Mr. Rick Swaim

Rick Swaim was born in 1971, raised in the foothills of North Carolina, and resides with his wife Trina and their two children, Neelie and J. Max in the Swan Creek Community located in the western part of Yadkin County. His parents, Allen and Martha Swaim, farmed for a living. The farm consisted of cattle, chickens, soybeans, wheat, and corn.  Mr. Swaim has an older sister, Renee’, who is a veteran teacher of 28 years and is currently teaching in the Yadkin County School System at Yadkinville Elementary.

Mr. Swaim met his wife Trina, when they were in their early teenage years at Starmount High School.  They have been together for 32 years and married for 25. Trina graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994 where she was the President of her Dental Hygiene class. 

Mr. Swaim attended Jonesville Elementary and graduated from Starmount High in 1990.  After graduating from high school, Mr. Swaim attended Wilkes Community College and transferred to Appalachian State University where he earned a BS degree in Middle Grade Education and 2nd majored in English.  Over the next three and a half years, he worked as a substitute teacher, bus driver, teacher’s assistant, and teacher.  For the next three years, Mr. Swaim taught Language Arts and Social Studies to 7th and 8th graders at Courtney Elementary School.  During this time he enrolled at Gardner-Webb University to pursue a Master of Arts Degree in School Administration.  He went on to serve as Assistant Principal at Courtney School for two years, Principal at Jonesville School for seven years, Principal at Starmount Middle School for eight years, Safe Schools and Athletic Coordinator for the Yadkin County School system for one year, and is now the proud Principal of the Yadkin Success Academy.

Mr. Swaim and his wife love “lake days” on their boat and watching their son, who is a three-sport athlete, compete on the courts and fields at Starmount High School.  They also take much pride in their daughter, who works at West Yadkin and Courtney Elementary Schools, as she is using her sign-language skills from Appalachian State University to paint the beautiful picture of language to those who can’t hear.