If you do not have young children, you may not be aware of the Caswell County Partnership for Children, but if you do, it is likely you interact with the group from time to time. As their mission states: CCPFC unites the community to provide families with resources and services to enable all children to reach their fullest potential. As the marketing project went from month to month, it became clear even to someone without young children, how important this group is for building a solid foundation for our children in the county.
Growing up with brothers, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a sister. Although there are friendships that have provided a glimpse of what it is like to have a sister, to see two real life sisters making a go of it, is a really special thing.
On a beautiful Saturday morning in September, the Chamber and gallery owner, Shirley Cadmus sat down to discuss a few exciting recognitions that this particular Caswell Artist is being recognized for in October. At the National Juried Craft Show in Hilton Head Island, SC, Shirley has one of her raku fired pottery works being exhibited
Most of us are probably familiar with security systems of some type these days. The history of their beginnings is quite interesting. In the early days before mechanical or electrical options, people relied on the noises from startled animals and guard dogs as ‘alarm protection’. In the early 1700’s, the first very first creation of an intrusion device was created by an English inventor, Tildeley.
Mike and Tammy Miller have always wanted to be their own boss. Their new smoothie shop is located on Highway 86 between two other Chamber members, the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant and Sista’s Touch Salon. They were officially welcomed to the community on Saturday, August 15 at their Ribbon Cutting ceremony at their Grand Opening.
"There are roughly 11,000 Starbucks locations in the United States, and about 14,000 McDonald's restaurants. But combined, the two chains don't come close to the number of museums in the U.S., which stands at a whopping 35,000."
You may have recognized that ‘story telling’ is a trending topic in the world today. Whether it is a big corporation telling a story of why they exist in their commercials or on social media; a small nonprofit letting the community know their story on a website, or an individual that is sharing their story in a book, blog or in other ways; hearing the stories of others helps us all to ‘walk in their shoes’. Appreciating others’ background and identifying common ground helps us all to connect and we in rural communities can certainly relate to that. Story telling is rooted as far back as the scriptures where in the Bible stories
The decision to intentionally jump off the treadmill of a career composed of ongoing travel, fast paced, intense deadlines and corporate pressure, was indeed planned. Although with 20/20 hindsight maybe it was not as well planned as it could have been. There were times when it really felt like I had fallen off instead. Five years and having spent countless hours on what I call self-work, a completely different life has been created.
Half Time. You may have heard the phrase, of course associated with ball games mostly. Several years ago, a friend of mine suggested I read a book called Half Time, by Bob Buford, which was not about ball games at all. It was about the concept that in the first half of our lives we are busy being successful... focused on ourselves, working our way up in life, saving money and accumulating stuff.
The meeting of Tom Richey, the president of the first company I had ever worked for, Nationwide Advertising Service (NAS), was at an account executive training. It was my first company conference for the agency’s beginning salespeople in Lake Tahoe, NV. After a connecting flight, two of us AEs were in the economy section of the plane with the boss in first class, and I remember our conversation on how ‘someday, we’re going to be in that role and fly first class too.’
It all began when her husband returned from the last of 5 Tours of Duty in Iraq. Jennifer Hambright realized she needed to understand what her husband had been through in service to our nation so she could help him, herself and their marriage survive. With her husband’s Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), the road to recovery for the couple began; aided significantly with Jennifer enrolling into school to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).
The Potter family has very deep seeded roots in the automotive industry. In the 1940s, the late Lee Potter owned a garage in Leasburg and developed a reputation as an A-1 mechanic. In the early 1960’s the lineage continued when the late, Carl Potter and Lee Potter jointly owned and operated the North End Esso gas station and garage in Reidsville. In the mid 1960’s Carl Potter operated Potter’s Garage in Blanch.
As with many entrepreneurs, Selena developed an additional business out of necessity when she discovered that her sons Immanuel and Isaiah had extremely sensitive skin. Over the counter medications were to no avail. Her grandparents shared a couple of home remedies and they have been successful at providing relief. From there, an idea was born. After attending a conference to learn more, Selena and was inspired to begin to make her own teas, skincare products and healing salves branded as the Supernatural Flower Farm.
In the midst of the unsettling events with COVID-19 and all the stress upon us all, there remains a ray of hope, love and commitment at the Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation Center. In the aviary room of the facility, there is a gathering of small birds in a cage and a large window overlooking the courtyard. Here, the residents can gather by the window and members of a resident’s family can come to ‘visit’ outside in the courtyard and connect on the phone to ‘chat’. Nothing means more to residents there at the facility unless it is the quality of care they receive from the amazing staff there.
Never before has ‘perseverance’ been such a necessity for all of us in Caswell as well as in our state, nation and worldwide as we all make our way through these COVID-19 times. Whether it is working through the challenge of getting to the grocery store with gloves, masks and social distancing or working as a first responder putting lives on the line for others, working with elderly family members to assist in their isolating or the front line grocery and bank workers…it seems that everyone in our community is somehow working their way through day to day life during this pandemic.
Meet Amy Hong, Owner, of Top Nails. Most of her customers just know her as ‘Amy’ and are friends with her personable college aged children Newlyn (known as Lyn) and Harris. Lynn has served our nation in Operation Inherent Resolve being deployed to Kuait and Iraq. She is now scheduled to graduate from UNCG this May.
We’ve all probably said at one time or another, ‘I’ll run to the store really quick to pick up -fill in the blank’. These days when you actually get to the store, you may be met with a line of folks separated by 5-6 feet waiting to go in…what, a line to go in? Looks like this might not be a quick run but may take more time than planned.
In Caswell County, NC, there is a group of successful businessmen that have retired from their ‘real jobs’ and are now involved in farming. Hearlding from professional backgrounds in energy, engineering, finance, development and the military, the members of the founding group each had some connection to the land in the county.
This is the third of three articles on marketing your farm. Step One focused on naming your farm and telling your farm’s unique story. Step Two took this a bit further by discussing the development of a website for your farm where in this story and much more detail about your farm lives. Now with these first two steps in play, you are ready to market your small farm business on social media.
Although there is a popular misconception that Facebook can replace your small business website, there are several key drawbacks. One is you cannot control your brand on Facebook and your visitors will never have a complete brand experience there as they could have on your own website. A website works as your main resource on all things about your farm providing much more detailed information that is not able to be shared on the social media platform
This morning' I got up at 6:01
I walked out and saw the rising sun
And I drank it in like whiskey
I saw a tree I've seen a thousand times
A bird on a branch and I watched it fly away in the wind
And it hit me
It's a beautiful world sometimes I don't see so clear
What is your farm story? Every farm has one; every small business has one. If you are looking to make a living or supplement your current situation with farm related offerings, it is important to have a succinct version of your farm’s unique story ready to share with others.
As farms across NC continue to transition from tobacco, the NC Department of Agriculture is working to assist in exploring ways to generate revenue on farms in less traditional ways. Annie Baggett, Agritourism Marketing Specialist, has been working with communities to make this happen
And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise, and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So, God made a farmer.”
You may remember this famous Paul Harvey narrative from a previous Super Bowl ad. This was actually an excerpt from a speech (actual author is unknown) Mr. Harvey gave in 1978 at the national FFA convention where he went on to describe the characteristics of a person that God wants as a farmer.
So now is the perfect time for the annual festival to be reignited as a new life in the County is evident. Replacing the ‘ho hum’ of the hoedown, is a new excitement across the county as many community members are involved in planning the event to get the ‘low down’ on the hoedown! As the county slogan reads, we do want to ‘Preserve the Past’ by paying homage to the traditional tobacco growing, curing and marketing but we also plan to ‘Embrace the Future’ as the community begins to embrace more of the various ag endeavors that are a part of farming in Caswell.
One of the things that bond rural communities together is arts, crafts, agriculture, home cooked food and festivals. Through time festivals have been a way to celebrate heritage, traditions and the culture of people and regions. Festival events can add structure to our social lives and help connect people with their families, neighbors and communities.
Farm to Fork – Community Meal Each Month in Yanceyville
Did you know you can enjoy a free “farm to fork” community meal here in Caswell county every month? The Caswell County Local Foods Council (CCLFC) serves lunch the 2nd Wednesday of every month, 11:30 to 1:30, in the kitchen (basement) of Agriculture Extension Building, 126 Court Square, Yanceyville, NC.
You may have noticed that there is a different name circulating around town...Compassion Health Care. It is actually the new umbrella name for Caswell’s own, Caswell Family Medical Center.
Not only has the team at Caswell Family Medical Center been very busy working to provide quality health care services to our community but they have also been diligently building a medical practice for patients in neighboring Rockingham County at their Eden location, the James Austin Health Center. It opened in 2019 and is celebrating its first year anniversary this month.