I have now completed three decades on Earth. And I don’t know how to feel about that. It’s one thing to be told you’re getting old by your great-aunt Gertrude, or to pass major life milestones like graduating from high school or college, but there’s something about hearing the music you listened to in high school playing in the grocery store that really helps it set in. 

This past weekend I celebrated my 30th birthday and I am now, as my great-grandmother used to say, “thirty, purdy and sturdy.” Along with celebrating with family and friends, it was a nice milestone to mark and celebrate. It’s wild to me that my generation are the new adults. 

Along with celebrating my 30th, I also celebrated three years with the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal (GFBJ) in July! 

It’s been three wonderful years with GFBJ and I’m looking forward to future planned expansions and new features coming soon. It occurs to me that a lot of people don’t know my background in journalism. 

I’ve been a journalist since 2018 when I joined as an intern at my college TV Station AppTV. I was able to join what was then known as The Appalachian Update, a news branch for the station. I served as an anchor and later as a reporter as the branch continued to grow and develop into what would become the Appalachian Weekly News, joining forces with the student newspaper, The Appalachian. During my time with AWN, I reported on things like politics, the homecoming parade, local protests and music festivals. 

After I graduated in 2019, I joined a small NBC and Fox affiliate station in Minot, N.D. called KMOT. While there, I reported all throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (which I would not recommend) and served as a multimedia journalist, anchor and producer. I’ve discussed how I made the switch from broadcast news to print and what a short turnaround that is. The truth is, I miss broadcast journalism, just a bit, and am looking forward to getting back to my roots! 

That’s all I’ll say for now, but you can follow our Facebook page www.facebook.com/bizfayetteville to keep an eye out for updates!

I hope you enjoy this issue. We have a new family-owned business in Cameron providing a space for sport lovers of all levels (page 10), we traveled to Sampson County for the launch of their new economic development plan voted into effect unanimously by the Sampson County Board of Commissioners (Page 12) and of course our upcoming Power Breakfast event highlighted on page 5.

Happy reading!