{"id":256,"date":"2025-11-12T05:15:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/?page_id=256"},"modified":"2025-11-15T01:19:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T01:19:36","slug":"256-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/?page_id=256","title":{"rendered":"Who We Are"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\n        .sdf-who-section {\n            max-width: 1200px;\n            margin: 0 auto;\n            padding: 60px 20px;\n        }\n        \n        .sdf-who-section .section-header {\n            text-align: center;\n            margin-bottom: 50px;\n        }\n        \n        .sdf-who-section .section-header h1 {\n            font-size: 3em;\n            color: #4a4a4a;\n            margin-bottom: 15px;\n            font-weight: normal;\n        }\n        \n        .sdf-who-section .section-header p {\n            font-size: 1.3em;\n            color: #6b6b6b;\n            font-style: italic;\n        }\n        \n      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font-size: 1.1em;\n            color: #35735d;\n            font-weight: 600;\n            margin-bottom: 20px;\n        }\n        \n        .sdf-who-section .operator-card p {\n            color: #5a5a5a;\n            line-height: 1.7;\n            margin-bottom: 12px;\n        }\n        \n        @media (max-width: 768px) {\n            .sdf-who-section .section-header h1 {\n                font-size: 2em;\n            }\n            \n            .sdf-who-section .person-header {\n                flex-direction: column;\n                align-items: flex-start;\n            }\n            \n            .sdf-who-section .operators-grid {\n                grid-template-columns: 1fr;\n            }\n        }\n    <\/style>\n\n<div class=\"sdf-who-section\">\n        <div class=\"section-header\">\n            <h1>Who We Are<\/h1>\n            <p>The People Behind Stone Duck Farms<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"intro-text\">\n            <p>Stone Duck Farms is more than land and livestock\u2014it&#8217;s the story of families who chose to stay, to work the soil their ancestors worked, and to pass forward both property and values. From Navy veterans to teachers, from funeral directors to food scientists, each generation has brought their own skills and experiences back to these Tennessee hills and river bottoms.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"current-operators\">\n            <h2>Current Operators<\/h2>\n            <div class=\"operators-grid\">\n                <div class=\"operator-card\">\n                    <h3>Sam Ayers<\/h3>\n                    <p class=\"role\">Co-Owner &#038; Farm Manager<\/p>\n                    <p>Sam grew up moving where his father&#8217;s job took him, before the family eventually settled back in Normandy. As a sickly child who contracted histoplasmosis, Sam couldn&#8217;t handle the heavier farm chores, so he became the family&#8217;s breakfast cook\u2014a role he jokes left him having &#8220;cooked more eggs than most people ever will.&#8221;<\/p>\n                    <p>After earning his agricultural economics degree from the University of Tennessee and a vocational agriculture teaching certification from MTSU, Sam taught briefly in Shelbyville before a stint in Washington, D.C., working on the annual agricultural budget for the Department of Agriculture. Homesick and miserable so far from Tennessee, he returned in the early 1990s, transferred to the USDA in Nashville as a computer technician, and reconnected with Cindy after a chance airport encounter with her sister Kim.<\/p>\n                    <p>Sam retired from USDA in 2017 and has been farming full-time ever since, managing the day-to-day operations across all three properties.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n                \n                <div class=\"operator-card\">\n                    <h3>Cindy Holden Ayers<\/h3>\n                    <p class=\"role\">Co-Owner &#038; Food Safety Specialist<\/p>\n                    <p>Cindy grew up in Shelbyville and Christiana, with childhood memories of hearing The Walking Horse National Celebration from her backyard. After earning her bachelor&#8217;s and master&#8217;s degrees in animal science from the University of Tennessee, where she discovered a passion for food science. After graduation she would go to work for SoPakCo in South Carolina, developing new MRE flavors and techniques.<\/p>\n                    <p>Homesickness brought her back to Nashville, where she joined Shoney&#8217;s restaurants, developing menu items and overseeing food safety programs. (She famously cannot eat cheesecake after testing 23 varieties in a single day.) After her sons were born, Cindy left corporate work to focus on raising her family while working part-time at a local meat packer. She began adjunct teaching at MTSU and eventually became a full-time instructor, where she continues to teach while managing the farms.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n                \n                <div class=\"operator-card\">\n                    <h3>Holden Ayers<\/h3>\n                    <p class=\"role\">Farm Operations &#038; Funeral Director<\/p>\n                    <p>Holden, the eldest son, grew up just two miles from the Holden Farm. After attending Tennessee Tech, he returned home and began working for the funeral home that had served his family for generations\u2014the same funeral home that buried his great-grandfather Clifford and grandfather Bobby.<\/p>\n                    <p>Feeling called to funeral service, Holden enrolled in mortuary school and graduated in 2021. Following the immense stress of working through the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to MTSU to complete his bachelor&#8217;s degree. Today, Holden helps manage the farm operations while working part-time as a licensed funeral director, bringing the same care and attention to detail to both callings.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n                \n                <div class=\"operator-card\">\n                    <h3>Scott Ayers<\/h3>\n                    <p class=\"role\">Farm Operations &#038; Supply Chain Management<\/p>\n                    <p>Scott, the youngest son, also grew up near the Holden Farm and attended MTSU, where he earned a degree in supply chain management. He and his girlfriend live in Murfreesboro and he currently works as a supervisor at a warehouse in town while helping with farm operations during evenings and weekends.<\/p>\n                    <p>Scott brings modern logistics and organizational skills to the farm, helping streamline operations and plan for future growth.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n                \n                <div class=\"operator-card\">\n                    <h3>Kim Holden<\/h3>\n                    <p class=\"role\">Farm Support &#038; Hospice Nurse<\/p>\n                    <p>Kim, Cindy&#8217;s younger sister, was born in Oak Ridge and raised with Cindy in Shelbyville and Christiana where she was heavily involved in 4-H. She built her home on the Holden Farm in the 1990s, across the driveway from her parents, where she has lived ever since.<\/p>\n                    <p>With degrees from UT, Belmont, UAB, and a PhD in Nursing from Barry University, Kim found her calling in hospice and palliative care. She has spent recent years as a hospice travel nurse across the nation. Tragically widowed just months after marrying Tom Ayers in 2002, Kim now works locally and helps on the farm whenever needed. An exceptional cook and canner, her sweet pickles won 3rd place at the 2025 Tennessee State Fair.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"generation-section\">\n            <h2 class=\"generation-title\">Those Who Came Before<\/h2>\n            \n            <div class=\"person-card\">\n                <div class=\"person-header\">\n                    <div>\n                        <h3>Thomas Phillip Ayers II (Phil)<\/h3>\n                        <p class=\"person-dates\">1922 &#8211; 2008<\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"person-content\">\n                    <p>A Bedford County native and lifelong farmer in the Thompson Creek area, Phil served in the U.S. Navy before graduating from Tennessee Tech with a degree in agriculture. He worked as a field representative for Carnation Milk Co., Bedford Cheese Co., and Purina Feed Co., traveling throughout Middle Tennessee and sharing his agricultural expertise with countless farmers.<\/p>\n                    <p>Phil was a member of Normandy Presbyterian Church, the Normandy Masonic Lodge, and The American Legion. He purchased the Aunt Bet Farm from his uncle Oscar Ayers in 1960s, consolidating the family&#8217;s holdings along the Duck River. His dedication to both traditional farming values and modern agricultural science shaped Sam&#8217;s approach to farm management.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n            \n            <div class=\"person-card\">\n                <div class=\"person-header\">\n                    <div>\n                        <h3>Mary Sue Harrison Ayers<\/h3>\n                        <p class=\"person-dates\">1929 &#8211; 2004<\/p>\n                        <p class=\"person-quote\">&#8220;Do the best you can with what you have.&#8221;<\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"person-content\">\n                    <p>Sue met Phil while both were working in the cafeteria at Tennessee Tech, where she earned her degree in home economics while Phil studied agriculture. After marrying, she taught home economics for several years before they settled back in Normandy and she began teaching 7th grade science.<\/p>\n                    <p>She continued teaching 7th grade science in Tullahoma until retirement, where she was kept intellectually sharp by her students\u2014often the children of engineers and scientists working at the Arnold Engineering Complex at Arnold Air Force Base. Her passion for education and scientific thinking influenced both her children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n                    <p>She was a beloved grandmother who balanced farm life with intellectual curiosity, always encouraging her family to ask questions and seek understanding. <\/p>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n            \n            <div class=\"person-card\">\n                <div class=\"person-header\">\n                    <div>\n                        <h3>Robert Eugene (Bobby) Holden<\/h3>\n                        <p class=\"person-dates\">1927 &#8211; 2005<\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"person-content\">\n                    <p>Bobby grew up in Christiana, and after his father Clifford died when he was a teenager, he helped support his mother while still in high school. Following graduation, he joined the Navy and was stationed at Moffett Field in California during the Korean War, working as an airplane mechanic\u2014skills he would later apply to farm equipment maintenance.<\/p>\n                    <p>After the Navy, Bobby attended MTSU studying vocational education. After graduation he began teaching shop at Lake City (now Rocky Top) High School in East Tennessee while attending the University of Tennessee, working on a masters degree. He never did graduate from the University of Tennessee as he accepted a position as assistant director of the Tennessee Vocational Technical School in Shelbyville\u2014the first of Tennessee&#8217;s new post-high school vocational schools.<\/p>\n                    <p>Bobby eventually became director, overseeing significant expansion of both the school and its program offerings. He retired in the 1990s to Christiana, where he focused on the farm and his beloved cattle, with woodworking as a cherished hobby. His commitment to vocational education influenced multiple family members to pursue teaching careers.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n            \n            <div class=\"person-card\">\n                <div class=\"person-header\">\n                    <div>\n                        <h3>Bernice Scott Holden<\/h3>\n                        <p class=\"person-dates\">1933 &#8211; 2015<\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"person-content\">\n                    <p>Bernice grew up in Santa Fe, Tennessee, one of eight children raised in poverty in rural Tennessee. She remembered winter mornings waking under layers of quilts with snow on top\u2014a testament to the hardship and resilience that shaped her character.<\/p>\n                    <p>After marrying Bobby and settling in Middle Tennessee, Bernice worked in the payroll department at Eaton in Shelbyville. She often reminisced fondly that &#8220;the guys on the factory floors always liked the payroll ladies because they paid them!&#8221; Her practical wisdom and strong work ethic were legendary in the family.<\/p>\n                    <p>After retiring in the 1990s to help Bobby with farm operations, Bernice took over complete management of the farm following his death in 2005. Well into her 80s, she checked cattle and carried buckets of feed daily, refusing to slow down until shortly before her death in 2015. Her determination and independence remain an inspiration to her grandsons Holden and Scott.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n            \n            <div class=\"person-card\">\n                <div class=\"person-header\">\n                    <div>\n                        <h3>Thomas Phillip Ayers III (Uncle Tom)<\/h3>\n                        <p class=\"person-dates\">1954 &#8211; 2002<\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"person-content\">\n                    <p>Tom was the eldest son of Phil and Sue Ayers, and would have inherited the Aunt Bet Farm, a place to which he felt a strong connection. His tragic death at just 47 years old was deeply felt by both the Ayers and Holden families\u2014made even more poignant by the fact that he was married to Cindy&#8217;s sister Kim, creating an intertwined family bond where two sisters married two brothers.<\/p>\n                    <p>Though his time was cut short, Uncle Tom&#8217;s love for the land and dedication to family legacy inspired the eventual consolidation of the three properties under Stone Duck Farms.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who We Are The People Behind Stone Duck Farms Stone Duck Farms is more than land and livestock\u2014it&#8217;s the story of families who chose to stay, to work the soil their ancestors worked, and to pass forward both property and values. From Navy veterans to teachers, from funeral directors to food scientists, each generation has&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-with-title","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-256","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=256"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":399,"href":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/256\/revisions\/399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stoneduck.farm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}