CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 17 W hen Nate and Amanda Crew decided to leave the Army, they wanted to focus on family. eir two young sons, Jackson and Willy, were growing up fast, and they wanted to spend time together as a family. Nate, 38, le the Army in 2016. "I was never planning to stay (in the Army) for 20 years," says Nate, 38. "e boys were a big factor in that. I didn't want to miss half of their lives growing up." Jackson is now 8, and Willy is 6. Amanda, 37, le the Army in 2015 but returned to Fort Bragg — now named Fort Liberty — as a civilian in 2017 before leaving for good in 2021. She served in the Army for 14 years, the last eight in the Reserve. "It changed," Amanda says of the military. "Our thoughts changed, especially aer lots of deployments, lots of training, lots of time away. I think we both chose family and wanted to be grounded and have a place for our sons to grow roots and not be like us. I was an Army brat, so I lived everywhere and moved all around." e Crews have been married for 10 years. He served in Special Forces, and she was a pharmacist at Womack Army Medical Center. Aer Nate le the Army, the couple used retirement and Veterans Administration savings as well as Amanda's salary as seed money to buy a nearly 46-acre property in Wagram, where they launched Crew Family Orchards. "We did take a big leap of faith, but we also strategically kind of set ourselves up so that we were able to launch the business," Amanda says. Nate did some contracting work to help make ends meet. "A couple of years I spent aer I got out of the Army flipping houses and stuff," he says. "I think the watershed moment for us was 2020 or 2021. at was really where we had to take a breath and realize that, 'Hey, we're not going to starve.'" e pair has a grove of olive trees on their Wagram property and are cultivating several other varieties of fruits and nuts, according to their website, creworchards.com. "is isn't for everybody," Nate says. "Money isn't everything. Living that out practically has been so freeing and 910.868.5131 | 3200 Cliffdale Road, Fayetteville, NC 28303 | www.fayacademy.org Empower your journey. Elevate your future. FAYETTEVILLE ACADEMY Fayetteville Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation in administration of its educational policies, admissions, financial aid, and athletic and other school-administered programs. Visit www.fayacademy.org for more information. • Ranked by Niche.com as the #1 Best Private K-12 School in the Fayetteville area • Pre-K through grade 12 STEAM SmartLabs ® • 71% of students who take the AP exams score a 3 or higher. • More than $500,000 in need-based financial aid awarded annually to qualified applicants. • The 26 members of the Class of 2022 were offered more than $3 million in college scholarships and grants. by Clayton Britt & Sons 910.868.8319 3703 Bragg Blvd. Fayetteville, NC 28303 customercare@spaandpoolworld.com

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