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: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1094230
4 UCW MARCH 20-26, 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 Leslie Pyo leslie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. EarlUCWSports@gmail.com REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR Kimberly Herndon kim@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, Karl Merritt, John Hood, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Prudence Mainor SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ ––––––––––– 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 pub- lisher. 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. © 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 elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. Who is leading the next generation of leaders? by BILL BOWMAN Who is showing the next generation of leaders how to navigate Fayetteville and Cumberland County's future? PUBLISHER'S PEN Last month, I wrote that local lead- ership comes in many forms. Friday, March 8, more than 100 residents gathered at Cape Fear Botanical Garden to celebrate e Fayetteville Observer's 40 Under 40 winners. And rightfully so. ese select few have achieved benchmarks of success in their personal and business lives, through dedication, hard work and perseverance. at is something worth celebrating. e editorial page of last week's Fayetteville Observer did, however, double down on my observation and concerns that these same young outstanding individu- als are shying away from getting involved in local government. Why the reluctance? For years, and to its credit, e Fayetteville Observer has done a good job of recognizing potential local talent in a way that is well balanced, politically correct and representative of our diverse population in business, education, the military, the medical field and nonprofit organizations. ese extraordinary young people have made their mark and are now contributing to the personality and fabric of our community — except when it comes to leadership. As the news- paper reiterated, it does not bode well for the future of our community when many of our young, intelligent achievers remain on the sidelines of local leadership. Except for Tisha Waddell, District 2 Fayetteville city councilwoman, they seem to avoid public service as elected officials. Are we doing enough to engage these ambitious young professionals? Are we encouraging them to get involved politically? And, are we setting the right example for them? Many think not. And, the subject matter alone has many people and organizations who traditionally have been responsible for nurturing local leaders on the defensive, re- fusing to acknowledge this void that could hinder our future growth and development. To their credit, organizations like the Greater Fayetteville Chamber have for years offered leadership and de- velopment programs like Leadership Fayetteville, the ambassador program and the Fayetteville Young Professionals networking group, which are all explicitly designed to familiarize the next genera- tion with community, business, govern- ment and civic responsibility. Cumberland County the town of Hope Mills and the city of Fayetteville all have initiated leadership academies designed to demonstrate how our local govern- ment operates and to familiarize residents with the myriad leadership opportuni- ties designed to motivate and groom young talent for business, industry and public service. It is encouraging to see civic organizations like Cumberland County Kiwan- is Clubs stepping up and embracing young people, providing leadership and direction. ey cultivate pride, responsibility and values and offer community engagement and life lessons that pay big dividends. So, while many are content with the status quo of our community — and others refuse to take responsibility for leader- ship development while witnessing the dumbing down of standards and events — we must realize this is no way to prepare for a prosperous future. Again, at the risk of being redundant, millennials are the future of our commu- nity. We need to make it our highest priority to get them involved, engaged and excited about the future right here at home. ey are the future of the community. We have done an excellent job identify- ing these potential future leaders. Let's continue to advocate for and support the effective programs and organizations that encourage these young people to step up into leadership positions. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. LOW 39 HIGH 65 HIGH 67 HIGH 72 LOW 41 LOW 53 MARCH 25 MARCH 24 MARCH 22 MARCH 23 MARCH 26 Mostly Cloudy Mostly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Mostly Sunny Sunny Showers MARCH 21 HIGH 67 LOW 42 HIGH 75 LOW 56 HIGH 71 LOW 47 BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.