Family of the Year
Click here to nominate a family for 2011 »
2010 Family of the Year Winning Essay
Over the years, our family has been pieced together, each member completing The Flinchum Puzzle. After 6 years together, our first child, Morgan, was born; Colby followed nineteen months later. They were active kids and enjoyed school and sports then as much as they do now. Six years passed, during which we were involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and also served as foster parents. We have always loved children and believe that you do not have to give birth to a child to love them as your own. As a family, we wanted to grow. We made the journey to China and adopted Evin, a beautiful, “clever” baby. Everyone we met in China believed Evin would be very smart, and she is! I guess old wives’ tales really are true sometimes. Three years later we returned to China and adopted Elli, the most comical and common sense kid we have ever known. As time passed, Morgan developed a strong friendship with Lauren, the only child of a single mother, Sharon. Likewise, we became the best of friends with Sharon; Lauren and Sharon were like an extension of our booming family. In 2006, tragedy struck. Sharon passed away from Ocular Melanoma. Unanimously, we welcomed Lauren as a permanent member of our family. The pieces of our puzzle don’t look alike, but love fits us all together.
Parenting five kids with different personalities and interests has its challenges. However, the importance of education is emphasized with equal strength to each of our children. Morgan is a senior Accounting major at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Lauren is a junior at Campbell University majoring in Pharmaceutical Communications. Colby is a North Carolina Teaching Fellow and sophomore Education major at Campbell University; he also enjoys tutoring students at local high schools and hopes to pass on his love of reading and history. Evin, a fifth grader, holds the record of the most books ever read by a student at her school and continues to amaze her teachers with her intellect. Elli is in the first grade and loves every aspect of school. We believe in being active and supportive in our children’s educations. We encourage them to be self starters and to be involved in school programs as well as being active in their communities.
As parents, we have always believed that education should come first. However, we also feel strongly that kids should be active in the extracurricular activities they love. Morgan is an active member of Sigma, Sigma, Sigma sorority and is a Spirit Committee leader for the Association of UNCW campus entertainment. She also mentors freshmen through the Seahawk Link. Lauren fell in love with Campbell University the day she stepped foot on campus. She quickly sent her rejection letter to UNC and has loved representing The Fighting Camels as a cheerleader. Lauren organized the Campbell University dance team in its founding year and is participating on both the dance team and the cheerleading squad this year. She also shares her love of dance by teaching dance classes to young children at a local dance studio. Colby has been a competitive wrestler since the fourth grade and enjoyed representing Campbell University on the wrestling team his freshmen year. After an anguishing decision not to wrestle this year, Colby decided to try something new; this year, Colby is spreading the Campbell Spirit as a member of the cheerleading squad. It goes without saying; Lauren and Colby have a tremendous amount of Campbell Pride and love to tell you how much they enjoy their school.
The Flinchum Family believes in supporting one another. Being such a diverse family, we have a true diversity of individual strengths as well, and no member makes any hesitation in sharing, helping, and encouraging the other in whatever they may need. We’re proud to say that the pieces of The Flinchum Puzzle are each unique. We value one another, and know that if even one part of one piece is missing, our family’s puzzle is not complete.