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/937326
4 UCW FEBRUARY 7-13, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Leslie Pyo leslie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erica Walls, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Paul Hall, Lauren Vanderveen SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– 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 publi- cation consideration, but assumes no responsibil- ity 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 Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Cover art/Various ads with art graphics designed with various elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Dedication, hard work and vision = success! by BILL BOWMAN Business North Carolina Maga- zine is a highly respected statewide business publication that reflects on the elements of North Carolina business and industry. It reports on the economic health and virtues of our state and how these factors affect North Carolina growth, busi- nesses and industry. In the Febru- ary edition, the magazine profiled and honored the 100 most accom- plished, talented and successful business people in North Carolina. All are successful in their own right and have contributed to North Carolina's economic well-being and residents' quality of life. e publication noted that many tal- ented business leaders are concentrated in larger metropolitan areas of our state. However, for this feature, it focused on the smaller communities and regions in search of successful business leaders mak- ing significant and dynamic contributions to their communities in economic devel- opment, finance, retail and several other industries. e contributions of these accomplished people significantly influ- enced and changed their communities in a positive way. Reading over the list, the one trait they all have in common is vision. In the case of Ralph and Linda Huff of H&H Homes, you could say "double vision," since both have contributed so much to our community. Ralph absolutely earned his designation as one of North Carolina's 100 most influen- tial business leaders by this distinguished publication. He and his wife Linda are two of Fayetteville's most successful business and economic assets. ey love this community, as witnessed by their generous lifelong contributions of time, talent and finances. is is a huge honor and a big surprise for the Huffs, but it should be no surprise to everyone around them. In fact, we need to pay more attention to local leaders like Ralph and Linda. Not only are they successful, but they also have a vested interest in the success and prosperity of our community. Outsiders do not. History has shown that our community puts way too much faith in the opinions and guidance of outsiders rather than listening to the common-sense rationale of successful local people and business owners. Case in point: Look how we have struggled with the Unified Development Ordinance over the years. There is no telling how much this community has lost in time, money and business be- cause we refuse to listen to and acknowl- edge the advice of successful people and local business owners most affected – people who are vested in the commu- nity. People like Ralph and Linda Huff, Mac Healy, Jay Wyatt, Mary Lynn Bryan, Don Price, Richard Bryant, Joe Riddle and Sharlene Riddle Williams, and Ron Matthews. I could list dozens more entrepreneurs and innovators who have invested in this community. We could easily publish our own "100 Top Successful and Influential People in Business" just for Fayetteville and Cumberland County, but would the powers that be use them as a resource? It has been said many times that "Fayetteville never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity," and we have much at stake. Fayetteville and Cumberland County are at a turning point. Our future looks bright. Fort Bragg is stable and growing. We have tens of millions of dollars in new downtown develop- ment promising to generate tens of millions more. We have strong, tal- ented leadership promoting economic development, and, thanks to last year's $35 million Parks and Recreation bond, our children, seniors and entire community are experiencing more enhanced quality of life venues. Some questions do remain. 1. Can we get out of our own way to embrace prosperity? 2. Will the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County leadership commit to serving their taxpaying constituents rather than themselves? 3. Will the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County leadership curtail their pettiness and limit political postur- ing long enough to envision the impact a North Carolina Civil War and Reconstruc- tion History Center would have on our entire community and humanity? We'll see. Stay tuned. Ralph Huff recently sent a letter to all the members of city council advocating for the history center and encouraging them to continue their unwavering support. Why? Because he has vision. Congratulations, Ralph. Your inclusion as one of our state's most influential citizens is most deserving. You and Linda have again put Fayetteville and Cumberland County in the limelight – and, in a good way! Visit http://businessnc.com/wp- content/uploads/2018/01/power-100_ feb18_lr.pdf to read the February edition of Business North Carolina Magazine. anks for reading Up & Coming Weekly. HIGH 49 HIGH 64 HIGH 46 HIGH 54 HIGH 51 HIGH 47 FEBRUARY 8 FEBRUARY 9 FEBRUARY 10 FEBRUARY 11 FEBRUARY 12 FEBRUARY 13 Partly Cloudy Mostly Sunny Rain Rain AM Clouds/PM Sun Cloudy LOW 37 LOW 27 LOW 37 LOW 23 LOW 32 LOW 35 T H E S T A T E ' S M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L E A D E R S Linda and Ralph Huff are two of Fayetteville's most success- ful business and economic assets. Will the powers that be use them and other local leaders as a resource?