Up & Coming Weekly

April 26, 2022

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/1466075

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 4 of 28

4 UCW APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2022, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM is past ursday, April 21, we were fortunate to host the April Chamber of Commerce Coffee Club. Up & Coming Weekly has been a Chamber of Commerce member and advocate for twenty-six years and sponsoring this event for over fifteen years. It's always been a fun, enjoyable and worthwhile experience. is year the timing was nearly perfect. After two years of COVID restrictions, local economic and entrepreneurial opportunities are abun- dant. Organizations like the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and established businesses like ours are vitally important to new business development and ulti- mate success. e Coffee Club is only one example of how our chamber offers value to its members. ursday's event was graciously hosted by Chamber Board Chairwoman Tammy urman, the community relations direc- tor for Piedmont Natural Gas. Also in attendance were several other members of their board, though not nearly the atten- dance you would expect from an organi- zation with twenty-plus board members; members of the business community charged with providing leadership, vision and guidance to this fast-growing business community. e chamber's mission statement out- lines its purpose: "Our organization serves as a catalyst in growing a healthy busi- ness community through our advocacy of business-friendly public policy, fostering of diverse, innovative business initiatives, and delivering valuable programs and ser- vices to our members — all made possible through strong collaborative partnerships." Well, then, they need to get started because much work needs to be done in these areas. And, if the enthusiasm and organization of this last event is any indication of things to come, then I com- mend urman and the few notable board members who took the time to attend: the effervescent Master of Ceremony Gary Rogers, Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Col. Scott Pence, Public Works Commis- sion CEO Elaina Ball, Interim President of the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Randy Fiveash, and Robert Van Geons of Fayetteville/Cumberland County Economic Development. A scant sampling of the prestigious board charged with the mission statement quoted above. Chamber leadership, direction, vision and support are vital for nurturing new businesses and assisting existing busi- nesses in taking advantage of economic opportunities. riving and growing com- munities all have strong and established chambers. And all influential chambers have talented, dedicated leadership with business savvy, vision and respectability. ese chambers have little or no depen- dency on local government agencies for funding. Strong chambers are self- supporting, utilizing local partnerships, effective fundraisers and maintaining a committed and loyal membership base. A strong chamber is best achieved by provid- ing value to the members. Creating value and loyalty is accomplished by setting a good example, being a staunch and vocal supporter, and advocating for all local businesses and organizations. For whatever reasons, our Chamber of Commerce has sidelined itself during the past several years, becoming irrelevant to the business community by not get- ting involved and failing to take a stand on important issues that impact local businesses, chamber members and the community. However, I see this changing for the better. is year we see new faces and personalities on the board. Stepping up are experienced leaders who under- stand business and, more importantly, the uniqueness of this community and the need to be informed and involved with important issues that affect business and economic growth. ey understand that the chamber serves all businesses in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. It is my hope that they realize and take seriously that Fayetteville and Cumberland County are unique, with business and community environments far different from other cities and towns across the country. To be successful here and to ef- fect positive change, one must recognize and understand the nuances of this com- munity. An effective chamber understands the community's diversity. ey know our media (or lack of ) im- pacts businesses; we must stay informed on important issues related to our busi- nesses. ey need to know about Fort Bragg's economic impact on our commu- nity and how military turnover influences almost every aspect of our lives. Yes, Fayetteville and Cumberland County need a strong chamber. is is a fabulous community with amazing op- portunities. With a new chamber board recently installed, I hope we will see an ag- gressive future vision. urman gets it, and so do the board members who attended the Coffee Club last ursday. Let's hope the rest of the board will follow suit. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Emily Sussman editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Lee assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly. com PRODUCTION MANAGER/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dylan Hooker art@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITERS Alyson Hansen Ashley Shirley Cindy Whitt Jason Brady MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ted Mohn,, Cynthia Ross, Dan DeBruler, Kathleen Ramsey, Jessica May, COVER Designed by Dylan Hooker. –––––––––––- 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" publication 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 publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. 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 outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2020 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 elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. 82 64 82 83 79 82 63 64 83 66 64 65 THU APR 28 FRI APR 29 SAT APR 30 SUN MAY 01 MON MAY 02 TUE MAY 03 72 48 76 55 75 59 83 60 81 59 79 59 Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Sunny Cloudy PM Showers Thunderstorms Association of Community Publishers PUBLISHER'S PEN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Fayetteville and Cumberland County need a strong Chamber of Commerce by BILL BOWMAN Photo courtesy of Pexels

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Up & Coming Weekly - April 26, 2022