Happy Women’s History Month all! 

As Women’s History Month takes off this March, I found myself going through my family albums and reflecting on my own history. I’ve always liked the phrase “A long line of successful women” and while the definition of success can change by person, I like to think that I too come from a long line of strong women, of powerful women, of intelligent women and so on. 

In the photo above, I’m proud to share the women in my family. In order from left to right we have my mother, Pamela Patton who you may recognize as a marketing consultant at Beasley Media Group here in Fayetteville, (Yes, I am a Hatton, she is a Patton, paperwork is a nightmare.) me as a baby, my grandmother Alma Hatton, who was a Licensed Practical Nurse and who, after a grievous battle with cancer, passed away in 2014. And finally, my great-grandmother Ruth Greer who lived to be a spunky 94 -years old, raised three kids in the 1950s, survived World War II, was a stone-cold fox and who passed away in 2022. 

Thinking about all of these women who shaped me into who I am today, I think about what features and personality traits I have pulled from each. 

I got my face and voice from my mom. Get us in a room together and you can see that. 

I got my stubbornness from my grandmother, God rest her soul. (I think she fought cancer longer than the doctors predicted based on her belief in Jesus and pure spite.) 

I got my love of plants from my great-great-grandmother. I collect them like Pokémon cards. (Keeping them alive, however, is a totally different situation.) 

These little bits of me I hope to pass down to my own daughters one day as we keep their memories alive. 

We hope you enjoy this first March issue focusing on women in business! Along with our fantastic cover story on Cool Spring Downtown District’s CEO and President Bianca Shoneman, we also have a profile on Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s Mary Kate Burke and a feature article on HERWeek’s third annual HERImpact Brunch! 

We hope you enjoy these stories of women in business who are running the show and uplifting one another. We are looking forward to our upcoming special issue on women-owned businesses next! If you know of a business that could make a good feature article, feel free to email our team at editor@bizfayetteville.com. 

Happy reading!