CityView Magazine

CityViewNC .com | 43 MYRTLE SUMMERS ELLEN PARKER "I don't think I've cried as much because of the sale as because that chapter of my life is over," she said. "It has enabled me to meet people from all walks of life who are dear friends of mine." Linda Huff was a schoolteacher when her husband convinced her to take over running H&H in the early 1990s while he focused on real estate. H&H had plenty of construction business at the time but wasn't making enough profit. Linda took over, used the organizational prowess and communication skills she'd honed in the classroom and profits and growth followed. e company now operates in 10 markets throughout the Carolinas and has built over 9,000 homes with another 1,000 scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. That success and Ralph Huf f 's success w ith other ventures, including Coldwel l Banker, was the impetus for their contributions to meaning f u l causes. Huf f bought the Coldwel l Banker f ranchise f rom Murray Duggins in 1991. He and Suzanne Pennink currently are co- owners and are now part of a North Carolina franchise - Coldwell Banker Advantage – with offices in multiple cities "I think Ralph has been the catalyst when it comes to giv ing," Linda Huf f said. "He always sees the broader picture. But we both tru ly feel that the more you give the more you receive." Both Huffs came from humble Hoke County beginnings. Ralph is the oldest of five brothers, all who grew up on a farm between Raeford and Aberdeen. Linda is the daughter of a tobacco farmer and homemaker mother in Raeford. They were married on Aug. 12, 1972 but were sweethear ts long before that. "She was in the seventh grade, and I was in the ninth grade," Ralph Huff said. "We had recreation in the summer at the school. I came down a flight of steps from the gym and saw her playing Ping-Pong. at's the first time I saw her, and I've been in love with her ever since." As they start a new chapter in their life, they can look back with satisfaction on the example of generosity they set for their family and their community. "My pa rents have g iven to so ma ny loc a l c auses," Brooke Hu f f Joh nson sa id. " They have been ver y, ver y good at sha r i ng t hei r success." "She was a really good mom," Ellen Parker said of her daughter, Karen Parker Allen, a mother of nine who died in 2016 at age 55 aer a battle with colon cancer. "She was the kind of mom where the Christmas tree didn't have to be straight or perfect. Everyone was able to participate." Parker established an endowment through Cumberland Community Foundation in her daughter's memory. "is is my way of giving back," said Myrtle Alston Summers, a Fayetteville Academy teacher who had a 30-year career with Cumberland County Schools. She established an endowment through Cumberland Community Foundation to help first-year teachers at T.C. Berrien outfit their classrooms.

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