Seamark's Mudders
Vicki and her husband, Bobby, first heard of Seamark Ranch when it was still a vision, shared by Keith and April Denton, the Seamark Ranch founders. After that, they were inspired to host dinner events where they could share the vision of a Christian children’s home in northeast Florida. By 2007, Vicki was serving on the Seamark Board of Directors, at the encouragement of friends, Jenifer Skinner and Allene Zvara. We are thankful to Vicki and Allene for venturing to North Carolina’s furniture capital, High Point, to select and purchase furniture for the Boy’s Home…no small task, as it had to be functional, attractive, comfortable and DURABLE. They recruited decorators, Jane Roseborough and Christie Martin, to help. When you visit the Boys’ Home you will see that the results were beautiful!
Having grown up in a stable and loving family, herself…and having provided a similar warm, supportive and safe environment for her own family…Vicki acknowledges that what she has experienced is not the norm, and should not be taken for granted. She is continually impacted by seeing the Seamark children flourish and grow after leaving their previous unimaginable experiences behind them. The impact of FAMILY on the children is huge, requiring day-to-day patience, stamina and dedication. For it is in the framework of FAMILY that these children are loved, taught, worked with and ministered to.
And then came the Seamark Mudder! Vicki’s son, Trip and son-in-law, Daniel, are frequent mud run participants—and through their experiences, had often talked about designing a best-of-the-best mud run course. The idea of the Seamark Mudder sprang from a Seamark Board of Directors retreat, where members were challenged to dream of ideas that would help the ranch generate revenue, become more self-sufficient and gain more visibility in the community. After floating the idea of a mud run fundraiser to her family, they all signed-on to help and the Seamark Mudder was born!With the help of her family, numerous other leaders, Board members, ranch personnel and volunteers, the inaugural Seamark Mudder, in 2014, had 365 participants and raised over $40,000. The second Seamark Mudder is scheduled for April 18, 2015. It looks like it will now be an annual event!
While Seamark Ranch may now look like a lot of buildings, animals and crops, Vicki emphasizes that Seamark is all about the kids. In a FAMILY, the cycle of abuse and neglect can be broken. In a FAMILY, the children can receive the educational help that they need. In a FAMILY, they learn wholesome work and play. In a FAMILY, they learn of the love of Christ, the care of a mom and dad and the support of siblings. And it all happens on 468 beautiful acres! How great is that?!