The 2016 State of the Community Luncheon Written by Amanda Loftus Photos by Stone Samuels
During the annual State of the
Community Luncheon, hosted by the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, professionals from all over the area gathered together and shared their accomplishments and plans for the upcoming year while dining over a delectable meal served at the Crown Coliseum. The 2016 speakers were COL Brett Funck, Fort Bragg Garrison Commander; Mayor Jackie Warner, Town of Hope Mills; Mr. Tad Davis, Spring Lake Town Manager; Dr. Frank Till, Superintendent of Cumberland County Schools; Mayor
Nat Robertson, City of Fayetteville; Commissioner Marshall Faircloth, Cumberland County Chair of Commissioners; and Mr. Darsweil Rogers, Interim President & CEO of Greater Fayetteville Chamber. “It’s amazing how fast a year goes by,” says COL Brett Funck, who also spoke at last year’s luncheon. When it comes to Cumberland County as a whole, Fayetteville takes a large piece of the pie. As the 35th mayor of Fayetteville, Mayor Nat Robertson took the podium and delivered a side order of inspiration during the annual meal. Three years ago, the town was starving, and since then, Mayor Robertson has begun to
Mayor Nat Robertson
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fill the bellies of our community. “We had one of the highest crime rates in the nation,” says Nat, “first responders were ill-equipped, understaffed, and underpaid.” Within the three years he has served as Fayetteville’s Mayor, there has been a steady decline in crime. “We’ve reduced crime by almost thirty percent thanks to Chief Medlock and our community policing programs that he has put into place,” the Mayor adds. As he introduced the Fayetteville Chief of Police, Harold Medlock, the roar of the applause could be heard outside the building and everyone rose from their seats to thank, admire, and salute the Chief for his dedication to the community of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. “Excellence is becoming a familiar watchword,” says Spring Lake Town Manager, Tad Davis. Along with the sidewalk initiative, Spring Lake is becoming more of a place to see and be! With the addition of the beautiful FTCC Spring Lake Campus, an all-around increase in public school scoring, and plans to implement an afterschool enrichment program in upcoming school years, the Spring Lake community standards of education are boasting from the rooftops. Dr. Frank Till, Superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, shared the success of a program started last year. The Work Perks program, which partners businesses and school employees by offering employee discounts to teachers and staff at participating businesses brings together families and educators from across the county. Frank credits the value of the discounts to the admiration and respect that each teacher feels when businesses recognize the