In this last issue of 2022, which our media kit called “highlights of the hidden,” we have given a glimpse into a few organizations and people in our area who have done amazing things and yet, in many ways, their accomplishments remain relatively unknown. Christmas seems to be the perfect season to tell these stories.
I know it might be hard for us to believe in this day and age, but Christmas was not always the celebrated holiday that it is today. In a 2017 movie called “The Man Who Invented Christmas” Charles Dickens, author of many timeless novels, is the “Man” referred to in the title of the movie. (As a side note, it’s a great film especially if you love Dickens’ classic book, “A Christmas Carol.”)
The movie, like his book, deals with a theme of forgiveness and redemption. Apparently in 1843 England, Christmas was what one of the actors in the film called “a minor holiday.”
As Dickens, who is close to bankruptcy during this time, grasps for inspiration for his next book, his characters come to life, guiding him through. But it’s his own life experiences that ultimately lead him to the fifth stave of one of the most enduring bestsellers of all time. Dickens learns and teaches the message of Christmas through Scrooge’s changed life. After the first day of “A Christmas Carol’s” release, charitable giving in London doubled overnight, and the world was forever changed in how Christmas was celebrated.
These great organizations and people mentioned in this issue exemplify the value of people. Although much of what they have done has been behind the scenes, their work is still ongoing and continues to be on display in changed lives.
Isn’t that what we all want for Christmas? To make a difference? To help someone realize they are worth it?
I leave you with the final few lines of “A Christmas Carol” as the author summarizes Scrooge’s changed heart… and hopefully our own, “… He knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, everyone!”
God bless you and yours,
Marty
At center, Chancellor Darrell T. Allison and Juanette Council, Ed.D., vice chancellor for student affairs, cut the ribbon to celebrate the grand reopening of Fayetteville State University's newly renovated Spaulding Building, joined by campus leaders
FCEDC has officially moved its staff and operations to 611 W. Russell St. The 35,800- square-foot center was previously home to Homemakers Furniture and Interiors. Renovations began in the fall of 2025 and are expected to be completed in the next six to eight months. Currently, FCEDC staff are working within an open 7,500-square-foot floor plan as initial improvements progress.
Inset: Systel’s first corporate headquarters was a small rental house turned office on Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville in 1981. Large photo: The company’s new corporate headquarters reflects years of growth into a multi-million dollar company that pr
