Teens Westward Bound THE Trip 2022!
Grant Deaton- Program Director-
HELLO AMERICA! My name is Grant Deaton and this is my 22nd year traveling across this amazing country with TWB. I started going out west in 1996 and 1997 as a participant. In 2001, I began traveling as a counselor and became the tour director in 2003. It was such an honor and privilege to take on the role of Program Director in 2016. Words cannot express how excited I am about traveling out west again this summer with such an incredible group of young people. We are going to have a blast!
I have worked as a Marketing teacher for 13 years in North Carolina. I enjoy golfing, mountain biking, backpacking, as well as hanging out with my family and dogs. My wife, Kitch, and I are extremely blessed to have four wonderful little boys in our lives. Connor (11 years old), Brandon (9 years old), Samuel (7 year old) and Grayson (3 years old) bring so much joy to our family. I will miss them so much this summer.
Enjoying every minute of life is so important to me. Going out west every year with the best young people God has to offer is the best way to spend a summer in my mind. I can't wait to see you soon!! LET’S GO WEST!!!
Hey hey, I am the V, Ms Beautiful, V, and RARELY do any of my friends call me by my legal name of Vickie Wilkins! I Sanford, NC, the Brick Capital of the World is where I reside. My passion is being an educator, and my home away from home would be Southern Lee High School! I teach students in the areas of Health and Physical Education, Teacher Cadet, and PEPI. I am the SGA Advisor, I coach Girls and Boys Tennis, whooooooooooo hoooooooooo, had doubles teams that made it to Regionals with both teams this year. I also teach a bunch of wild women in Sunday School, and the fellowship and the projects that we take on make us realize how blessed we are. I AM the most blessed woman on the planet to be able to have traveled on TWB with the Big D, aka Dennis Deaton for years, and now I am beyond blessed to travel with his son Grant! This family and their extended families eat, breath, and sleep TWB 365 days a year.. I am forever grateful to this family for what they have let me do with them for over 35 years. Our nation is breathtaking, and when you put yourself in all the places we will go, you realize there are many threads, fibers, and fabric which make us a country that is ever evolving. IDo you think I am excited to be traveling with you this summer, - jyeeeeeeeeesssssssss I am! I look forward to meeting you and your family as we begin our unbelievable adventures of 23 days across AMERICA that will leave numerous footprints upon your heart. Just so you will know - I have some favorite snacks, and since you have your parent’s credit card, I am sure they will not mind if you buy me a snack every now and then!!!!! I love fruit, peppermint gum,, Sugar Free Powerade/Blue, which reminds me of my 2nd passion place, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It’s a fantastic place to go to school, and I also work part time for the Athletic Department being an Usher Supervisor in football and basketball. GO HEELS! Looking so forward to traveling with all of you - get yourself ready for 23 unforgettable days across AMERICA!
Ashley Beaty (TWB 2016- Trip 2) - Cooks
Ashely on her Teens Westward Bound Trip in 2016! 
Hi everyone! I hope you are all as excited for TWB as I am!! My name is Kevin Kang and I am from Cary, NC. I had the experience of a lifetime when I had to privilege to travel out west in 2017 on Trip 2, and I can’t wait to do it again with you all! I graduated from Panther Creek High School in 2018 and just graduated this May from the best school in the world, NC State University!!!! I studied Mechanical Engineering and after this summer I will be working for Corning as an Equipment Engineer in Durham.
I really enjoy sports, whether it’s watching or playing them. I could talk about them all day, specifically: football, soccer (the actual football), and basketball! I love dogs! In my picture you can see my newly adopted puppy, Suki, named after Suki from Avatar: the Last Airbender!
I can’t wait to get this summer started and help you all experience a trip of a lifetime!
Kevin on his TWBTrip in 2017!Payton Holt (TWB 2018- Trip 4)- Bloggers
Howdy TWB trip 2!!! My name is Payton Holt and I am so so excited to meet and get to know all of you this summer! I was blessed to be on the very first trip 4 in 2018 and I am so stoked to get the opportunity to travel around the most beautiful country again this summer with all of you!
I am from Mount Ulla, North Carolina and I went to good ole West Rowan High School. I am a recent grad, earning my B.S. degree in Exercise Science and Clinical Health from Emory & Henry College outside of Bristol, TN (BRISTOL BABY!). At E&H, I played for the Women’s tennis team, worked in housing, and was the administrative assistant to the Director of Campus Recreation so I am always down for a little competition. In January 2023, I will be going back to school as a part of Campbell University's Doctorate of Physical Therapy program, GO CAMELS!
I am a huge dog person, as in I really like big dogs (but small dogs are cute too). I love doing all things outdoors so I'm really looking forward to sleeping on the ground for 23 days ;). As a former college athlete I am super competitive so I can't wait to see all of the dance moves and funny jokes you all can think of to win the competitions that will be held! I also love all things sports, especially if it involves tennis, basketball, formula 1, and especially the Carolina Tarheels!
I can't wait to meet all of you this summer and have the best trip ever!
