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/1506964
4 UCW SEPTEMBER 6 - 12, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM CEO/President Nat Robertson of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce hosted last week's annual State of the Community luncheon at the Crown Coliseum Complex. is was the first major event hosted by the Chamber since he took the leadership helm several months ago. With several hundred local business owners and elected officials in attendance from the city, county, and State, this event sold out twice, making it one of the biggest and most significant Chamber-sponsored events in its 124-year history. e audience included Fayetteville city, Cumberland County, state officials, business leaders, and public school administrators. MC'd by the quick-witted Chairman of the Chamber board, Gary Rogers introduced the lineup of distinguished speakers that brought the audience up to date on the status and health of the community: the local Real Estate industry presented by Melissa McKinney, president of Longleaf Pine Realtors' board of directors, City of Fayetteville by Mayor Mitch Colvin, Cumberland County by Commissioner Toni Stewart, Cumberland County Education by Dr. Marvin Connelly, on local healthcare Daniel Weatherly, CEO of Cape Fear Valley Health, updated everyone on the progress and expansion and future of health care in Cumberland County. However, to the Chamber's credit, they saved the best for last. Guest speaker Josh Dobson, the North Carolina Department of Labor Commissioner, concluded the program by talking stern "truth to power". It was unexpected, refreshing, and the first time I had ever seen or heard an elected official use a public speaking platform to admit that government, public service, and politics are all trending in a wrong and dangerous direction. I have written about this several times over the years, comparing our current political climate, policies, and procedures with that reminiscent of Dell comic's Bizarro World, where everything is the opposite of its intended nature. i.e. Good is bad, Bad is good, etc.. Dodson sees nothing productive coming from partisan and divisive politics. He references the term "normal" to describe what the political processes were traditionally when he first engaged in politics and what they ought to be, then stated, "….what used to be normal is not normal anymore." After his first term as Labor Commissioner, he will be out of politics because of this divisiveness and growing political abnormality. But really, will he be out of politics altogether? Personally, I doubt it. He walks and talks like a man with courage, conviction, and intestinal fortitude. We'll see what the future holds. His message resonated and surprised many of the audience members, ending the program on an extremely high note. Our Fayetteville Chamber is apolitical. However, first and foremost, they are an "Advocacy for Businesses". Dobson is correct ; reversing political divisiveness, locally, state, and nationwide, is imperative to having and maintaining a prosperous economy and a healthy and happy "State of the Community." Again, I congratulate Nat Robertson, the Chamber Staff, and their Ambassador volunteers for executing such a worthwhile and value-added event. We are proud to represent them in our community newspaper, for which we thank you for reading! STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MANAGING EDITOR Renee Holtz editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Aly Hensen assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR Courtney Sapp-Scott art@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Isaiah Jones graphics@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITERS Isaiah Jones, Jamie Bishop, Kathleen Ramsey, Hannah Lee, Lena Simmons, Amber Little, Laura Browne CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Margaret Dickson, John Hood Ashley Kelsey MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com SALES ASSISTANT Sheila D. Barker salesassistant@upandcomingweekly.com COVER Courtney Sapp-Scott 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. 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. © 2020-2023 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. Association of Community Publishers BILL BOWMAN, Publisher. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. PUBLISHER'S PEN Chamber's State of Community = State of Excellence by BILL BOWMAN Letters to the Editor Do YOU have something to say? We want YOU to be heard! We want EVERYONE to be able to voice their opinions on current community events. Let us be a place to start much needed conversations. ALL VOICES WELCOMED! EMAIL: editor@upandcomingweekly.com CALL: 910-484-6200 Pictured: Nat Robertson (Chamber Pres./CEO), Bill Bowman (U&CW), and Robert VanGeons (FAEDC). Photo taken from Greater Fayetteville Chamber social media.