LUMBERTON, Miss.—Lumberton residents, educators and community leaders are looking toward new opportunities as local projects and businesses continue to shape the community.
Those conversations were part of the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center’s Community Tour in Lumberton on Sept. 19.
The event brought residents and vendors together to learn about community journalism, artificial intelligence and media literacy while discussing what could come next for Lumberton.
For John Maroney, executive director of the Lumberton Main Street Association, consistent positive local news coverage can help support the association’s long-term goals.
Maroney said community journalism can help shift the narrative around Lumberton by focusing on developments happening in the area.
“I tend to feel like most of the time the news comes to Lumberton, at least in the past. It’s always because something negative happens,” Maroney said. “I think changing that narrative a little bit that good is happening in Lumberton and people kind of want to model some of the good things we’re doing, so I’m excited for that.”
The Lumberton Main Street Association and RHCJC partnered with eight local sponsors to host the tour at Lumberton Church.
The event included a community forum where residents discussed local issues and possible solutions, a panel featuring journalists from The Pine Belt News, WDAM and RHCJC, and a skills lab covering social media, Canva and working with the media.
Participants also learned how to evaluate information through the center’s “Ask Me What Is True?” media literacy initiative.
The tour also highlighted local businesses and projects, including The Mill Art Haus, a community arts center being developed by Christopher and Taryn Holzinger.
The Holzingers are preparing to open The Mill Art Haus in Lumberton on Oct. 17.
The center is expected to offer theater, dance, pottery, art, music and culinary programs, along with a recording studio and plans for a radio station.
Taryn Holzinger said the Community Skills Lab gave her ideas for reaching the community and using different platforms to promote the facility.
“The information that was given to us, how to use the different platforms, I think, was very helpful as we move on with our community arts center and how to outreach our community,” Holzinger said.
Christopher Holzinger said the center is designed to bring local creators together while also serving the broader community.
“We have a facility that will be able to be rented out for events, from proms to birthday parties, all those things. So, it really is a fully inclusive community space,” Holzinger said. “We have all of these people and experiences all coming together to serve the community. We’re really hoping that everyone around here really benefits from this.”
Lumberton High School teacher Misty Michalek said the event also reinforced the importance of teaching students about the impact of community journalism.
“They’re able to tell a story. They’re able to say what our community needs, what our community is grateful for,” Michalek said.
Michalek said that kind of storytelling can help bridge communication gaps in a small town.
“We have to know what’s going on in this community. Lumberton is a very small town, so communication is huge,” Michalek said.
The six-hour event concluded with a discussion about what could be improved in Lumberton and what opportunities could help the community continue to grow.
The discussion gave residents an opportunity to share their perspectives on Lumberton’s future and the role local businesses, community organizations and journalism can play in that growth.
“Community journalism has come in and shined a light on the positive things that happen here,” Taryn Holzinger said. “People are seeing the growth and the movement in a small town.”
This article first appeared on RHCJC and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
