When sitting around talking about what to write some words came to mind- oyster roasts, hiking, our three-legged dog, mountain music, beach trips, two wonderful daughters, giving back and marriage. Each has significance to us.
Each of the past 15 years we have held an oyster roast at Christmas to bring family and friends together, as they are so important in our lives. We’ve had six different dogs, all unique but one that was really special was our rescue three-legged boxer, Sully. As a matter of fact, they have all been rescues! Our current dog Mojo loves hiking as much as we do and enjoys our time in Brevard, where we not only hike but also listen to music at the many venues – with “New Grass” and Mountain music being our favorites. Our kids grew up going to Pawleys Island for a week with their cousins, who also live in Charlotte, and will always remember the 14 of us packing into a house for a week. We are proud of our two daughters who have recently found their own way. Meredith, recently married to Jon Barbee in May, works for the nonprofit Foster Village in Charlotte and prior to that Digi-Bridge, both former SEED 20 nonprofits. Anna was first an adventure guide traveling the world taking women on tours with Explorer Chicks, now manages the wine club at Grandfather Vineyards in Boone. As for giving back, we enjoy supporting and volunteering at numerous nonprofits and Scott recently joined the board of the Pisgah Conservancy. Perhaps most importantly, last year we celebrated 30 years of marriage and look forward to continuing these adventures.
Scott has a chemistry degree from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Duke. He just retired this year after selling his company CritiCore Inc, which makes protective apparel. Prior to that he was part of a few other startups, some worked and some didn’t. Missy has an undergraduate degree in English from Winthrop and master’s degree from West Virginia University. She was a realtor with Allen Tate and prior to that worked at the nonprofit Community Culinary School, another SEED20 alumni. She took a break from work while our kids were in school, then went back to work and finished during the Covid years. So, we are both now retired and working on next steps.
We have attended SEED20 numerous times and always come away from it with renewed hope for the future. We look forward to the opportunity to now be part of this great program.