6-inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1-inch x 6-inch strips. You should have about 10 bread sticks at this point. This recipe makes approximately 20 Garlic Knots.

Working one piece at a time, roll the dough back and forth until you have a piece of rope. Pick up the rope and make a knot by turning one side over the other and then placing one end through the hole. Some folks like to tuck the ends underneath, but my oldest son Nathaniel and I like the rustic look of the knot and simply leave them that way.

Place each knot on your two greased baking stones or sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 13 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. You may have to begin baking your bread in the middle of your oven and then move your stones or sheets to the bottom rack during the last couple of minutes to insure proper browning on the bottom of each roll.

While baking, make your garlic butter:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons salted butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup freshly chopped parsley

Simmer all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for five minutes.

As soon as your knots come out of the oven, brush them with your delicious garlic butter. Finish with a grind of sea salt over top and enjoy!

Fann suffered a spinal cord injury during a go-kart accident, leaving him without the ability to walk. It was 1985 and veteran farmers remember a tough time for the agriculture industry.

“I needed to spend more time on the farm. I needed to spend more time at the race track. I needed to spend more time with the family. It just seemed like there was no way to do it all,” Fann says.

At the time of his accident, Fann was a spry, newly married 25-year-old working with his father. The Fanns have a long history in agriculture as the elder Fann rented his first field at age 11.

“But after the accident, my priorities were put in place, like it or not,” Fann says. “Those things that seemed important, you realize it was just a game I was playing over there. The important things are family and your faith that sustains you with that family. That’s what got me through the time I was injured.”

Nowadays, Fann navigates his family’s farm in a wheelchair or the pickup truck he calls his office. For many years, he operated tractors and combines with hand controls. But as the operation grew, Fann shifted his responsibilities, using the gift of adaptability—an attribute he counts as one of his most treasured characteristics.

“That’s one thing I always do. If I can’t be efficient, put somebody in there who can. You just make the best with what you do have. If you can’t do it, don’t be scared to ask for help,” Fann says.

Working His Way Back
To see Fann zipping around spacious Fann Farms near Spivey’s Corner in central Sampson County is not at all uncommon. How he arrived at that point took many years.

Fann remembers plans being made for him to return to the farm while he was still in a hospital bed. Before he could think about plowing a field or running a harvester, Fann spent a significant amount of time at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, a hospital specializing in medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord and brain injuries.

“The thing they taught there was don’t be concerned with what you cannot do; be concerned with what you can do. And do everything you can,” Fann says. “They would make a positive out of anything.”

Fann distinctly remembers one particular incident that radiates within him today. He was still learning how to navigate a wheelchair in the hospital cafeteria and noticed another patient fall. As the staff helped this patient back into his wheelchair, everyone began to cheer. At first, Fann had no idea why. He later learned the cheers came because although the patient was severely paralyzed, the man managed to keep his head from striking the hard floor, training Fann says is crucial for anyone who is paralyzed whether they’re scooting on a sidewalk or next to a barn.

“That was a real eye opener,” Fann says. “I have fallen out of my chair from time to time. That happens. But dwell on what you can do and you’ll achieve and go a lot further.”

Activity On and Off the Farm
Fann Farms raises tobacco, cotton, peanuts and sweet potatoes on about 4,700 acres. Kent Fann and his wife, Terry, are joined by his parents (Kenneth and Virginia Fann), uncle (Keith and Sherry Fann), brother (Bennett and Valerie Fann) and son (Robert and Brittany Fann).

“Each one of our partners has got his area that’s his expertise. That’s one thing we try to do is let each individual take care of certain things. It spreads the load but then each one has got command of his operation,” Fann says.

“I call myself the ramrod. I’m the point man. I do a lot of the organization of fields and crops, things like that—what we need to do next. A lot of the planning is what I take care of,” he adds.

When he’s not tending the farm or with family, Kent Fann can be found as a speaker with Open Door Ministries, a program with facilities in Magnolia and Clinton that offers six- and 12-week recovery programs from drug and alcohol addictions.

“When you have overcome experiences and hard times, it makes it a little easier to get through the next one,” Fann says. “There are going to be some frustrations in any limitations. An able- bodied person is even going to have limitations.

“It’s been 26 years now,” he adds. “I know what I can and can’t do. When I’m here on the farm, I’m in my element.”

McConnell, who serves as county president and on the state board of directors, sends water through a state-approved pump to irrigate peppers, cucumbers, asparagus and other vegetables that end up on the produce aisle at grocers in Hendersonville, Asheville and beyond.

That same water also helps keep tender strawberry and raspberry plants from succumbing to the effects of a late, Western North Carolina frost.

“If we did not have that pond, we wouldn’t be in the fruit and vegetable business,” McConnell says.

Farm ponds like McConnell’s often serve a variety of purposes. They might be a primary source for irrigation. They might be the place where cattle go to hydrate. Or they might be a place to relax and leisurely cast a fishing line.

“Our ponds are very important,” says Farm Bureau member Danny Allen, who serves on the Iredell County board and operates a tree nursery.

Allen used his 300-acre tract in Harmony, north of Statesville, to grow tobacco for many years. A half dozen ponds supplied the water that flowed through large irrigation pipes and sprayers that fed the golden leaf. Allen still has the tobacco irrigation equipment, but it lies idle now.

Instead, Allen uses his ponds as the irrigation source for ornamental trees, which need only a fraction of the water that tobacco did. Black tubes a little smaller than garden hose lie along the stumps of close to 400 different varieties of trees that often end up as the key components to landscaping projects.

While Allen’s trees usually need at least four years to mature enough to be harvested, he says it’s the first year a seedling is in the ground that is critical and when farm pond irrigation plays a crucial role.
“When you’ve got newly planted trees you’ve got to have a source for irrigation for them,” Allen says. “They’re just too valuable, too expensive to replace if you don’t have that irrigation system, especially for the first two years after you plant the tree. You just can’t afford to be without it. You can have $10,000 to $12,000 invested per acre and that’s something you don’t want to take a chance on without irrigation.”

Enjoying Farm Pond Fishing
On the other side of the state, Special Superior Court Judge and Pender County Farm Bureau member Gary E. Trawick doesn’t use his pond to water vegetables or trees. But for Trawick, it’s still vitally important to his property.

“I have never outgrown fishing in farm ponds,” Trawick says. “While I fish in rivers, creeks, mountain streams and even the ocean, I still often have to go back to the farm pond.”
Besides being a place where his fishing success can be much greater, Trawick’s farm pond gives great joy in the fact it is the place where he fishes with his grandson Jarrett. A pond fully stocked with bream and bass gives both generations hours of enjoyment.
Trawick fondly rcalls how 4-year-old Jarrett reeled in a bass that weighed about 2 pounds.
“When you’re 4 years old and it’s your first fishing trip, that’s equal to a tarpon in the Gulf,” Trawick says. “I have fished the San Juan in New Mexico and the Big Horn in Montana, but I wouldn’t trade the look on Jarrett’s face when he set the hook in that bass’ mouth in our farm pond for any of those experiences.”

More Uses for Farm Ponds
Some North Carolina landowners simply want fish to flourish in their contained body of fresh water.
Jim Rice, an extension fisheries specialist with the N.C. State University Fisheries and Pond Management Extension, works with landowners on legally and safely raising a variety of freshwater fish in a fertile aquatic setting.
Rice conducts training workshops and develops educational materials for county extension agents and the public on warm-water pond fisheries management, including pond design and site selection, fish stocking and harvest, water quality management, liming and fertilization, and common pond problems.
Rice also leads the 4-H Fisheries and Aquatic Resources program. It includes training workshops for teachers and other educators on aquatic ecology, which incorporates hands-on aquatic ecology classes at camps and field days for about 600 elementary school students per year.

Now, the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship has aided more than 250 aspiring agriculture professionals to acquire college education for careers in teaching, crop and veterinary sciences and more.
North Carolina Farm Bureau Magazine reconnected with five former recipients who all credited the scholarship funds as a critical element in launching their agriculture endeavors in North Carolina.

Luke Beam

Luke Beam proudly states how he is from Cleveland County, hailing from the Delight Community.

“It’s just a little green sign that says ‘Delight’ on both sides,” Beam says of the area about 16 miles north of Shelby.

Beam’s work as one of the agriculture teachers at Burns High School in nearby Lawndale takes him to Delight, Shelby and beyond. Teaching in the same classroom where he was once a student, Beam most enjoys accompanying some of the 181 FFA Association members out for plenty of community projects, such as helping with castration of calves, building fences and gathering soil samples.

“I definitely enjoy doing hands-on projects with students,” Beam says. “Anything that’s outside, we get involved in and do.”

Beam still is active in direct-to-market agriculture, too, operating Beam Family Farms (www.bffbeef.com) on land that’s been in his family since 1870, raising grass-grown gelbvieh beef cattle.

Beam credits part of his success in the classroom and on the farm to his N.C. State University education, which includes a bachelor’s degree in 1997 and a master’s degree in 2001. In fact, he was the agriculture education department’s distinguished graduate.

“The R. Flake Shaw Scholarship meant I could focus completely on school and not have to take a part-time job,” Beam says.

Beam describes himself as being extremely blessed with his career on and off the farm as well as his family, which includes his wife, Kathy, and three children, Keely, Ella and Lucas.

He also believes it’s those children—his own and students at Burns High School—who are going to be vital to keeping agriculture in Cleveland County and beyond thriving.

“That’s our future,” Beam says. “We’re going to have to produce twice as much food on less land than we have available in 20 years. I honestly believe agriculture has the greatest potential for growth and job opportunity than any industry because the developing populations are going to need agricultural products.”

April Bowman

When she decided on something, April Bowman didn’t hesitate to zero in on that particular objective. Twice in connection with North Carolina agriculture, her dreams came together just as she planned.
First, the Johnston County native set out to attend N.C. State University, and it was the only university where she applied.

“My mama said, ‘What are you going to do if you don’t get in?’ I said, ‘Mama, I’m going to N.C. State. I’m going to get in,’” Bowman recollects.

Bowman did become a student at NCSU, using her R. Flake Shaw Scholarship to graduate in 1997 with a degree in agriculture education and a minor in animal science.

Next came Bowman’s other agriculture dream—she wanted a career with 4-H. Having showed livestock since age 9, she says 4-H is simply “in her blood.”

After spending one year as an agriculture teacher in Stokes County, Bowman applied for a position with the county 4-H department after an agent departed for neighboring Surry County.

“I actually quit the school system and applied to be the 4-H agent,” Bowman says. “Again my parents asked, ‘This is the only job you’re applying for? You need to be applying for more.’ I told them, ‘You don’t understand. I want to be the 4-H agent.’”

Again, the events unfolded just like Bowman hoped. After spending six years in Stokes County, she transferred to Forsyth County, where she has served as a 4-H extension agent since 2005.

Bowman credits the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship as the catalyst for her academic and professional dreams becoming a reality.

“There was not a lot of extra money around,” Bowman says. “Basically because of the scholarship, I was able to graduate with no college debt. Granted along with the scholarship, I worked in the soybean extension office on the NCSU campus, but without the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship, there’s no way I could have graduated debt free.”

Willie Howell

Wayne County Farm Bureau member Willie Howell received the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship back in 1991 and graduated a semester early from N.C. State University with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education. Four years later, while juggling crop-raising responsibilities and classwork, he obtained his master’s degree, too.

Seeing how the state’s agriculture industry operates came into focus for Howell as a teenager when applying for the scholarship and participating in the NCFB’s Institute for Future Ag Leaders (IFAL).

“Between the R. Flake Shaw and IFAL, it really opened my eyes to what Farm Bureau is all about,” Howell says. “Up until that point, I thought Farm Bureau was only an insurance company. I really saw behind the scenes, even went to the General Assembly with a group and got to see more about Farm Bureau and how it functioned.”

Howell concentrated his N.C. State studies within the extension agent program, a path he says “taught me to do some testing on my own and be an independent thinker.”

With two NCSU degrees in hand, Howell is on his second term as the secretary/treasurer for Wayne County Farm Bureau. He also coordinates with his father, Gerald, to raise tobacco, soybeans and cotton on 1,200 acres.
“We’ve got a good working relationship. He looks after the tobacco, and I look after the cotton and soybeans. It all works together,” Howell says.

When not cultivating crops, Howell is cultivating relationships, often serving as the main public speaker for Farm Bureau in Wayne County.

“We’ve developed a really good working relationship with our county commissioners here in Wayne County and county manager Lee Smith. We keep in close contact with them,” Howell says.

Laura Pugh Parker and
Beth Pugh Farrell

Sisters Laura Pugh Parker and Beth Pugh Farrell grew up on a family farm in Alleghany County with aspirations of attending college.

“Farm Bureau truly helped us achieve our dreams,” Parker says. “The scholarship, there’s no way we could have gone through college without it. In so many ways, it helped both of us achieve those dreams.”

Farrell is the older of the sisters by two years. Farrell went to N.C. State with thoughts about becoming a physician in a rural area.

“I got to school and realized that wasn’t the course I wanted to take,” Farrell says. “I found animal science, and that was a natural alignment of my interests with the degree path.”

Farrell graduated with that degree in animal science in 2002 and spent several years as a North Carolina 4-H development officer. Currently, she’s an administrator for the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

Farrell credited the scholarship with allowing her to gain the skills she needed to benefit the state’s agriculture sector.

“Agriculture is so diverse that there is a way to align your interests and your passion with a career path,” Farrell says.

“Farm Bureau promotes agriculture in so many ways, and one is through the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship to make sure future agriculture leaders have the opportunity to pursue their education in order to give back to the industry,” she adds.

Meanwhile to the west, Parker also is giving back to the North Carolina agriculture industry as an agriculture teacher at Bandys High School in Catawba County. Parker realized from her IFAL experience that she wanted a career in education, having obtained a bachelor’s degree from NCSU in 2004 and a master’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University two years later.

“Being in the classroom is one of the most amazing things,” Parker says. “I have the opportunity to work with students in agriculture programs for three years. They start out as these shy kids and then they graduate as mature young adults ready to face the world and the challenges ahead of them.”

The Alleghany Challenge Course is derived from the ideas and enthusiasm of Glenn Wing, a Massachusetts native who relocated to this small county in northwestern North Carolina back in 2001 to be a recreation therapist for
an after school program at Alleghany High School.

Now 10 years later, Wing’s course and program have been praised by school and community leaders as a way to boost teenagers’ self-esteem, work ethic and more.

“I was an unknown entity in the beginning. But I’ve found it so heartwarming about what there is to be gained through coming together in terms of camaraderie, supporting each other and taking care of each other,” Wing says.

The activities that the course hosts seem to accentuate those attributes Wing described.

Description of the Course
The course itself is located directly between Alleghany High School and the county’s campus of Wilkes Community College. Wing explained the setting was picked so it could be a resource for the primary and secondary schools in the area and also where it could serve as a community resource for organizations, such as Alleghany County 4-H, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts and more.

Contained within cleared areas beneath large trees are challenges that force participants to work together. Here are some examples:

—In order to walk across a beam, someone needs to be steadied on either side by spotters.
—To climb on another apparatus, a participant needs the assistance of others.
—To maneuver another segment of the course, small groups have to coordinate efforts to connect planks efficiently and completely so the objective can be met.

“This whole course is an equalizer,” Wing says. “When they become frustrated, that’s when the real issues come out. To teach, that becomes a powerful metaphor for the rest of their lives.”

And teaching, whether the participants are in their teens or much older, is what Wing hopes the course does. School officials say they’ve seen great progress made by students who have participated.

Alleghany High School Principal Paul Crouse described how misbehavior and other social problems that could arise within a student body of 437 teenagers have steadily gone down since challenge course activities have been implemented starting with ninth-grade physical education classes.

“It’s been a real benefit to our kids for self-esteem building, confidence building and developing social skills,” Crouse says. “It’s helped to put kids in an environment where everybody’s equal and the stigmas from the classroom or wherever are gone. When you’re out there on the course, you’re back to basics.”

Crouse conceded that some faculty members weren’t sure how to use the challenge course beyond a physical education class setting. But it’s been used to augment college preparatory courses and other vocational and technical classes the school offers.

“The course makes things relevant,” Crouse says. “Glenn does a great job. It all seems impossible but then you’ve done it. He’s made it a metaphor and symbolic of some of the challenges these kids are going to face throughout their teenage years and college and beyond. It’s a comprehensive piece on how tough it is to grow up and the challenges we deal with.”

While school administrators applaud the course’s success, parents are also impressed, as well.

“It’s a tremendous asset,” says Sidney Woodie, a homemaker who has four children in the county school system. “What Glenn does with the children is amazing. I’ve seen kids who had very little confidence go out and be able to do things they thought they could never do. They now have the confidence to go try schoolwork more because that little bit of self-esteem has helped so much.”

Applications Beyond the School Environment

Several corporate training activities have been orchestrated at the course. Wing shared the story of a gentleman who conquered his extreme fear of heights thanks to the reassurance he received from co-workers.

“He said it was the bravest thing he had ever done in his life,” Wing recalls.

Wing says the growth of the course has been gradual, thanks to donations from community fixtures such as Blue Ridge Electric and others. Donations of more than $20,000 have poured in to allow the course to maintain its annual certification, as well as to support plans to expand it beyond the 19 activities that already can be completed there.

In the coming years, Wing hopes a pavilion can be erected so more class time can be spent at the course. Looking even further down the road, his plans include one day bringing a zip line which allows individuals who are strapped into a harness connected to a pulley to ride down an incline along a hanging cable.

“We’re an extremely small community,” says Bob Bamberg, head of the Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce, who estimates the entire county includes only about 10,000 permanent residents. “When we try to try to recruit someone to come into the community to provide a professional service or recruit industry, any amenity that you can offer is a plus. It’s hard sometimes to get people to come.

“If you built something like the zip line in Charlotte it might get lost,” Bamberg adds. “You build it here, and it really stands out. It shows the importance it could make.”

North Carolina State University’s Jeremy Pattison, the university’s specialist when it comes to strawberries, admits this project differs from his typical initiatives.

“It seemed like most of our issues we deal with are grower-preferred issues. It’s an issue with a disease or some type of environmental thing where we utilize horticultural expertise or genetics to answer a problem. I feel like we’ve done that extremely well over many years of breeding and ag research,” Pattison says.

So how is the North Carolina Strawberry Project taking a different approach?

“Growers want good fruit quality, but it’s more of a consumer issue,” Pattison says. “Let’s go in and survey consumers and ask what those traits are that impart high quality for increased consumption, increased willingness to pay premiums. And let’s take a very analytical approach to say what’s the value, who determines what it is and what traits do I need to be concerned about in a breeding program.”

To handle the project’s taste aspects, organizers brought in the Culinary Department from Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte. Dean of Culinary Education Mark Allison hails from Great Britain, where he was honored by Prime Minister Tony Blair for his dedication and knowledge of cooking, as well as other elements of health and wellness.

Allison described how the Strawberry Project is connecting his colleagues and students with farmers and scientists for the first time.

“Although chefs and farmers rely heavily on each other, there is a lack of communication between our two groups,” Allison says. “Never have we gone to a farmer and told him or her that we would like a redder
strawberry or a stronger onion. The partnership between Johnson & Wales and N.C. State is changing that.”

Allison and Pattison have worked together in the field and the kitchen to discuss everything from production to how to place the final touch of garnish on a dish. More collaboration is being planned to mesh together Johnson & Wales culinary students with North Carolina growers in hopes of boosting the state’s strawberry sales by more than $5 million annually.

“Educating all parties about their counterparts is what we hope will facilitate a lasting and growing relationship, which in turn would improve both industries,” Allison says.

Although the project just rolled out last September, Pattison and Allison agree it’s already gained sustained momentum.

“It’s generating a lot of awareness. That’s one of the main goals of the project,” Pattison says. “We understand the farm situation and what those challenges are. What this project is also trying to do is make linkages and grow the awareness between the consumer and the producer. Having that connection, people are seeing and getting exposed to local agriculture. These chefs of tomorrow are getting exposure putting faces with farmers’ names and faces with these products.”

And what Allison and the Johnson & Wales students can do with high-quality North Carolina strawberries has the culinary industry buzzing. Allison says strawberries are quite versatile and can be combined with various cheeses, fish and other herbs and spices to create desirable dishes.

“The longer the berry is able to stay on the vine and ripen, the better the taste. At the moment, high-quality ingredients from North Carolina are at their best in season just like any other locally grown product is. We already have a fantastic berry that comes from North Carolina, but the growing season is very short,” Allison says.

“With my students working with N.C. State and the local farmers, we will all benefit in the future—with the science behind breeding a better strawberry, the farmers growing better strawberries and Johnson & Wales students spreading the word to industry that we have the best product in the nation,” he adds.

Tangy N.C. Strawberries & Shrimp
This recipe was created by Chef Mark Allison, dean of culinary education at Johnson & Wales University, for the N.C. Strawberry Project.
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp. organic honey
2 tsp. nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
Juice of 2 limes
2 Thai red chilies, finely diced
6 oz. cooked and shelled shrimp
1/3 cup unsalted roasted almonds, lightly chopped
2 cups strawberries, cut into quarters
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tbsp. chopped mint leaves

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the garlic, honey, nam pla, lemon zest, lime juice, zest and chilies. Fold in the shrimp and almonds, add the strawberries and stir to combine. Sprinkle and stir in chopped cilantro and mint. Serve.

Strawberry and Shrimp Ceviche
Award-winning recipe by JWU student Tyler Creech

Ingredients
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and tails removed
1 orange, juiced
2 to 3 lemons, juiced
4 to 5 limes, juiced
1 cup red onion, cut into small cubes
1 to 2 serrano chilies, diced
2 avocados, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
1 lb. fresh strawberries, quartered
1 cucumber, peeled, sliced and quartered
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Cook shrimp in boiling, salted water until done, about 2 minutes. In a bowl, combine citrus juices, onion and serrano chilies. Drain shrimp and add to bowl with citrus juices. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Before serving, mix in avocado, cilantro, strawberries, cucumber and salt or pepper as needed. Serve as an entrée, side dish or dip.

“For a child of the Roaring ’20s who reached adolescence in the Depression of the early ’30s, rural life probably offered the best of all worlds,” Graham says. “As Scottish Presbyterians believing in strict observance of moral values, we stayed relatively uncontaminated by the Great Gatsby lifestyle of the flapper era with its fast dancing and illegal drinking.

“And being farmers, we could manage to live off the land when the economy nosedived in the 1929 stock market crash,” he went on to say.
The Graham family farm consisted of about 200 acres. The Grahams raised enough feed to support a dairy operation that included about 70 head of cattle. Reflecting on the regimen of milking those cows stirred more memories.

“We got up in the mornings around 3 o’clock and went out to the barns to bring the cows in and milk them,” Graham says. “In high school, I milked about 20 cows every morning and about 20 in the afternoon when I got home.

“My father and my brother Melvin spent more time in the fields where they raised the corn and the grains to feed the cattle,” Graham adds.
As is well-known, Graham departed the farm and in 1939 became ordained by the Southern Baptist Convention. He went on to form the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, a ministry that’s continually flourished since 1950. The association’s activities include regular radio and television broadcasts, life-saving assistance for those in poverty or affected by natural disasters, as well as countless Bible studies and devotionals put together by a large team of evangelists.

Graham celebrated his 92nd birthday this past November. He no longer travels the world but remains active at his mountain home near Asheville. Graham still makes time for special visitors such as President Obama, who visited while vacationing in Western North Carolina last year.

“I am amazed every time I think of how many years the Lord has given me on this earth,” Graham says. “I am grateful for his blessing on our ministry for more than six decades, but wonder if there is something more he has for me to accomplish.”

In addition to writing a book during the last few years, on the aging process, Graham continues to attend Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Board meetings as he is able. Much of the ministry operation has been turned over to Graham’s son, Franklin, and grandson, Will.

“I always enjoy hearing the reports from ongoing BGEA evangelistic events,” Graham says. “Under Franklin’s leadership, the ministry has reached new audiences in new ways I would never have dreamed, incorporating many modern technologies and creative strategies to share the same message of God’s love around the world.”

More than 60 years of ministry are encapsulated in a site that harkens visitors back to Graham’s days on that family farm. The main structure of the Billy Graham Library is shaped like a barn often found on farms of that era. Also included at the site is Graham’s family home that was built in 1927. The association moved the house from the family farm about three miles away and filled it with family photos and personal items of the Graham family.

Though not as spry as he once was, Graham’s passion remains as strong as ever.

“While I don’t know what the future holds for me, I still look for ways to serve the Lord,” Graham says.

On the Web:
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
www.billygraham.org

Thanks to a grassroots initiative here in North Carolina, Burleson now can know some of his cotton is destined for T-shirts that never leave the state from start to finish.

Some of the 2,000 acres of cotton Burleson raises annually is destined for Cotton of the Carolinas, a collaboration of farmers and manufacturers dedicated to growing, making and selling T-shirts in the Carolinas.

“I prefer to do business with local people when I can,” Burleson says.  “I’m more than willing to help and support local businesses. Even if it costs a little more, there’s a lot of folks out there who would be willing to pay a little more to help support their neighbor and help save their job. That’s the philosophy.”

The roots of Cotton of the Carolinas date back almost two decades to when the federal government approved the North American Free Trade Agreement. The legislation sparked a huge wave of manufacturing to leave the United States—North Carolina included—for Central America and Asia. Burleson is the first link in a manufacturing chain aimed at turning that tide.

Eric Henry, president of TSDesigns of Burlington, is the chief orchestrator of Cotton of the Carolinas. Henry helped organize the nine-step sequence of how the project’s T-shirts are made—from the cotton grower to the gin, spinner, knitter and printer. Each part is completed by a North Carolina organization, meaning the materials and processes needed to make the final product move within 750 miles.

Henry emphasized that the typical shirt you might find at a retail store had to travel more than 17,000 miles before ending up in your closet.

“We think our clothes come from the mall, our food comes from a grocery store and our gas comes from a gas station,” Henry says.

The transparency Henry mentioned includes customers knowing the cotton for their T-shirt came from Burleson’s farm, it was processed at the Rolling Hills Gin in Richfield, turned into yarn at Hill Spinning in Thomasville and made into a piece of clothing at Mortex Apparel in Wendell.

“This initiative points out sustainability as much as anything,” says Billy Carter, CEO of the North Carolina Cotton Producers Association. “And it does point out the importance of cotton to the people in this state. Certainly any time you can develop another market, it’s good for a cotton farmer.”

North Carolina cotton farmers rank as the fourth most productive in the country. With such an abundance of the crop already here, Henry hopes Cotton of the Carolinas eventually can catch on like locally grown produce already has at farmers markets throughout the state.

With each successive harvest, Henry’s team has designed and printed more T-shirts. During the first round in 2008, the project resulted in 15,000 shirts. The following year, the amount doubled. Henry wasn’t sure how many would be produced this year, but he hopes the figure will grow substantially again in 2011.

Burleson has welcomed scores of shirt buyers to his farm for a field day to explain how cotton is grown. He described how delighted he gets when people become as interested in the crop as he is.
“If we will all support each other, we’ll all be better in the long run,” Burleson says. “It makes you smile to say, ‘Yeah, my cotton shirt is from right here in North Carolina.’”

On the Web
Cotton of the Carolinas
www.cottonofthecarolinas.com

While sea turtles might call North Carolina home before migrating elsewhere prior to winter, scores of volunteers from up and down the coast are wrapped up in caring for these animals year-round like any other kind of livestock. That’s especially true for Jean Beasley, who has operated one of the few rescue hospitals in the country dedicated exclusively to sea turtles. And Beasley has done it for more than a decade.

“A lot of our success in caring for the turtles is because people are passionate about it. They are willing to put in whatever it takes to care for the turtles,” Beasley says.

Beasley oversees the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Topsail Beach. The facility, which treats sea turtles for as long as four years with a squadron of more than 150 volunteers and student interns, is named in honor of Beasley’s daughter who died of leukemia at age 29 and had a great love for sea turtles.

Beasley and dozens of other volunteer-based organizations are overseen by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Because sea turtles fall under the Endangered Species Act, a large number of federal and state regulations are involved with ensuring these animals are protected and handled properly.

The commission licenses volunteer groups that fulfill two critical roles. Volunteers often scour beaches for turtle nests during egg-laying season between May 1 and Aug. 31. These volunteers also respond to calls if a sea turtle has washed ashore with an injury or has gotten sick because of foreign substances in the water.

New Hanover County Farm Bureau Member Kim Meyer is part of the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project. Coordinator Nancy Fahey described what Meyer and the rest of the more than 100 members have in common.

“I like to think we’re all like-minded individuals who have an appreciation for our planet,” Fahey says. “We have a great appreciation for conservation and preserving the environment. This is a great way to get involved.”

Matthew Godfrey, who serves as the sea turtle biologist for the commission, travels often to train volunteers and coordinate efforts with several other entities that have sea turtles on their radar. That cluster includes the National Parks Service to monitor the beaches at Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras, as well as the Department of Defense since there are miles of shoreline and possible nesting areas at Camp Lejuene.

“Essentially, it’s a huge network of people working together to manage the conservation of sea turtles,” Godfrey says.

The commission recently attempted to quantify a dollar figure since volunteers are asked to keep estimates of how much time they give toward the care of sea turtles. Godfrey indicated the value is more than $500,000 annually.

“They’re extremely dedicated. Clearly if they were not interested, they would not put that kind of time and energy into it,” Godfrey says. “We would not be able to do a small percentage of the things that get done with sea turtles without them.”

Beasley, Fahey and Godfrey all concur that the rising population growth along the coast and greater recreational use of waterways and beaches has stirred a higher demand for sea turtle rescue services. They’ve seen everything from hatchlings inadvertently wandering into a hotel swimming pool to an adult sea turtle being severely injured by a boat propeller.

“I wish I knew what attracts people to turtles, because I would love to bottle it,” Beasley says. “The turtles have a worldwide audience and have worldwide fans. Kids especially respond to turtles in a way I can’t explain.”

For More Information
Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center
www.seaturtlehospital.org

Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project
www.turtles.wrightsville-beach.info

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
www.ncwildlife.org

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.”