I know that the end of the year is here and it’s hard, but I need our local business community to just hold on and stay focused for these last few weeks of 2025!
We’ve come to this, our second to last issue for the year, and it really tickles me that the entire business community peaced out for Thanksgiving. All of the news trickled to a stop on Wednesday, Nov. 26, and didn’t ramp back up until Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Just looking at my email you can see the responses and new incoming emails get slower and come to a halt. Now that we’re back, I’m fully expecting to see the same pattern around Christmas, but we just have to keep holding on!
Work has begun on our final issue of the year: “That’s a wrap 2025!” As we gather stories from this year to recap, it is crazy to think about some of the great stories that have come from our community in one year.
It’s also been quite the year for the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal. With the addition of our new staff member Ellie Rhodes handling our events, the launch of our new video segment Business Beats and even more announcements to come, it feels like this year flew by!

• A FEW REMINDERS THAT I THINK SHOULD COME TO MIND BEFORE WE OFFICIALLY ENTER 2026!
  Sponsorships for our 2026 Book on Business are open!
• Sponsorships for the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal’s 2026 event lineup are also already open. I know a few people were upset they missed Health Care Heroes this year. Be extra prepared and reserve your table now!
  Sponsorships and advertising in the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal are open 365 days a year. I’ve had a few people reach out to me while planning for 2026, but you don’t have to wait for the new year! Contact me any time!

We hope you enjoy this issue. We cover the final phase for the Fayetteville Outer Loop opening (page 3), a hemp farmer located in Dunn with big plans for the future (check the cover), the latest update on the Gray’s Creek Water infrastructure improvement project (page 5) and the headliner announcement for the Cool Spring Downtown District’s annual New Year’s Eve Celebration (page 10).
This will be my last editor’s note and I’m looking forward to seeing you all in 2026!