Wilmington, Hampstead, Holly Ridge, Topsail, Sneads Ferry, Jacksonville

Visit our live (snow) cam on the beach in surf city on Topsail Island!

http://surfchex.com

It doesn't happen very often, but Topsail Island has snow!!! Once a decade is about it. Oh, it won't be around long, the rest of today and most of tomorrow, 'cause the temperature's dropping into the 20's. The roads will be icy tomorrow morning. Southerners get very few opportunities to watch snow fall from the warmth and comfort of their own homes and places of business. As a native North Carolinian and a "villager" (yep, that's what they call folks born and raised in Pinehurst) my wife Kathy relishes those flakes of snow and any opportunity for a "snow day." I'm from upstate New York originally and the idea of closing schools for an inch of snow (or less) is so funny. Oh, I know why they do it, the obvious safety issues and lack of driving skills in this type of weather. Smart planning, but I'll share an observation that a friend of mine from Pittsburgh made this a.m. - that the only time they closed the schools there is when it burned down and that was only for three days!

Looking forward to being in front of the fireplace and working for the remainder of the day from the home office.

Wherever you are, I hope you are warm and comfortable!

Watching the temperature fall last night was akin to seeing a rock drop from a 10 story building! While it was cold for most of the day yesterday, here on Topsail Island, we do not experience a great deal of that kind of cold weather. Fortunately, this is only a minor little blast of frigid air that will be moving along shortly. In the meantime, fireplaces are roaring, beachwalkers (yes, they ARE out there) are bundled against the cold and it just smells good outside! I don't know how else to explain the crisp, salty air, except to say that I just feel healthier out there breathing it!

We on the Burchfield team have been working very hard with our colleagues in our new Jacksonville office. Familiarizing ourselves with properties and opportunities in the big city just up the coast from Topsail Island has been an educational experience. One of our clients, David Lovern, who lives, works and owns a business in Jacksonville, called for a recommendation for a home inspector. It was just wonderful to be able to refer him to our J'ville office and know a vetted recommendation would be forthcoming.

We are looking forward to continuing to learn and grow in Jacksonville!

On Saturday,December 20, 2008, Burchfield Group members (Judy Carlton, Jerry Blackburn, Bob Ramsey, Kathy and Rand Burchfield) of Topsail Island and SeaCoast Realty were at the Food Lion in Hampstead. We collected 1029 pounds (that’s one thousand and twenty nine pounds) of food for the North Carolina Food Bank. The food pantries in four counties - Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender and Onslow will be the recipients of the overwhelming generosity of the residents of Hampstead and the Food Lion store.

95% of the people who took one of our flyers and went into the Food Lion came out with one item, and in most cases several bags of groceries and often, a full grocery cart. Cash, as little as one dollar and as much as $20.00 was donated, so that we also gave the Food Bank $ 135.00 in cash and checks. The kindness of the people of Hampstead was astounding!

Team member Judy Carlton coordinated with the Food Bank and spearheaded the effort, Kathy Alexander did yeoman’s work on the PR and all of us worked with them both to be sure that they had all the information they needed. We have a terrific banner that we will be able to use whenever we do the “Feed the Need” Food Drive again.

What a fantastic day we all had! We delivered the pallets of food to the Food Bank of NC this morning and the director, Mike was amazed that we had collected so much food in such a short time. He said that it was a professional effort and we should be very pleased. We are, of course, but we are more pleased that so many families will have food on their tables and in their cupboards this month.

Well, the third and final parade of the season (for The Rand Burchfield Real Estate Group, anyway) was Saturday, December the 6th. We put a holiday wreath on the front of the truck, lit it up and we were off to Topsail Beach from our main office in Surf City! Joining us were team members Linda Blackburn, Judy Carlton, Bob Ramsey, Dot Cotman and myself and Kathy. Not able to be with us were Justine Warner (our executive assistant) and Bill Hunt, a long time associate and buyer agent. As you will note from the photos, Lilly and Pearl had a grand time, all decked out in the reindeer antlers. Pearl is actually starting to enjoy the limelight a little bit!

Our last event of the year will be a food drive for the North Carolina Food Bank, to be held on December 20th in the Food Lion parking lot in Hampstead. We call it "Feed the Need." This year in particular, there are a great many more people turning to the food banks all over the state and the country, I would imagine. You can help locally by just bringing canned food and dry items (nothing frozen or needing refrigeration) to the collection point. We will transport it to the Food Bank. Easy for you and so helpful to those of our citizens who may find themselves without this holiday season. Please come and help!

We participated in the 53rd annual holiday parade in Jacksonville, N.C. on Saturday, November 22nd. The weather was COLD! The temperature when we left our office in Surf City on Topsail Island was a crisp 25 degrees! Now, we know that for some of you, that may be shorts and T shirt weather but here on Topsail, those temperatures are out of the ordinary for November. Our new office in Jacksonville opened last week and our colleagues there built a float for the parade, which WON Best in the Amateur Division! Pete Barber entered his Cobra and we, the Rand Burchfield Real Estate Group, put the moving truck to good use, as well. This time, Kathy drove (thank goodness, only required to do so in a straight line), Judy Carlton, Linda Blackburn and our Bichons, Pearl and Lilly rode along. Bob Ramsey and I walked in front, so we had a good representation. The parade was huge!!

After the parade, we toured the office at 2445 Onslow in Jacksonville and talked with some of the agents being based there. Then, off to lunch! If you are looking for "home style" cooking and you are in Jacksonville, turn left or right onto Onslow Drive (wave at our newest office, or stop in and say hi) and go two blocks. You cannot miss the big letters on the front of the building that say "HILDA'S". If you are there on a Saturday or Sunday, ask for Arlene to be your wait person. The food is great and the atmosphere, comfortable.

We have been graciously welcomed to Jacksonville by the community and look forward to a long and happy association.

Thanks, Jacksonville for a great holiday parade experience!