Nancy Aborn Wuennemann: Reinvention with Intention

I officially met the vibrant and brilliant Nancy when I accompanied her to her induction into the Horry Georgetown Home Builders Association. Nancy and I share a passion for connecting with new people and getting the opportunity to share their inspiring stories with the world. I am beyond delighted to share hers with all of you.

Nancy was raised by a loving family in Milford, New Hampshire, and she loved to ski. Her original goal in life was to be a water skier at Cyprus Gardens in the summers and to own a ski shop. To accomplish this goal, she decided to study fashion merchandising and retail in college. Like we have all learned this year, sometimes life has another journey in store for us other than what we plan.

Nancy suffered from a gnarly ski accident and was out of school for a while. Once she was able to return, she changed her major to marketing. She started an internship with a television production company which led to her first job where she hosted the lottery 6 nights a week. She was eventually hired as a full-time weather forecaster at a well-known news station in New Haven, Connecticut.

After 18 years of broadcasting, Nancy retired and started a media and marketing company where she coached people how to speak and act professionally on TV. She had a variety of clients which led her to a constant juggling act of a wide assortment of needs from each client. As the executive producer for American Lifestyle TV, she traveled all over the country to feature stories on what makes our country great. She claims, “While I left the business of TV, the business of TV never left me. Even in my work in media and marketing, I was always helping to tell a story which is very fulfilling.”

Through the years, Nancy and her husband vacationed along the Grand Strand with their friends. They all joked about moving and starting new lives down here. Well, Nancy actually did it. She undoubtedly knew that whatever her next phase in life was, she wanted it to take place here. She moved to Prince Creek in September of 2017 and is patiently waiting for her husband to retire soon and join her full time here. She says, “I still have one foot in each place, but my heart belongs to the coast.”

Nancy is Murrells Inlet’s biggest cheerleader and thinks everyone should come on down. She has had several friends come to visit and the next thing you know, they all started buying houses here too. Nancy’s husband suggested that since she is so good at selling houses and showing others all the cool positives to living the coastal lifestyle, that she should make some money off of it. She started real estate school in 2018 and now works for Real Living Home Realty Group located in Market Commons. She shares her knowledge based on her personal transition knowing the highs and lows and the do’s and don’ts and considers herself a relocation expert.

Once the pandemic started this year, she began to observe all of those citizens who were still working. She noticed that the electrician, plumber, and air condition service types were still out and about and continued to see workers still on top of rooftops. Nancy realized that even though the world had shut down, these hard-at-work people did not stop. She feels that these individuals who work in the trades are incredibly underappreciated and need to be better celebrated for their commitment to the public. This mindset stemmed from the very wise advice from her father, “If you can work with your hands or learn a trade, you will never go hungry.”

Nancy wanted to create a forum for these small business owners to highlight all of their good work. She also wanted to be a resource for new homeowners by shining a light on who best to use when needing help fixing their homes. She knew that now, more than ever, the news was revolving around all of the sadness happening in our country. She thought it would be so inspiring to showcase some of the good because she believes those who are helping the economy should be the ones we see more often on TV. Nancy’s show, Carolina Home Today, first aired on WMBF in September of 2020. Nancy states, “Interviewing people, bringing out the story, and documenting it publicly for the world is my absolute passion and this creative process brings me so much satisfaction.” She is delighted that her show has a growing momentum for all of the small, amazing companies to have the opportunity to be featured.

Nancy consistently asks the workers on her show about their “working shoes” because she is “essentially walking a mile in their shoes.” She is fascinated with what kind of shoes they have on while doing their best work. She makes a statement by always wearing her salmon-colored Converse sneakers when shooting her sets. Her shoes mean a great deal to who she is now as a person on her new journey. When Nancy gave up television and moved to the beach, she started rocking her Converse more and gave up high heels, pantyhose, and hot rollers.

A few other things have changed with her new life as well. She used to wake up so early that she claimed that she was the one who woke the birds up in the morning for them to wake up the rest of the world. Now she wakes up whenever she pleases because she is the boss. She has taken up tennis and plays golf with her husband when he is here, which she adores because her mom was a big golfer. She is thankful for technology and her ability to have coffee with her husband every morning with their matching coffee cups over FaceTime. She believes her relationships with others are even better than before the pandemic because these times make you realize how vital connectivity is to your everyday life. She is grateful to live in a place where she has the freedom to cruise on the boat, walk on the beach, and bike ride as she explores the nature and houses surrounding her new home. To help herself stay sane during the pandemic, Nancy began painting for fun and enjoys giving her work to loved ones.

She wants to be resourceful, share her knowledge, and practice gratitude. She persevered successfully during this time because she chose to focus on what is truly important in life and this is a monumental time to do so. Nancy understands that we all must dig deep within ourselves to overcome life’s obstacles and to be able to gain a new perspective. Nancy claims that this is her year of shedding, mentally and materialistically. This is her time to reinvent herself and to do so with intention. I encourage you all to find your new groove, like Nancy, by peeling off last season’s petals to make room for the new you to bloom.