Deep Roots in Columbus County

“My wife, Terri, and I, along with our daughters, love this part of the state, and we all do our part to show it. Our youngest, Sarah, went to Johnson & Wales University, and returned to Columbus County to start a very successful catering and event business, and opened Chef’s Sarah’s Market in Whiteville. Our oldest daughter, Ashley, became the youngest Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for Columbus and Bladen counties when she was appointed three years ago, and was also the  youngest District Court Judge when she was elected at 28. Terri taught at Whiteville Primary then stayed home until the girls were older, then taught at Williams Township Elementary until a few years ago.

My dad started Gore Music and Amusement Co. in 1949, and I took it over in 1975 and ran it until 2015. It was coin operated machines – juke boxes, video games, pool tables – and I had 120 accounts in five counties. It was hard work, but I liked the freedom it gave me if I needed to do something for the family, and the relationships I built with my customers are still special to me. I gave it my best, and it was good to me and my family. Our daughters are both living within a quarter mile of us now; Ashley and her husband, Brad, live in the house I grew up in, and Sarah just finished building a new house close by.”

The Origins of the Columbus County Agricultural Fair

“The Law Enforcement Association Fair was conceived in March 1980, we opened in September, and what happened during those six months was so ambitious. My brother was a judge, and my dear friend Harold Lee, a highway patrolman, was president of the association, so I was involved from the beginning. We had no money, so we had to clear the land, and dig the ditches to run the power lines, ourselves. We’d be there at night with shovels and hoes, building the facilities and putting the bleachers together. It was a huge success. By 1987, they changed the charter to what it is today, and shortly thereafter I served as president.

“Other than my family, I have never enjoyed anything more than serving on the BEMC board.”

Sarah grew up around the fair, each year entering the pumpkin contest, the hat contest, just about all of them, and now she is vice president. It’s like putting up a city in a short time, but it is so gratifying. For an entire week the community comes together, and you see people you would never see any other time of year. It has a carnival feeling yes, but it also has a community feeling like nothing else in Columbus County. I’ve helped to lead the charge on it for 37 years, and didn’t miss a day of the fair for 32 of those years, until my grandmother passed.”

Pleasant Plains Baptist Church “My family had a hand in starting it, and I have the original minutes that my great, great-grandaddy took by hand in 1837. I was born and raised in it, and my family still goes there. I’ve had the privilege of serving in every position from Sunday school superintendent and deacon to chair of the building and search committees.”

Serving BEMC Serves Our Greater Area “Other than my family, I have never enjoyed anything more than serving on the BEMC board. I had always been impressed with how well it was run, and I knew how its founding changed the history of our area, but until I joined the board in 1999, I had no idea of the size and scope of our operations. I don’t think that there is another organization in our counties that is more important to our members. Since I joined the board, our membership has grown about two and half times, and the way that growth is managed affects reliability and rates, and everything in-between. 

I also served on our co-op’s Statewide political organization’s board (NCPAC), from 2010 until 2021, and on our Statewide organization’s board (NCEMC) since 2021. Please know that your co-op’s board will continue our efforts to make BEMC the premier co-op in the state, and one of the best in the country. It’s important to all of us that our members are proud of the work we do on your behalf.”