Family can take many forms, and perhaps no one knows this more than three families in Greenville. The Hinnants, Porters and Winklers leaned on each other for inspiration and support while growing their families through adoption.

The Hinnant Family 

Darrell and Courtney Hinnant knew they wanted to expand their family and felt a strong pull to consider adoption.

It was a video chat with an orphanage in South Africa that changed the course of their lives. “Price’s beautiful little face popped upon the screen and he saw Courtney,” recalls Darrell. “The first thing he said was, ‘Oh, hello mommy!’ And he never wavered from that very first moment. It was so surreal.”

When the time came to travel to Johannesburg, the entire family made the trip, including the Hinnant’s then 8-year-old daughter, Marycarson; 5-year-old son, Oliver; plus Courtney’s parents. They picked Price up from the orphanage and celebrated his fifth birthday together as a family.

During the two-year adoption process, Darrell and Courtney found support in their community. “We spent so much time talking to friends who had been through this journey. Adoption is beautiful, but there’s also tragedy on the other side. Being surrounded by people who have been through it was invaluable,” says Darrell.

Price has adjusted to life in North Carolina wonderfully. He’s made friends, is doing well in school, plays sports, and even became a big brother when the family welcomed daughter Cora in late 2018.

The Porter Family

When the Hinnant family shared their adoption news with friends and neighbors, Matt and Kristen Porter felt a divine sense of duty.

“We’re supposed to live out our faith, and we knew there was something else that God wanted us to do,” says Kristen.

In October 2015, Courtney Hinnant forwarded an email to Kristen from her adoption agency with a photo of a young girl in the Philippines. Kristen almost didn’t see it, but Matt clicked on it. “He saw the photo of this 8-year-old girl and said ‘This is our daughter.’ He knew instantly.”

“Her name was Elma, she was 8 years old, she had cerebral palsy... and she had the most amazing smile,” says Kristen.

Ten months later, Matt and Kristen spent a week in the Philippines and brought Elma home to three siblings: Noah (age 12), Anna (age 10), and Maggie (age 7). 

Today, she is an energetic 12-year-old, always smiling, and loves to play. She swam on the Brook Valley swim team last summer, surrounded by cheering supporters.

For the Porter family, support from the community has been overwhelming, including everything from hosting a fundraiser at the pool to greeting them at the airport when they brought Elma home.

“We joined our local adoption group, Not Forgotten, for families who are considering adoption, going through the process, or are post-adoption,” says Kristen.

The Winkler Family

Friends with the Porter and Hinnant families, Rich and Emily Winkler had long felt called to adoption.

“We were never even considering international adoption,” says Emily. “Our hearts were open to foster care, but that didn’t work out for us. Then a program in Poland piqued our interest.” They soon found out about three biological Polish brothers needing a home and thought the trio would fit well with their three biological sons. Of the 18-month process, Rich says, “It felt like jumping off a cliff. It’s the scariest thing we’ve ever done.”

In August 2017, Rich and Emily traveled to Poland for a three-week bonding visit. Their adopted sons — Isaac, Sam, and Zach — spoke barely any English, and the Winklers spoke little Polish. It was a challenging yet very sweet visit. They returned to Poland two weeks later with their three biological sons Liam, Max, and Tyler to bring their new brothers home.

“These three little guys have been amazing,” says the couple. “They moved here not knowing any English, and now they’re in public school doing so well. They want to do everything — we have one taking violin, one playing piano, one taking guitar lessons. They want to play all the sports, including swim team at Brook Valley CC.”

Through it all, the Winklers relied on their community support system.

“It was so helpful for us to get plugged into an adoption support group full of people who had gone through or were going through the process,” says Rich.

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Since joining the McConnell Golf family, Brook Valley Country Club has had the privilege to give back to our community through a unique scholarship program that offers selected juniors access to our golf facilities. Known as the McConnell Golf High School Scholarship Program, this offering is designed to give limited membership opportunities to talented young golfers that may not otherwise have the opportunity to play and develop at quality courses with first-rate practice facilities. Recipients must currently be playing on their high school team while meeting appropriate academic standards, and be nominated by their coach or other golf professional. The program started at Raleigh Country Club back in 2008 and Grayson Murray, the first MCG Scholarship recipient, is now a winner on the PGA Tour!

Brook Valley’s current scholarship holders include Carter Rains, David Langley, Kris Jackson, Blake Hess, and Will Guidry. Each of these fine young men is not only a leader of their respective high school golf teams, but each maintains the academic standards required to be a part of the program. In addition to playing on their high school teams, each is very active in the Brook Valley Junior Program - on occasion even volunteering to assist with camps and clinics to pass along what they have learned to those just a few years younger. When they are not competing in high school matches, you will often see their names on the leaderboards of Carolinas Golf Association and Tarheel Youth Golf Association junior events. Carter, David, Kris, and Blake will all be competing in the TYGA High School Invitational hosted at Treyburn Country Club in Durham (a sister McConnell Golf property) along with some of our other budding BV juniors a little later this year. This is one of the top junior events in the Carolinas.

A new perk this year, the BV McConnell Scholars have been invited to participate in Youngs Physical Therapy’s Ambassador Program. As a part of this program, our scholars will have the opportunity to work with Titleist Performance Institute certified Physical Therapist Michael Edwards to continue developing their golf games through fitness and wellness. Our Scholars will serve as the initial invitees into this program and we couldn’t be more excited that yet another door has been opened for them!

If you would like to learn more about the McConnell Golf High School Scholarship Program, please visit: https://www.mcconnellgolf.com/mcg-scholars

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McConnell Golf's Footprints on the Green program challenges staff and members to come together and give back to the community.

This past year, the warm smiles and genuine hearts of Special Olympics athletes brought McConnell Golf properties together across three different activities.

Brook Valley CC welcomed all Special Olympic athletes from Greenville County to enjoy an end-of-year pool party celebration. East Carolina University Assistant Athletics Director Matt Maloney was in attendance and shared a little about the celebration with Brian Bailey of WNCT News.

“I started 21 years ago coaching these wonderful friends ... a few years later, we wanted to celebrate all the good things they do not only in the pool but also in the community,” said Maloney.

Nearby, Director of Tennis Operations Kyle Thortsen and The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation hosted the Wake County Special Olympics team at the tennis complex. Together, club staff and junior players led practices, games, and lessons to help Special Olympics athletes prepare for state competitions.

“We encouraged our juniors to get involved and see how rewarding it is to give back to the community,” says Thortsen. “Next year, our goal is to extend our commitment with this organization to our Sedgefield, Providence, and Asheville properties.”

Also at Wakefield, Director of Golf Adam McLaughlin hosted an invitational tournament at the nine-hole Plantation Course. It allowed athletes that did not get a chance to compete in the state championship an opportunity to play in a local tournament.

“We are humbled by their courage, contagious spirit, and eagerness to get better as individuals and teams alongside their family and their loved ones,” says Michael Thomas, club manager at Wakefield.

On a personal level, I have been involved with the Special Olympics in every stage of my life and am so proud of our clubs for continuing to engage with our community. I believe lending our facilities, our resources, and our time deepens our relationships with those we support and teaches us all of the power of giving.

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How an unassuming oyster shack inspired two trips to play several McConnell properties — and more to come.

The creator of the Sunny Side Turnaround is a CPA whose organizational skills calculated the excursion down to the dollar, mile, and hour. But in the end, it all started because Kent McLamb just wanted some oysters. The desire for a seafood run morphed into a golf trip, and it was the brainchild of McLamb, the chief deputy at the N.C. Office of the State Auditor and a member of Raleigh Country Club. His job often took him to Elizabeth City, N.C., and during those trips, he’d drive past Sunny Side Oyster Bar in Williamston, N.C. The restaurant is a simple clap-board building yet an iconic local spot. But McLamb never stopped, and he was determined to remedy that.

“If you didn’t know about it, you wouldn’t pull in the parking lot,” says Sam Sparks, a member at TPC Wakefield Plantation and part of the first official Sunny Side Turnaround.

“Most people, when they take a McConnell trip, go to Asheville and Knoxville,” says McLamb. “But I was looking at Brook Valley in Greenville, and wondered what would make it a worthwhile trip besides just driving to Greenville, playing golf, and coming back. Then I saw Williamston on the map.”

The plan was to play TPC Wakefield on Friday afternoon, drive 95 miles on U.S. 64 East to Sunny Side, have dinner, stay in Williamston, and drive 40 minutes to Brook Valley for a mid-morning Saturday tee time. After the round, they’d drive back to Raleigh and be home mid-afternoon.

Before he sprung this idea on anyone else, McLamb and his brother, Donnie, went on a test run last November. Declaring the trip a success, the two brothers were joined by Sparks and Kent’s brother-in-law, Gale Adams, in late April for the official Sunny Side Turnaround.

Golf was certainly a big part of the trip, but the destination of emphasis was the Sunny Side. “If you’re looking for a white table cloth kind of place, it probably wouldn’t be your speed,” says McLamb.

The Sunny Side Oyster Bar has been serving fresh seafood in eastern N.C. since 1935. It’s only open in months with an “r,” which means it opens for the season in September and closes at the end of the following April, mainly with an hour or more wait on the weekends.

Oysters are the main attraction and are served only two ways: steamed or raw. They’re accompanied by Sunny Side’s secret hot sauce. Shrimp, scallops, and crab legs make up the rest of the menu. And if you insist on something green, you can get broccoli with cheese sauce. That’s it.

“At most seafood restaurants, you could get a hush puppy or cole slaw,” says Sparks. “Not at the Sunny Side. The food was great and we had the best time. We’ll be doing that again.”

They returned to Raleigh at about 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, as calculated. “You feel like you’ve had a full weekend, but you still have a lot of your Saturday and all day Sunday to do whatever you want for the rest of the weekend,” says McLamb

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Kenric Hunt, Executive Chef

It’s safe to say that everyone at Greenville, NC’s Brook Valley knows Kenric Hunt. And he knows them, too.

“It’s a smaller club here, so I know who is in town, who is out on vacation,” he says. “I know who likes what, and when
they’re coming in.”

Here are a few other things he knows: His wine-drinkers are loving the Juslyn additions to his wine list through McConnell Golf’s partnership with the Napa vineyard. He added a grouper with citrus vinaigrette to the menu complement the wine.

“That’s a bright dish, perfect for the crisp white,” he says.

“There’s no sharpness on the end of these new wines. It’s mellow and smooth, buttery on the finish. We’re all loving it.”

Hunt’s friendly, easy-going demeanor is reflected in his culinary style. His dinner menus change monthly, and the release of new entrées is celebrated with club-favorite “Birthday Night.” Taking advantage of the surrounding farms of eastern NC, Hunt frequents farmers markets to see what he can get for the Brook Valley kitchen.

“We have so much fresh produce from right here that I love working with,” he says. “Zucchini, squash, fresh green beans, baby green onions - love those! And the sweet corn, there’s so many ways to prepare it. My favorite is to shave it off the cob, and get the milk of the corn by scraping the cob. Then, we’ll fry it with bacon fat until its creamy. That’s one of our favorite dishes to do as an appetizer as soon as sweet corn is available.”

A benefit of cooking for a smaller club is Hunt’s ability to seek — and respond to — feedback from members. “We’re always evolving, always keeping it fresh and interesting for our diners,” he says. “You have to.” 

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