Nicole has been a Member Service Representative for BEMC for more than six years. Fun Fact: She and her husband, Austin, were high school sweethearts. They met when they were 13 and 15, respectively, and she says it was love at first sight. They’ve been together for 20 years and just celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary.

What do you like to do to relax after work?

Well, there’s not much of that during the week! Our kids – Rifton, Rawlings and Caroline, keep us busy.

The boys play baseball, travel ball, soccer, golf, basketball and show livestock for the Columbus County Fair. Caroline is in dance and getting ready for the Fair Bluff Watermelon Pageant. We have a big calendar on the kitchen wall that is color coded for each of us. Both sets of our parents are close by, so we have a lot of help. It takes a village!

On the weekends we love to go camping, especially to the mountains. In September we have a Disney trip planned, but we’re not going to tell them yet. We’re waiting until we drive into Florida to surprise them. They get paid when they do things outside of their normal chores, and we told them to save their money, because we’re going on a trip and they’ll want to have some extra to spend. They have no idea where we’re going, I can’t wait to see their faces!

Your roots in Brunswick County run deep, is that right?

Yes, my kids are the 8th generation to live on our family farm; we have 186 acres in Supply. Daddy is known for his watermelon and sweet corn, they truly are the best, and for his jumbo peanuts too. He plants several acres of sunflowers every year, and also grows tomatoes, cucumbers and squash, and sells everything at a roadside stand. I helped a lot when I was growing up. Daddy also took me and my brother James hunting and fishing; we each had our own tree stand, and I still like to hunt and fish.

I want my kids to know how to be self-sustaining. That’s why they’ll help with the farm, and why they’re involved with raising livestock. It’s very important to us that they know where food comes from, and the effort it takes to put quality, fresh food on the table. We want them to appreciate that farming isn’t easy, but it’s a good, important, honest living. And a family tradition.