| Leland, NC
Values Based Living in North Brunswick County: Meet Mark Ellenburg
By Marybeth G. Cale
Published Summer 2008
As is the case for many couples, the mere location of their first meeting set the stage for a way of life. Carter and Mark Ellenberg, who grew up just 80 miles from one another in the towns of Cary and Warsaw, North Carolina (respectively), began their love story at a church function in the summer of 1991. A memorable conversation evolved into a wonderful story of values-based living that continues to unfold 17 years later here in North Brunswick County.
Mark, a graduate of N.C. State University, quickly realized that Carter was going to become a central part of his future after they met that day in Cary. However, with Carter’s degree at East Carolina University still incomplete, they were faced with choices not uncommon to young couples everywhere who may be ready to begin their lives together but have not yet finished school. Both deeply committed to education, they decided to move forward with their relationship but to set aside their aspirations for a family until Carter finished college. And so they began their journey living in Cary, Mark having begun his career life in Warsaw, and Carter diligently working to complete her education, commuting back and forth to ECU. It was not long after Carter graduated with a degree in elementary education that they pursued their most important work—that of having a family.
As Mark describes it, this desire for family life was very obviously tied to his own childhood. He shares, “I went to college to play football at N.C. State. My position? Well, basically I ended up being a ‘practice player’ – but thankfully, my dad was not a typical ‘football dad’. He was always there supporting me, no matter what; always so positive.” Mark pauses and then goes on to say, “There was never any doubt that my brother, my mom and I have always come first for him. I had an amazing coach in Dick Sheridan at N.C State for three years, and he taught me many things about the important values of responsibility and accountability, but it is my dad who is my real role model and he has been throughout my entire life.”
This keen awareness of the value of family is now evident in Carter and Mark’s journey here in Brunswick County, where they first made their home in 1997. With three children, Preston, 11, Mills, 8, and Gabriel, 5, Mark and Carter work tirelessly and joyfully to give their children a childhood experience rich in the values of education, family and community. Carter dedicates countless hours to Belville Elementary School as a volunteer, no small task for a mother of three who also manages a very busy home life and the many activities and needs of their young children. However, as Mark says, they both feel that it is so important to give back to the school.
“This area is growing quickly, and we need to give what we can,” Mark says. “It’s great that the people moving here are so service-oriented—they all seem to be passionate about helping out and being part of the community.”
The Ellenbergs are both thrilled with the education offered by the Brunswick County School District and the fact that this area exudes a small-town feel (which both of them are accustomed to, Carter remembering Cary in the old days and Mark being raised in a farming town). It seems that the blend of small-town values with the rapid growth offers a unique opportunity for all area children to enjoy a very fulfilling educational and social experience while also benefiting from the many resources the area will offer as the population continues to increase.
In addition to Carter’s work with Belville Elementary, Mark coaches soccer (now for the second consecutive year), and both of their sons are playing baseball for Leland Dixie Youth League. The Ellenbergs live in the development of Magnolia Greens, a perfect location for an avid golfer like Mark, and ideal for all aspects of healthy, balanced family living.
“Magnolia Greens has everything we could need—golf, amenities, a pool, a great mix of people from all over the country,” says Mark. “I can even work out without having to leave our neighborhood. The kids love it here, and so do we.”
Mark has a very genuine sense of pride in the choices they have made. When asked about his work for Farm Bureau Insurance as agency manager and his vision for the future, he says: “It’s just great. We love living here. If I stay here for my whole career, that’s perfectly fine with me.”
The Ellenbergs also take full advantage of the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. They frequent Wrightsville Beach to relax, but also enjoy many other area beaches on the weekends. Myrtle Beach is not too far for them, as long as the trip is made complete with a Pelicans baseball game. They are all sports fans, faithfully devoted to N.C. State in particular (although I had to ask if there was any rivalry between N.C. State and ECU, Carter’s alma mater, to which Mark replies, “Sure, there is a friendly rivalry. But, really, when it comes down to it, it’s N.C. State or nobody!”). This love for his own alma mater, where he studied history and communications, is most evident in the family’s unrelenting commitment to attend every home Wolfpack basketball game.
Part of Mark and Carter’s extended family is now also taking full advantage of North Brunswick living. Mark’s parents relocated to live in Brunswick Forest, practically across the street from their grandchildren, son and daughter-in-law. Although Carter’s family still resides in her hometown of Cary, they often make trips to this corner of the state to share in the experience of life near the coast.
No doubt that the positive spirit of this family will spread throughout the community as the years go on, just as it has since they bought their first home here in 1997 (which was actually the sixth house to be built in Jackey’s Creek). Their goodwill, their dedication to education and athletics and their solid family bond is to be admired.
“When you become a parent,” Mark says, “life becomes all about what is best for your children.” This value, so important especially in the twenty-first century when children are faced with so many difficult challenges, is at the heart of all of their choices. It is clear from their volunteerism that it is not even just about their children, but also the many children and families around them.
With this philosophy and the energy they put behind it, the Ellenbergs will surely enrich the lives of everyone in North Brunswick County, so long as they are neighbors to all of us who enjoy life in this vibrant region.
By Marybeth G. Cale
Published Summer 2008
As is the case for many couples, the mere location of their first meeting set the stage for a way of life. Carter and Mark Ellenberg, who grew up just 80 miles from one another in the towns of Cary and Warsaw, North Carolina (respectively), began their love story at a church function in the summer of 1991. A memorable conversation evolved into a wonderful story of values-based living that continues to unfold 17 years later here in North Brunswick County.
Mark, a graduate of N.C. State University, quickly realized that Carter was going to become a central part of his future after they met that day in Cary. However, with Carter’s degree at East Carolina University still incomplete, they were faced with choices not uncommon to young couples everywhere who may be ready to begin their lives together but have not yet finished school. Both deeply committed to education, they decided to move forward with their relationship but to set aside their aspirations for a family until Carter finished college. And so they began their journey living in Cary, Mark having begun his career life in Warsaw, and Carter diligently working to complete her education, commuting back and forth to ECU. It was not long after Carter graduated with a degree in elementary education that they pursued their most important work—that of having a family.
As Mark describes it, this desire for family life was very obviously tied to his own childhood. He shares, “I went to college to play football at N.C. State. My position? Well, basically I ended up being a ‘practice player’ – but thankfully, my dad was not a typical ‘football dad’. He was always there supporting me, no matter what; always so positive.” Mark pauses and then goes on to say, “There was never any doubt that my brother, my mom and I have always come first for him. I had an amazing coach in Dick Sheridan at N.C State for three years, and he taught me many things about the important values of responsibility and accountability, but it is my dad who is my real role model and he has been throughout my entire life.”
This keen awareness of the value of family is now evident in Carter and Mark’s journey here in Brunswick County, where they first made their home in 1997. With three children, Preston, 11, Mills, 8, and Gabriel, 5, Mark and Carter work tirelessly and joyfully to give their children a childhood experience rich in the values of education, family and community. Carter dedicates countless hours to Belville Elementary School as a volunteer, no small task for a mother of three who also manages a very busy home life and the many activities and needs of their young children. However, as Mark says, they both feel that it is so important to give back to the school.
“This area is growing quickly, and we need to give what we can,” Mark says. “It’s great that the people moving here are so service-oriented—they all seem to be passionate about helping out and being part of the community.”
The Ellenbergs are both thrilled with the education offered by the Brunswick County School District and the fact that this area exudes a small-town feel (which both of them are accustomed to, Carter remembering Cary in the old days and Mark being raised in a farming town). It seems that the blend of small-town values with the rapid growth offers a unique opportunity for all area children to enjoy a very fulfilling educational and social experience while also benefiting from the many resources the area will offer as the population continues to increase.
In addition to Carter’s work with Belville Elementary, Mark coaches soccer (now for the second consecutive year), and both of their sons are playing baseball for Leland Dixie Youth League. The Ellenbergs live in the development of Magnolia Greens, a perfect location for an avid golfer like Mark, and ideal for all aspects of healthy, balanced family living.
“Magnolia Greens has everything we could need—golf, amenities, a pool, a great mix of people from all over the country,” says Mark. “I can even work out without having to leave our neighborhood. The kids love it here, and so do we.”
Mark has a very genuine sense of pride in the choices they have made. When asked about his work for Farm Bureau Insurance as agency manager and his vision for the future, he says: “It’s just great. We love living here. If I stay here for my whole career, that’s perfectly fine with me.”
The Ellenbergs also take full advantage of the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. They frequent Wrightsville Beach to relax, but also enjoy many other area beaches on the weekends. Myrtle Beach is not too far for them, as long as the trip is made complete with a Pelicans baseball game. They are all sports fans, faithfully devoted to N.C. State in particular (although I had to ask if there was any rivalry between N.C. State and ECU, Carter’s alma mater, to which Mark replies, “Sure, there is a friendly rivalry. But, really, when it comes down to it, it’s N.C. State or nobody!”). This love for his own alma mater, where he studied history and communications, is most evident in the family’s unrelenting commitment to attend every home Wolfpack basketball game.
Part of Mark and Carter’s extended family is now also taking full advantage of North Brunswick living. Mark’s parents relocated to live in Brunswick Forest, practically across the street from their grandchildren, son and daughter-in-law. Although Carter’s family still resides in her hometown of Cary, they often make trips to this corner of the state to share in the experience of life near the coast.
No doubt that the positive spirit of this family will spread throughout the community as the years go on, just as it has since they bought their first home here in 1997 (which was actually the sixth house to be built in Jackey’s Creek). Their goodwill, their dedication to education and athletics and their solid family bond is to be admired.
“When you become a parent,” Mark says, “life becomes all about what is best for your children.” This value, so important especially in the twenty-first century when children are faced with so many difficult challenges, is at the heart of all of their choices. It is clear from their volunteerism that it is not even just about their children, but also the many children and families around them.
With this philosophy and the energy they put behind it, the Ellenbergs will surely enrich the lives of everyone in North Brunswick County, so long as they are neighbors to all of us who enjoy life in this vibrant region.
