Hometown Madison - May & June 2017

Hometown Madison
Reader
SPOTLIGHT
Nicole May
Kitchens
Why did you decide to make Madison
your home?
Having lived outside of Starkville for several years,
my husband and I wanted to move nearer to where
we were both raised. We love the positive opportunities
for growth that Madison has to offer. We looked
at land and houses in Madison County for a few
years before finding the perfect house on acreage
that suited our outdoor lifestyle. As a former
professor in wood products at MSU, my husband
felt the calling to start his own company and that
freed us to move so that we could be closer to friends
and family. Almost a year ago, we were blessed to
find what we can now call our home, between the
Town of Flora and the Livingston community. We
love the small town feel of Flora that incorporates
a sense of community and family values, but we are
close to the Madison the City as well.
Tell us about your family.
My husband Shane and I have been married for
almost 6 years. Both single and in our 40’s, we were
introduced by our best friends in 2011. As an older
Christian couple, we both knew that we immediately
wanted a family but encountered fertility issues due
to my age. Then, in 2014, our daughter, Maggie
May was born. We call her our ‘miracle’ and she has
been the biggest blessing to us. When Maggie was
born, I left 15 years of employment in natural
resources and wildland fire management with the
U.S.D.A. to become a stay-home mom and also
returned to college to find a career path that would
allow me to travel less.
What is your favorite memory so far of
living in Madison?
Since we are fairly new here, I have to say that our
best memory so far has been closing on our new
home. One of the things that sold us on the house
was that the former owners had laid a bible in the
foundation of the house when they built it in the
early ’90s, with inscriptions in concrete that read,
“Soli Deo Gloria!” (Latin for Glory to God Alone).
We love to spend our evenings sitting out on the
back patio watching the sunsets and observing
nature with our toddler daughter and our two rat
terrier dogs, Gus and Bertie. Sunsets in the
Highlands of Madison are amazing!
Where are your favorite places to eat
in Madison?
Being in Flora, we love to eat at Bill’s, T’Beaux’s
and the Flora Butcher, to name a few. One of my
favorite places for sweets is Campbell’s Bakery in
Madison. You cannot beat their almond cookies
or petit fours.
What are some fun things you enjoy doing
in Madison on the weekends?
We love taking Maggie to Liberty Park in Madison,
frequenting the shops and businesses in Flora and
Madison, and attending church. The market in
Livingston is a great highlight, too, on Thursdays.
Where are some things you enjoy doing
in your spare time.
We love spending time outdoors (hunting, fishing,
observing wildlife), teaching our daughter about the
elements of nature and gardening. We raise our own
chickens for eggs, and like to can our own fruit and
vegetables. When we got married, we had two white
doves at our wedding. Not wanting to release them,
our flock has grown, and we now have about 20!
What are three things on your bucket list?
To enjoy watching our daughter grow and see who
she will become, to visit the historical gardens of
England, Scotland, and Italy, and to find a need
and meet that need in serving the community.
Who is someone that you admire and why?
I greatly admire my Mom, Jeannine May. She and
my father, Ronnie, instilled within me the love of
Christ and a great respect and appreciation for the
environment at a very early age. Upon retiring
from federal service a few years ago, she began a
movement to improve water quality and
community beautification efforts on the Barnett
Reservoir, forming the affiliate Keep the Reservoir
Beautiful (a non-profit affiliate of Keep Mississippi
and Keep America Beautiful). Since, she has brought
people from all over the Madison, Ridgeland, and
Brandon areas to volunteer in community restoration
and beautification efforts. She never stops, and
continues to serve the community through her
passion for the environment.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
My hopes are that 10 years from now, as a family,
we will have become more involved in serving the
community and our church through finding a need
and meeting it within the Flora/Madison community.
I personally hope to expand my new business,
GrowForth Garden, in horticulture therapy, which
involves using plant-based activities to work with
individuals of all ages who have a need in rehabilitative,
vocational, or community settings. In a small
way, this is how I can help others and share my love
for plants and gardening. I also want to serve my
new community of Flora through Keep Flora
Beautiful by implementing community-based
efforts such as beautification, greening and
environmental awareness, trash/litter prevention,
and recycling.
If you could give us one quote, what
would it be?
“I always wondered why somebody didn’t do
something about that and then, I realized I was
‘somebody’” – Lilly Tomlin
What is your favorite thing about
Hometown Magazines?
I love that Hometown Magazines cover many
communities, towns and cities throughout the
area. Hometown Magazines opens the doors for
citizens and readers to connect as a local community
and become a family, of sorts, by highlighting
individuals and businesses throughout the
local area. n
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