Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1162383
4 UCW SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Jenna Shackelford jenna@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. EarlUCWSports@gmail.com REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, Karl Merritt, John Hood, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Prudence Mainor, Avery Powers, Elizabeth Blevins ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: 910-484-6200 FAX: 910-484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publica- tion with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/ Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publica- tion consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or mate- rial. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and out- door locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2019 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Various ads with art graphics designed with ele- ments from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. Hope Mills Community Roundtable a success by BILL BOWMAN PUBLISHER'S PEN Well, Hope Mills held its first Com- munity Roundtable last ursday, sponsored by the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce and Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper. Harmony at Hope Mills, the town's newest as- sisted living community, hosted it. is meeting launched the first in a series of roundtable forums specifically de- signed to engage and inform residents about the future of the Hope Mills community. Under the theme "Your Town, Your Future" residents came together to share their experiences, thoughts, com- ments and ideas. e evening started with an informal "Meet & Greet" hosted by Melannie Armstrong, direc- tor of marketing at Harmony. She and the staff did an excellent job bestowing "Harmony hospitality" on all the forum attendees. e meeting began prompt- ly at 7 p.m. as we officially greeted the audience, made introductions and, literally, got to know every person in the room. We explained that the Hope Mills Community Roundtable is not a political venue; it's not a place to gripe and complain, dump grievances or attack fellow citizens. e sole purpose is to provide a public forum where citizens can talk freely about the com- munity and openly share thoughts and ideas while meeting the people, busi- nesses and organizations that impact their town and their quality of life. Jan Spell, president of the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce, opened the forum by discussing the Chamber's vision, mission, events and accom- plishments. She made sure everyone understood the Chamber is commit- ted to working in partnership with the town and growing and developing local businesses while aiding town officials in attracting new economic develop- ment opportunities. She was followed by Cumberland County Commissioner Michael Boose, who did an excellent job bringing everyone up to date about what's going on in the county and current issues and challenges and how they affect Hope Mills. Boose generated such positive energy and excitement into the meet- ing that he became the personification of the intent and purpose of the forum. One important point he made was that Hope Mills, one of the largest munici- palities in the county, needs to be more involved with the county's business. He suggested that Hope Mills resi- dents sign up to represent the town on county boards and standing commit- tees. From education to economic de- velopment, Boose provided and shared relevant information and insights that affect Hope Mills and its residents. en, the floor was opened for com- ments. I started the conversation by squelching the rumor that the Hope Mills YMCA was leaving the commu- nity. Alex Lewis, the Hope Mills YMCA director was on hand for that assur- ance. From concerns for our veterans and supporting organizations to the emergence of a Hope Mills cultural arts renaissance and the formation of the newly formed historical society, there is no doubt this town is on the move — and in the right direction. e audience was receptive and en- gaged, and the forum's atmosphere was professional, friendly, fun and relaxed. Questions were answered, rumors were dismantled and, most importantly, new friends were made. And, even though the Hope Mills Community Roundtable is not a political venue, we certainly appreciate the elected officials (and elected wannabes) who cared enough to come out to see and hear firsthand how their constituents feel about the community and the job they are doing. Dates for the next two Hope Mills Community Roundtables, which will again be hosted by the wonderful folks at Harmony at Hope Mills, are Sept. 26 and Oct. 24. Mark your calendars and make plans to attend. For more information contact the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce at 910-423-4314, or call me at 910 391 3859. Hope Mills: Your voice, your town, your future. ank you for reading Up & Com- ing Weekly, Hope Mills' community newspaper. Under the theme "Your Town, Your Future" residents came together to share their experi- ences, thoughts, comments and ideas at the Hope Mills Community Roundtable. From concerns for our veterans and supporting organizations to the emergence of a Hope Mills cultural arts renaissance and the formation of the newly formed historical society, there is no doubt this town is on the move — and in the right direction. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COM- MENTS? BILL@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Cumberland County Commissioner Mike Boose generated such positive energy and excitement into the meeting that he became the personification of the intent and pur- pose of the forum.