Hometown Madison - September & October 2017

Hometown Madison
Reader
SPOTLIGHT
Casey
Carrington
Holcomb
Why did you decide to make Madison
County your home?
The decision was very easy—however, it was
after my husband and I spent time living outside
of the area during the first part of our marriage.
My husband was born and raised in Flora, Mississippi
and his family’s business was in Madison County.
After four years of traveling back and forth for his
work, church, community events, and being with the
family, we knew that time had drawn close to moving
back “home”. It was the perfect time to start planning
for our future. We moved to Flora in 1998 when we
purchased and restored a home that was built in
1905. It was the best decision that we have made.
We love our home and we love our community.
Tell us about your family.
Karl and I have been married for 22 years but
best friends for 28 years. We met at Mississippi State
University where we were both students. Karl was
an industrial engineer major and I was pursuing a
double major of business and child life studies. I was
a small town “Delta” girl and he was a small town
“Flora” boy. We married in 1995 and brought two
beautiful children into the world. Our daughter,
Bailey, just recently graduated from Madison-
Ridgeland Academy. She is now a freshman at
Mississippi State University majoring in biological
science. Our son, Karlton, is a sophomore at
Madison-Ridgeland Academy.
My husband is an agricultural pilot and our
business is located off of Hwy 22 in Flora, Holcomb
Aerial Services, Inc. This business was started many
years ago by his father, a retired ag pilot. I currently
serve as the executive director of the Flora Area
Chamber of Commerce as well as work as a real
estate agent for Keller Williams Realty. Our entire
family is involved with church ministries at Flora
United Methodist Church. Karl serves as the lay
reader, the kids are involved in the outreach and
youth programs, and I am involved in our
international missions program. We live (literally)
right in the middle of town and love the fact that we
can name every neighbor for four blocks. Flora has
been the perfect place to raise our children.
What is your favorite memory of living
in Madison?
There are so many precious moments. There
have been so many times when our community has
come together during times of deep sorrow and
tragedy as well as celebration. It is a constant reminder
of why we chose Flora as our place to call home. From
the festivals that take place in Flora, the massive
cleanup following damaging weather through town,
the collaboration of churches, to the community
members coming together to build a walking park,
it is the true nature of acting as a community that
I pray my children can continue to experience this
in generations to follow. Don’t be surprised if you
see a crowd of business people or retirees gathered
outside the Flora Post Office just taking the time
to get to know others or catch up on the latest
happenings within the community. It is truly a
Mayberry-type community.
What are your 3 favorite places to eat
in Madison?
Flora has become the small “foodie town” with
their selection of dining options. We don’t go a week
without hitting up all three of these Flora restaurants:
The Blue Rooster, Bill’s Seafood and Creole
and The Flora Butcher. We do, though, enjoy going
towards the “city” where we enjoy dining at Local
463 and The Gathering.
What are some fun things to do in Madison
on the weekends?
When the children were younger, we enjoyed
outings to Strawberry Patch Park and Liberty Park.
As they have grown older and ideas of “fun” have
changed, we spend much of our weekends shopping
at the various specialty shops throughout the town
and taking in a movie, or two. We enjoy the activities
at the Red Caboose in Madison, the concerts at the
Baptist Healthplex as well as the festivals at
Livingston.
For “grown-up” fun, Karl and I enjoy special
programs at the Bruce Campbell Field Commemorative
Air Force hangar. It is such a blessing to have
commemorative aircraft right here in Madison
County and having an organization who is committed
to preserving our aircraft history. In Flora, we like to
take in the sights and sounds of the Mississippi
Petrified Forest.
Share some things you enjoy doing in your
spare time.
When you’re in real estate and operate a family
business, there isn’t much “spare” time; however,
we place value on spending time with friends and
family. Karl and I are very fortunate to have both
of our families living close—Flora, Jackson, and
Brandon. We enjoy grilling out and opening our
home for fun, food and fellowship. There is always
someone at the house and we treasure our
friendships within the community. We also love
to take advantage of my husband’s passion of flight.
It may be an afternoon of flying all over Madison
county or taking in sights of the Mississippi Delta.
We never want to take for granted of the beauty that
you can see from a birds-eye view.
What are three things on your bucket list?
It all relates to travel! The first item on my
bucket list is a trip to Guam. We hosted a young
Mississippi College student for 4 years who was
from the island of Guam. The culture, the beauty,
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