Back row, Antonio Jones, Jeremy Fiebig, and Ralph Huff; front row, Emily Ruth Perry and Linda Huff; the Public Works Commission presents the 2024 CityView Community Impact Award winners, who gather on the steps of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County.
14
Building a legacy
Huffs’ mark on Fayetteville is more than just the homes they built.
18
Developing a better Fayetteville
How a Fayetteville woman has grown from affliction and spiritual solitude to becoming a leading lady in neighborhood development and assisting the unhoused community.
24 Leading with love
Family, service, and love are the guiding principles that keep Antonio Jones inspired to pursue his career in the “people business.”
30 A place to belong
Check out Cumberland Community Foundation's Guide to Giving, a keepsake registry of local nonprofit organizations.
CCF’s GivingTuesday catalog will be open for donations from 9 a.m. Nov. 25 through 5 p.m. Dec. 4, 2024.
With the power of community and self-expression on the call sheet, FSU Professor of Theatre Jeremy Fiebig highlights the impact art has had in Fayetteville, both in and out of the classroom.
34 A labor of love
Gallberry Corn Maze closes out its 11th year in Hope Mills.
38 Hope and healing
A journey through cancer care at Cape Fear Valley Health.
PHOTO BY TONY WOOTEN
Cumberland Community Foundation's
Cumberland Community Foundation’s GivingTuesday campaign will be accepting donations
Nov. 25 at 9 a.m. through Dec. 4 at 5:00 p.m.
Donate to your choice of 82 giving opportunities, and CCF will amplify your gift through our $525,000 matching funds.
Giving thanks to those who give selflessly to our city
BY VALERIA CLOËS
I don’t know about you, but I have been deeply enjoying the cooler temperatures that have started rolling through Cumberland County. “Sweater-weather” is officially here, and so is this month’s CityView magazine.
This “Giving Issue” marks an important nationwide and global initiative celebrated on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving: GivingTuesday. It is a movement that encourages practicing radical generosity by giving back to the community, according to GivingTuesday.org.
As a part of this initiative, each November we award four community members with the CityView Power of Giving Community Impact Awards — this year presented by the Public Works Commission — honoring community members who quietly go about helping others and who give selflessly, working behind the scenes to improve the lives of those around them.
After we received your nominations (thank you!), candidates were reviewed and selected by a panel of three judges deeply connected to the Fayetteville and Cumberland County community — DeSandra Washington, vice president for academic support services and civic engagement at Fayetteville Technical Community College, Cassandra Haire, owner of the Etiquette School of the Carolinas, and Jeffery Womble, the university ombuds (representative) of Fayetteville State University. We’re ecstatic to present the following awardees for the 5th Annual CityView Power of Giving Community Impact Awards, presented by PWC: Ralph and Linda Huff (presented together through one nomination), Emily Ruth Perry, Antonio Jones, and Jeremy Fiebig. Flip to page 13 to read profiles on each honoree.
This month we also bring you a short story on the Gallberry Farm and its Corn Maze in Hope Hills, which opened last month for its 11th year. The owners of the farm, the McLean family, shared what the land offers for popular fall-time activities.
Prostate Cancer Awareness Month was in September, but Cape Fear Valley Health (CFVH) continues to bring awareness to this silent killer year-round. On page 38, the CFVH sponsored feature tells of the story of hope and
healing of a retired U.S. Army command sergeant major’s journey through cancer care at CFVH.
The columns in this edition are chock-full of all things Thanksgiving: a survival guide from a child’s perspective on the most celebrated November meal; a debate on cranberry’s place during the annual dinner, and a fresh take on giving and gratitude.
We also have a special guest column by Tim White, the vice chair of the CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to engaging the community and proccuring financial resources to uphold CityView ’s mission of providing free, local news about Cumberland County and Fayetteville’s essential issues. Skip to page 10 to find out how you directly can support CityView ’s local journalism.
On Oct. 10, we held our annual Food, Wine & ART signature event, presented by CFVH. The successful event welcomed 224 attendees, and, if you were one of them, you may even be featured on page 46 in this month’s Seen @ the Scene.
We hope this magazine ushers in gratitude as we approach Thanksgiving and celebrate the wonderful winners of CityView ’s 2024 Power of Giving Community Impact Awards, presented by PWC, who are making Cumberland County an even better place. The winners will be honored at an event in February 2025. (P.S. Readers and community members are strongly encouraged to submit nominations for next year’s CityView Power of Giving Community Impact Awards.)
Thank you for reading!
For comments, questions, feedback, or to submit story ideas, email vcloes@cityviewnc.com.
PHOTO BY TONY WOOTEN
SOMEDAY YOU’LL THANK ME
A child’s Thanksgiving survival guide
BY MARY ZAHRAN
Even as a small child, I knew there were times when I had to be on my best behavior for things to run smoothly. Thanksgiving was one of those times.
My mother’s family always gathered at my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner. As much as I enjoyed spending time with my relatives, I gradually discovered that I would enjoy them even more if I just relaxed and appreciated each moment.
I learned to accept the fact that my Uncle Bennett — my mother’s brother — was going to play the same Christmas carols on my grandmother’s piano every year as his way of getting us into the holiday spirit. Although he played well, he had a limited repertoire and ignored our requests for other carols. Thanks to my uncle, I also learned that no matter how much you may like “Joy to the World,’’ you can get tired of hearing it.
Part of that fatigue was due to the incessant “singing” of Music, my grandmother’s aptly named cocker spaniel. The minute my uncle began playing the piano, Music would begin howling as only a self-confident dog can. We
all knew that both my uncle and my grandmother would be upset if anyone tried to take Music outdoors, so he stayed in the living room, howling to his heart’s content.
At a young age, I learned to ignore my cousin Mark’s habit of drowning his mashed potatoes in an ocean of ketchup. Every Thanksgiving, I would sit at the children’s table, hoping Mark had abandoned this revolting habit, but he never did. He is now in his 70s, and I sometimes wonder if he still has a ketchup fetish.
My survival guide was not limited to Thanksgiving Day. The problem with many holiday weekends is that they often seem prolonged and even a bit boring. At Thanksgiving, it is easy to reach a point when you ask yourself how many leftovers you have to eat before hamburgers or pot roasts make their way to the dinner table. Even pumpkin pie begins to lose its allure. My father would respond to anyone who began complaining about leftovers by mentioning all the starving children in the world and how grateful they would be to eat the food on our table. His lecture was so powerful that I would eat everything on my plate, including mashed potatoes. I just wouldn’t reach for the ketchup.
My mother’s way of handling a long holiday weekend was to assign jobs to all of us. Usually, we ended up in the backyard raking leaves into giant piles that we would immediately destroy by jumping into them. When it sounded like we were having too much fun, my mother would come to the back door and remind us that we were supposed to be working to make the yard look better, not worse. After reminding us several times to stop playing and do our jobs, she would use her “outdoor voice” to inform us we were risking the ultimate punishment — no television for the rest of the weekend. The thought of a weekend without Lassie or The Magical World of Disney inspired us to get busy and clean up. It occurred to me that my mother had a survival guide of her own.
Perhaps my favorite Thanksgiving survival tool was to draw a calendar on a piece of cardboard and fill in the days until Christmas vacation. We were usually out of school for two weeks, and I spent most of that time watching holiday movies and eating Christmas fudge. On that last night of Thanksgiving weekend, when I knew I had to go to school the next day, I lay in bed and pictured a magic marker whirling madly as it struck the days off a calendar.
As I got older, I began to see my Thanksgiving survival guide as something of use for everyone, not just for me. I also discovered that it can be useful for everyday life, not just for holidays. If we practice patience and consideration for the needs and feelings of others, including cousins who put too much ketchup on mashed potatoes, things may just turn out all right.
Mary Zahran, who suspects that her teachers looked forward to Christmas holidays as much as she did, can be reached at maryzahran@gmail.com.
PHOTO BY JED OWEN ON UNSPLASH
Donate this GivingTuesday and bring the arts to more students in our county!
artists in schools
Join u s this GivingTuesday in our mission to bring the transformative power of the arts to every student in Cumberland County.
the arts council reached 17,300 students in 84% of county schools last year Support the Arts. Support Our Future.
"The [Artists in Schools] Program affords students the opportunity to experience the arts firsthand. In rural areas like ours, this is a welcomed resource and experience."
- Principal, Stedman Primary School
FAMILY MATTERS
A berry important debate
BY CLAIRE MULLEN
“When it comes to Thanksgiving, are you or are you not a fan of the cran?”
Before I decided to pose this query to my Facebook friends, I had no idea just how impassioned people could become about cranberries and the various forms that they may take in the way of Thanksgiving dishes.
What was meant to be a light-hearted, seasonallyinspired post elicited responses with every digital expression of emotion imaginable, from the gagging emoji to the one that is actually barfing, and all-caps comments ranging from “NO NEVER OMG EW,” to 11 red hearts in a row.
Some folks demanded more elaboration: Are we talking homemade or canned?
If homemade, should we distinguish between relished, stewed, or mixed into a congealed “salad” with a sugary cream cheese topping? Many were quick to point out that I needed to further subcategorize the canned varieties, differentiating between whole berry and the no-muss-nofuss, straight-out-of-the-tin, slice ‘n’ serve jelly log. “Canberry sauce,” if you will.
Although I intended for my question to be answered with simple yes’s and no’s, it took on a life of its own. Some friends shared personal anecdotes about their own Thanksgiving experiences with cranberry sauce.
One fellow mom wrote, “This is a touchy subject! I’m proud of my cranberry relish recipe: fresh cranberries that simmer and pop in the pot, orange zest, cinnamon, apple
cider, and walnuts … I brought it to the festivities feeling like a Martha Stewart holiday meal champ. My family thought it tasted like potpourri so we opened a can of Ocean Spray instead.”
Apparently, it IS a touchy subject. Several people commented that their holiday tables boast both homemade and canned cranberry sauce because no one can agree on which is better.
A former coworker hilariously admitted that even though her holiday guests hardly ever touch the stuff, she feels like something is missing without the cranberry sauce. So, she always dumps a can into a bowl for the heck of it.
One friend commented that she would happily eat Ocean Spray cranberry jelly straight out of the can with a spoon every day of the year, while another declared that the only way she’d ever try cranberry sauce again was if it was breaded and deep-fried.
As for me, I’ll take my cranberries any way I can get them — frozen and plopped down into a flute of prosecco for a little extra razzle-dazzle, simmered low and slow with sugar, fresh orange zest and juice, and a cinnamon stick to make the perfect accompaniment for Thanksgiving Day roast turkey and spread over toasted white bread for dayafter leftover turkey sandwiches.
I’ve never met a cranberry preparation that I didn’t like, but that’s just me. Both canned variations are just fine by me, and as a devout Southerner, I would never turn my nose up at cranberries that found their way into a Jell-O mold or a good ol’ dessert “salad.” My stepmom makes a cream cheese dip — featuring finely diced fresh cranberries and jalapeños — that is out of this world, and may be my favorite cranberry application of all time.
I’ve been meaning to put in a recipe request to my very clever friend who commented on my post and mentioned, along with her shared enthusiasm for homemade cranberry sauce, that her family likes to mix a little of theirs into Thanksgiving margaritas.
The mere thought of the cylindrical blob of red gelatin, complete with can lines, may make others squeamish, but for many others is a Thanksgiving staple. You might argue that putting fruit on the same fork as turkey is an affront to perfectly delicious gravy. Perhaps you love the nostalgia that is evoked with each bite of Ocean Spray jelly and turkey. You might delight in fancying up your gourmet, made-from-scratch, cranberry compote recipe with organic berries, fresh rosemary from your garden, and pure maple syrup. For your family, the sight of Great Aunt Ethel’s annual jiggly cranberry “salad” in the middle of the table might bring back happy memories of Thanksgivings past.
Whether you consider yourself a fan of the cran or team “ban the cran,” I hope your holiday is cran-tastic. I mean, fantastic.
Claire Mullen can be reached at clairejlmullen@gmail.com.
PHOTO BY ELENA LEYA ON UNSPLASH
You can support a remarkable local journalistic initiative
BY TIM WHITE
Three years ago, I had settled comfortably into retirement after a 50-year career in journalism.
I’d worked for two great regional newspapers in two vibrant communities, and I’d left the business before it fully plunged into a financial crisis that threatens its existence. I watched from afar as most newspapers (including my last employer, The Fayetteville Observer) laid off all but a handful of their reporting and editing staff. Hundreds of newspapers went out of business. It’s a grim trend.
Retirement, by contrast, was a gift, I thought — the opportunity for new experiences and challenges.
And then the phone rang. My old friend Tony Chavonne, who was the publisher of CityView at the time, wanted to talk. Fayetteville, he said, was on the brink of becoming a “news desert” — Fayetteville City Council and the other major government institutions weren’t being covered regularly and there was little oversight of how the people’s elected representatives were doing their jobs. We needed to do better.
Tony asked if I’d join an effort to create a new, daily news organization that would rebuild that oversight — a responsibility the Founding Fathers considered so crucial that they wrote press freedom into the Constitution’s First Amendment.
We created the 501(c)(3) nonprofit CityView News Fund, and we’ve made great progress. With the help of grants and individual donations, we now fund three full-time reporters in Fayetteville, who work alongside other staffers from The Assembly, a statewide news organization. We still have greater ambitions. And with your help, we can achieve them.
Our award-winning journalists cover local government, schools, health care, and the critical issues affecting Fayetteville and Cumberland County. CityView Media provides news reports through a daily newsletter CityView Today and on its website — for free.
The fund is dedicated to fostering community engagement and securing the financial resources to sustain our mission. We’ve been honored to receive several significant grants to help achieve our goals — the largest
We hope you’ll join us in our quest to shape the future of local journalism, and to create the kind of news coverage — and accountability — that Cumberland County residents have long enjoyed and expected.
coming from the Cumberland Community Foundation. But our strongest support comes from the community itself, in donations large and small from our readers.
Much of that support is focused on the annual GivingTuesday campaign that’s facilitated by the Cumberland Community Foundation. We’re honored that we’ve been selected once again to participate in the campaign.
From 9 a.m. Nov. 25 to 5 p.m. Dec. 4, donations made to the CityView News Fund through the GivingTuesday initiative will be enhanced by $525,000 raised by the Cumberland Community Foundation. This additional support is made possible by Fayetteville New Car Dealers Association, Elizabeth “Beth” Keeney, Carol and Sammy Short, Daphne and Ray Manning, Will Gillis, the board of directors of Cumberland Community Foundation, Unrestricted Endowment Funds of Cumberland Community Foundation, and three anonymous donors. Your generosity supports a remarkable journalistic initiative, a new way to fund strong coverage of the
BY
PHOTO
TONY WOOTEN
community and vigorous oversight of the institutions that serve the public. With your help, we can broaden our coverage and provide deeper insights into the issues that affect our lives. By supporting the CityView News Fund, you’re helping provide your fellow Cumberland County residents with the kind of strong, local news coverage that is our tradition.
The old business model for newspapers — local and national advertising revenue — has mostly died. Like communities everywhere, we need to chart a new course to fund local news coverage. We believe we’ve found the right formula for doing that in Cumberland County.
Here’s how you can help: Visit cityviewnewsfund.com to donate online or send a check in the mail to be received before the campaign closes at 5 p.m. Dec. 4. Checks must be made payable to “Cumberland Community Foundation” with “Giving Tuesday – CityView News Fund” written in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Cumberland Community Foundation, P.O. Box 2345, Fayetteville, NC 28302. Checks can be dropped off at the Cumberland Community Foundation’s physical address at 308 Green St. in Fayetteville.
We hope you’ll join us in our quest to shape the future of local journalism, and to create the kind of news coverage — and accountability — that Cumberland County residents have long enjoyed and expected. That future is in all of our hands now.
Oh, and about that retirement: It’s still good, but it’s gone places I never expected. Turns out I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to journalism after all. I’m smiling as I write that.
Tim White is vice chairperson of the CityView News Fund. For two decades, he was the editorial page editor of The Fayetteville Observer.
The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville Presents
The Nutcracker
Huff Concert Hall at Methodist University 5400 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311
Scan to order tickets in advance!
Please call 910-850-6363 if there are any questions.
Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.
Established in January 2011 by brokers Patrick Murray and Neil Grant, Grant-Murray Real Estate LLC is a full-service commercial real estate firm serving the Fayetteville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area and surrounding counties. GMRE offers services including brokerage for buyers and sellers, leasing, property management, tenant representation, and site selection. With a team of 12 agents in its commercial brokerage division, GMRE leads the market with the highest number of agents, listings, and closed transactions. The firm’s strong commercial property management division is led by James Sherrill, and in 2018, GMRE expanded to include a residential brokerage division, now overseen by Gary Futch.
Patrick Murray, Neil Grant, James Sherrill, and Gary Futch
Congratulations to the 5th annual award winners
BY VALERIA CLOËS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN
CCityView is proud to announce this year’s CityView Power of Giving Community Impact Awards winners, presented by the Public Works Commission. The honorees are Ralph and Linda Huff (presented together through one nomination), Emily Ruth Perry, Antonio Jones, and Jeremy Fiebig.
These individuals embody the essence of giving; they are community members who quietly go about helping others and who give selflessly, working behind the scenes to improve the lives of those around them.
A panel of three judges deeply connected to the Fayetteville and Cumberland County community —
DeSandra Washington, vice president for academic support services and civic engagement at Fayetteville Technical Community College, Cassandra Haire, owner of the Etiquette School of the Carolinas, and Jeffery Womble, the university ombuds (representative) of Fayetteville State University — reviewed many nominations submitted by the community and voted on who would receive this honor. This award is by the community, for the community.
The winners will be honored at an event in February 2025. In the meantime, read about each individual in the following pages of this magazine.
Building a legacy
Huffs’ mark on Fayetteville is more than just the homes they built
BY ZACHARY HORNER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN
WWhen Ralph Huff first pitched moving to Fayetteville to his wife Linda, Linda had some choice words about the suggestion.
“I am not going to move to that armpit of the world,” she said.
For some context: The pitch came around the time of the Jeffrey MacDonald murders at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), and the city, Linda said, “had a bad name.”
But both Ralph and Linda followed through and have invested time and the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears into Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and have been named as one of the winners of winners of CityView ’s 2024 Power of Giving Community Impact Awards presented by the Public Works Commission. These individuals are honored for their work in helping others and who give selflessly, working behind the scenes to improve the lives of those around them.
The Huffs, high school sweethearts from Hoke County, moved to Fayetteville in 1981 and continued to work in real estate and home development, as he had in Hoke County before. Nine years later, Ralph bought Coldwell Banker United Realty at age 31, closing on the deal hours after burying his father. A music major alumna of Methodist University, Linda taught music in schools, giving piano lessons, and leading church choirs before joining Ralph in the real estate and home construction business. They also started H&H Homes, essentially owning the house construction process from beginning to end: design, sourcing material, construction, and sales.
The business record of the real estate company (renamed Coldwell Banker Advantage) and H&H is, in a word, stellar. When H&H was purchased by Dream Finders Homes in 2020, the Huffs had overseen construction on more than 80 residential developments in North and South Carolina and more than 9,000 homes, most in Cumberland
and the surrounding counties, along with several commercial developments and apartment complexes. Additionally, Coldwell Banker Advantage, which the Huffs still run, racked up $6.2 billion in sales in 2023.
Their success has provided them a platform to give back to the community. The list is long but includes raising millions of dollars for their church, First Presbyterian in Fayetteville; $1.5 million to renovate the auditorium at the John M. Reeves Fine Arts Complex at Methodist; and the Ralph and Linda Huff Orangery at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. They have also served on boards of trustees and directors, including at Methodist and the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation’s Community Development Foundation (FCEDC).
Jennifer Hammond, the manager of business services at the FCEDC, called the Huffs the “nucleus of many of the community’s major fundraising campaigns over the last 30, or more, years.”
“They are generous and kind, and have a true passion for this community,” Jennifer said. “The Huffs have made an indelible mark on Fayetteville since making it their home. Their contributions to their church, the business community, and the arts community cannot be understated.”
Jeffery Womble, the university ombuds (representative) at Fayetteville State University and one of the judges for this year’s Community Impact Awards, asked, “What do they not do?”
“They are well-known and well-respected in this city and it’s time that they’re recognized for their efforts,” Jeffery said. “They’re just so unassuming in the work that they do. They don’t seek the recognition or want the recognition. They just go about their business doing things for the community.”
The Huffs’ generosity, they say, was inspired by a mentor, a father, and their faith.
Linda and Ralph Huff will be honored at CityView ’s Power of Giving Community Impact Awards presented by PWC event, to be held in February 2025.
Linda and Ralph Huff stand near the Ralph and Linda Huff Orangery at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.
Mary Archie McNeill was their music teacher in high school in Hoke County. Linda called Mary “my mentor, my second mother.”
“My mom did a great job raising me, and my dad, but [Mary] truly molded me into the person that I am today,” she said. “Strict, structured, demanded the best in every way. What she taught the both of us, we tried to instill the same thing in those [around us]: always do your best. When you build a house, don’t do it halfway. Do it the very best. For whoever moves in here, it’s going to be the very best quality that they can have.”
Ralph’s father, Denver Ralph Huff Jr., had a rough go
of things, Ralph said, missing out on opportunities like service in World War II due to illness and a job post-war due to an influx of folks from other states.
“My dad was a smart man,” Ralph said. “Never really made any money. But every Sunday, he took a $25 check to church. If there’s four Sundays a month, that’s $100 times 12 is $1,200.”
That, he said, amounted to 10% of his father’s income. It’s a traditional Christian idea called “tithing,” meaning that people give 10% of their income as part of staying true to their faith. In various ways, ranging from money to time to effort, the Huffs have tried to give back to their community
The Huffs, high school sweethearts from Hoke County, moved to Fayetteville in 1981. They now own the 350-acre ranch pictured behind them close to Shiloh Presbyterian Church.
in that 10% model.
Connected to the 10% model, their faith plays a significant role in their giving.
“I think [God] has His hand in everything,” Linda said. “I give Him all the credit. He has put the people in our life to make us successful. I don’t think you ever get old enough that you don’t grow even stronger in your faith.”
Holiday Cheer Downtown Vibes
Maybe a few decades ago, Linda was hesitant about coming to Fayetteville. But it’s clear that the Huffs have made the most of it and now keep finding ways to try to make Fayetteville better. Part of it is the people they surround themselves with — Ralph said they live in a “very generous community.” But more than anything, they said, they want to help those who helped them.
“With me, in dealing with the people that made us successful, that’s the people that were the workers in the field,” Linda said. “I know we paid them, but we also gave them more because of what they did for us. Without all the people that have crossed our paths, we would have been nothing if they had not crossed our paths. In talking about giving, we gave to them and we succeeded more. That’s what giving is to me, is to continue to give back so everyone else can flourish.”
And that’s why they join three others — Emily Ruth Perry, Antonio Jones, and Jeremy Fiebig — in being this year's CityView Power of Giving Community Impact Awards presented by PWC.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zachary Horner is a contributing writer for CityView magazine. Horner holds a bachelor's in journalism from Elon University and will graduate from the University of Kentucky in December with a master's of social work. He and his family live in nearby Lee County.
Fast facts:
Developing a better Fayetteville
How a Fayetteville woman has grown from affliction and spiritual solitude to becoming a leading lady in neighborhood development and assisting the unhoused community
BY ALLISON UNDERWOOD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN
EEmily Ruth Perry, director of operations at Operation Inasmuch, sips her chai at a window table inside Winterbloom Tea. She greets Josh Choi, owner of the Hay Street tea shop, enthusiastically, making small talk, although she says they’re only acquainted. This is just who Emily Ruth is; kind, easy-going, with the ability to make friends with anyone, expressed her former colleagues at Veritas Church of Fayetteville.
“She’s one of those sticky people who brings folks together,” said Jacob Warren, lead pastor at the evangelical Veritas Church.
From a self-proclaimed happy-go-lucky girl growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the bubbly, personable woman she’s described as now, Emily Ruth would appear to have maneuvered through life quite easily. But with every journey of growth, there is a moment, or a “soul hole” as Emily Ruth described it, that shapes a person into who they are.
Fayetteville’s sunshine girl
Emily Ruth said her life in Pittsburgh was a happy one surrounded by loving parents and three older siblings. She said her family described her in adolescence as an “Emily Bubble,” an orb of positivity she brought wherever she went. But growing into a wild child during her teen years, Emily Ruth said there were good times and there were bad times.
“It was the middle school and high school years that I remember feeling just so lost and sad,” said Emily Ruth.
She said she remembered this time of her life feeling heavy as she yearned to understand who she was as a person and discover her purpose in life. With the inevitable angst and loneliness that comes with being a teenager, she didn’t feel a strong connection with God like she had at a younger age. Because of this winding roller
coaster of feelings, Emily Ruth said it was around this time her priorities in life began to shift.
Following in step with her older sister, Emily Ruth began falling into alcohol and drugs, bursting that “Emily Bubble” she had grown accustomed to. When she felt that hole in her soul — a void she tried desperately to fill with anything and everything — Emily Ruth said she’d turn to any form of overconsumption she could.
Her “wild child” phase, as she described it, continued through college, and after graduating from Kent State University in Ohio in 2007 studying communications, she took an internship in her hometown working in community development. But after a few years in the field, Emily Ruth felt a pull toward bettering her community in a different way, landing her back in school for education at Carlow University in 2009.
It wasn’t until the unexpected happened that her outlook on life completely changed. After years of unexplainable illnesses, Emily Ruth’s mother was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer called myelodysplasia, leading to her death in 2010. Emily described this time of her life as a huge part of her Christian testimony.
“I understand my mom is not Jesus, she is not the gospel. But the way that she lived her faith and was so sacrificial to other people gave me a glimpse of what it was all about,” Emily Ruth explained. She quickly realized change was crucial.
Following the death of her mother, Emily Ruth uprooted her life and everything she knew to take a position as a corps member for Teach for America, leading her to her new home in North Carolina in 2011.
In her hometown of Pittsburgh, Emily Ruth had always gone by Emily. But her move to the South struck her as a time for change.
Emily Ruth Perry will be honored at CityView ’s Power of Giving Community Impact Awards presented by PWC event, to be held in February 2025.
Emily Ruth Perry is the director of operations at Operation Inasmuch and former director of community life at Veritas Church.
“The reason I go by Emily Ruth is because my mother would say to me ‘Emily Ruth, my sunshine girl,’” she remembered affectionately. After moving to North Carolina, she decided to ask people to call her Emily Ruth in memory of her mother.
From teaching high school English in a high-stress position in Warrenton, North Carolina, to teaching 4thand 5th-grade social studies and language arts at Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary in Cumberland County, that sunny attitude carried her the whole way through.
Inasmuch as you do
After getting married in 2014, Emily Ruth’s husband Trey, now a first sergeant in the Army, deployed. She said it was during this time that she really dove headfirst into church and ministry.
From an early age, Emily Ruth knew working in a heavily relational field was her calling. But after the birth of her oldest son Titus in 2017, she realized it was time for her to step away from teaching and focus more on her family, which in turn led her to a more permanent job at her church Veritas.
After three years of serving as the children’s director at Veritas, Emily Ruth’s role shifted to director of community life in 2019. Through this role, she was responsible for community groups. But there was more that she wanted
to do.
“I had proposed to the elders if we could build out this ministry as a formal way of being for the city,” Emily Ruth said.
A partnership was born through Veritas with three key organizations: Hand of Hope, an organization dedicated to helping expecting mothers; Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps families and communities build and improve sustainable homes; and Operation Inasmuch, a Christian nonprofit in Fayetteville that was founded by Sue Byrd and dedicates its services to the unhoused community. Through these partnerships, Emily Ruth grew to know and love each organization and the work they did for the community. One organization in particular struck a chord in her.
In 2020, after the global Covid-19 pandemic swept our country, Operation Inasmuch was forced to move its free breakfast outside, a program that has been in existence since 2006, serving over 300,000 people a hot, fresh meal every weekday. It was then that Emily Ruth joined the ministry.
Craig Morrison, executive director at Operation Inasmuch, said he remembered her vividly.
“Right away you could tell she had a passion for it,” Craig said.
From serving breakfast to joining the Operation
Emily Ruth visits her former colleagues on Oct. 3 at Veritas Church, where she served from early 2016 to early 2024.
Inasmuch board of directors in 2021, Emily Ruth found a passion for community development that she hadn’t channeled since her internship back in 2007. While simultaneously serving as president on the Operation Inasmuch board and as director of community life at Veritas, Emily Ruth said she started to feel a strong pull toward helping the city of Fayetteville even more.
Since beginning her role at Operation Inasmuch as the director of operations in June 2024, Emily Ruth has completely transformed Operation Inasmuch’s Living Hope program, a program dedicated to assisting unhoused men make the changes necessary to thrive and grow on their own.
First created by Executive Director Craig Morrison in 2022 — and inspired by other programs such as Atlanta Mission and Charlotte Rescue Mission — the Living Hope program was born out of the observation that in order to get people out of poverty, supportive programming and housing was vital, Emily Ruth explained.
The Living Hope program follows three steps: Finding Rest, an emergency shelter where residents have nine days to outline their dedication to change; Choosing Change, a series of classes at Operation Inasmuch’s shelter, The Lodge, including spiritual development, life skills, and peer support; and finally Igniting Hope, which continues the spiritual development and life skills classes with an additional trauma counseling class with the program’s in-house mental health counselor.
After completing the program, participants begin to look for income opportunities, save their money, and move to Operation Inasmuch’s block of houses on Frink Street. From there, participants are encouraged to seek out housing opportunities on their own with the continued support of the Living Hope staff.
Emily Ruth is also the mind behind the Imago Dei — or Image of God — art project through the Living Hope program.
Members Sale Monday, Nov. 18 12 - 6 p.m. You can become a member at the sale. For details go to booksalefinder.com
Friends Facebook Group: “Friends of the Library Fayetteville NC” www.cumberlandcountylibraryfriends.com
It’s Time to Follow the Winter Time-of-Use Schedule
Beginning November 1, through March 31, PWC’s Time-of-Use billing for electricity follows the winter schedule. Winter Peak Hours are during the morning on weekdays from 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
To save big on your energy bills:
• Conserve all the power you can during Peak Hours.
• Adjust your routine to do things like laundry, running your dishwasher, etc. during Off-Peak Hours, when electricity is billed at 35% lower rates!
• Keep your heat at the lowest comfortable temperature. To take full advantage of Time-of-Use rates, add a programmable thermostat* to automatically control your heat.
Remember, on weekends and PWC-observed holidays, all day is Off-Peak.
For conservation tips and information on PWC incentive programs – including an *$80 bill credit for installing an Energy Star® smart thermostat – visit our website.
The concept [of Imago Dei] is that every human being no matter their gender, ethnicity, economics, lifestyle, no matter who they are, because they are a human being, they are made in the image of God.
— Emily Ruth Perry, director of operations at Operation Inasmuch
While working at Veritas Church in collaboration with Operation Inasmuch, Emily Ruth was inspired by Christian Prince, Living Hope residential manager, who was already doing art therapy with the men of the program. From this inspiration, Emily Ruth began searching for volunteer art instructors, expanding the learning possibilities for the Living Hope members.
“The concept [of Imago Dei] is that every human being no matter their gender, ethnicity, economics, lifestyle, no matter who they are, because they are a human being, they are made in the image of God,” Emily Ruth said.
Created in 2023, Imago Dei was started as an art-based program focused on providing therapy through art for the men who attend the Living Hope program. The program grew into an opportunity for the men to earn an income,
creating the annual Imago Dei art expo. With locations all over downtown Fayetteville, such as Segra Stadium and The Sweet Palette, men from the Living Hope program have the opportunity to submit their work to be sold at the expo for a 50/50 profit split with Operation Inasmuch.
Craig said Emily Ruth’s progress in the few months she’s been at Operation Inasmuch is impressive.
“She’s brought in a ton of new volunteers, and we now have guitar therapy and music therapy,” Craig said. “Our financial classes have been taking off.”
Along with her dedication to the programs she oversees, Emily Ruth is also an advocate for mental health and trauma recovery for the men of the Living Hope program, and brought on a new mental health counselor. Emily Ruth describes Fayetteville as a resource desert, especially for
Emily Ruth oversees the Imago Dei Art Exhibit at the Taste of West Africa restaurant during this year's International Folk Festival on Sept. 28.
those in need of mental health help.
“Part of the hope and prayer is that the growth of Operation Inasmuch as an organization can fill some of that gap,” Emily Ruth said.
Big things ahead
Emily Ruth said that although the Living Hope program is still her primary focus right now, she has big plans for the future of Operation Inasmuch. Emily Ruth said she dreams of bringing more of her neighborhood development experience to the community around Operation Inasmuch headquarters, 531 Hillsboro St., while focusing on empowering the residents themselves.
“The vision for that area of town is homegrown neighborhood revitalization,” Emily Ruth said. “What we don’t want to do is gentrification … What we do want to do is rehab vacant houses, bring in homeowners, and bring in opportunities for growth.”
From a community garden to parks for neighborhood children, and a vision for a food co-op, a type of food pantry where labor can be traded for groceries, Emily Ruth said her plans for the community around Operation Inasmuch are vast.
Sam Metheny, director of operations at Veritas Church, said this is only the beginning for Emily Ruth: “She is nowhere near done yet.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allison Underwood is a Fayetteville native who graduated from East Carolina University in 2022 with a degree in journalism. During her time at ECU, Allison was a writer and an editor for two university magazines and was featured in Countenance magazine.
Leading with love
Family, service, and love are the guiding principles that keep Antonio Jones inspired to pursue his career in the “people business.”
BY TERI SAYLOR | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN
EEmotions bubble to the surface when Antonio Jones describes how his father’s love has carried over to his own life as a husband and father. He’s passing those values down to his own sons, Joel Marquez Jones and Antonio Bernard Jones.
“I remember growing up in Linden, a rural area between Cumberland and Harnett counties,” he recalled. “We lived right beside the road, and I was always busy and keeping active.”
Antonio grew up the ninth child in a large family with his parents and 11 siblings. They were snug in their threebedroom home.
His parents still live nearby and are in their 80s. They’ve been married for 65 years. His father, Alexander Jones, is a retired pastor and an entrepreneur with a construction business, doing roofing and woodworking.
“I saw my father get up early each morning, and I remember how hard he worked for his family,” Antonio says. He takes a long pause to gather himself. “I learned my work ethic from him.”
There are few places in Fayetteville and Cumberland County that Antonio has not touched. He graduated from Pine Forest High School and went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force before enrolling at Fayetteville State University where he majored in biology. He earned a Master of Public Health degree from Walden University and became an epidemiologist with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, eventually supervising regional offices in Robeson, New Hanover, and Cumberland counties. It was a role that would influence his life’s pathway.
Antonio describes his roots in public health, starting out as a disease investigator, going door-to-door, visiting residents in his region. He and his team drew blood samples, gathered data, and compiled statistics on the illnesses and diseases they encountered.
It was a hard job but lit a spark and inspired Antonio to pursue a career in the “people business,” he says, and to learn to communicate with individuals, regardless of their station in life.
“There was something about engaging with human beings and seeing that they were more than a disease and more than a number, and they deserved respect,” he said. “It was not only interesting and challenging, but we also learned to accept them where they were, regardless of what we saw in front of us.”
He also learned to understand the trials and problems people experience. His work gave him a deep insight into empathy. It touched him deeply and became his North Star.
Antonio left public health in 2013 to explore opportunities in local politics, public service, and ministry. Married with two sons, he became a real estate broker and formed Jones Realty in 2018 as a way of providing for his family while establishing a flexible schedule to spend quality time with them.
Bound by love
Amichia Jones fell in love with Antonio when both were in college. A friend introduced them. They had a lot in common from the beginning — both grew up in Fayetteville and both majored in biology. Amichia was a student at Winston-Salem State University and recalls Antonio’s kindness towards her when she came home to visit.
“I was attracted to him because he was caring and intelligent, and he has a great personality,” she said. “And his good looks — definitely his good looks.”
She laughed at that thought and described how after hometown visits, he sent her on her way back to college in Winston-Salem with loving care.
“Before I would get on the road, Antonio would always check my tires and oil, and things of that nature,” she said. “They were just little things, but I thought they were important because I couldn’t do any of them, and that was what really attracted me to him.”
Amichia, who grew up in a household with just one sibling, recalled learning about her husband’s large family and encountering a dynamic she had never been exposed to. But she quickly saw how his growing-up years instilled in him a deep love of family and inspired him to pass that
Antonio Jones will be honored at CityView ’s Power of Giving Community Impact Awards presented by PWC event, to be held in February 2025.
Antonio Jones is one of CityView 's 2024 Power of Giving Community Impact Awards recipient, presented by PWC.
Antonio’s a servant leader, and he feels that he was put on this earth to help and serve people, in whatever capacity is needed.
— DeSandra Washington, vice president for academic support and DEI services at Fayetteville Technical Community College
Amichia and Antonio Jones welcome guests to the Fayetteville Community Lions Club and Tried by Fire Inc.'s presentation of the musical stage play The Diary of a Mother at Fayetteville State University's Seabrook Auditorium on Sept. 28.
love on to their own sons.
“He’s always made it a point for us to do things together and he has taken time throughout the years to explain and demonstrate to our sons how a father should be and how a husband should be,” she said.
He also made it a priority to transfer his sense of giving back and volunteerism to his sons by providing them opportunities to volunteer with local organizations like the Salvation Army of the Sandhills and the Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch, which distributes meals and necessary items to the unhoused community.
“He’s done a good job of showing our sons how we should care for one another,” Amichia said.
Amichia, who was speaking by phone while on a recent mission trip to Kenya with her husband, nominated him as one of this year's CityView Power of Giving Community Impact Awards honorees, presented by the Public Works Commission. The couple was on a two-week journey to remote villages and orphanages distributing feminine hygiene products to young women and providing counseling for girls who had been subjected to female genital mutilation.
This mission trip is all part of Jones Ministries International, a nondenominational ministry that provides services to ministries, churches, and individuals worldwide. The Joneses also provide training programs at revivals, conferences, and seminars through their Global Training Network.
“Antonio has what I like to call an ‘others heart,’” Amichia said. “He’s always thinking about others, especially when he learns that someone may be experiencing challenges and then finds a way to meet their needs.”
DeSandra Washington, vice president for academic support and DEI services at Fayetteville Technical Community College, credits Antonio’s humility and love of people for his ability to connect with others. She was on the panel of judges who selected this year's CityView Power of Giving Community Impact Awards honorees, presented by PWC.
“He’s a servant leader,” she said, “and he feels that he was put on this earth to help and serve people, in whatever capacity is needed.”
Need knows no boundaries
As Antonio sees it, the need expands beyond the boundaries of his career and his ministry and touches local government. He has served the City of Fayetteville for almost three years, since the city council appointed him to fill the vacant District 3 seat when former council member Tisha Waddell resigned in November 2021. He ran for election to that seat in 2022 but lost by a hair to Mario Benavente.
He went on to serve at-risk youth as vice chair of the Cumberland County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and was recently elected vice chair of the Fayetteville Planning Commission. Active in the N.C. Association of
Realtors, Antonio chairs the Innovation Forum. In August 2022, he received the Key to the City of Fayetteville.
“He has represented the city and state and has been helpful for people who need assistance, and he has limitlessly given himself to serve in any capacity,” said Cassandra Haire, owner of the Etiquette School of the Carolinas and another one of the judges.
From youth to old age, Antonio strives to reach the entire population in Cumberland County. His name is on a plaque at the new Senior Center East, which was built during his tenure on the Fayetteville City Council. He counts that among his top accomplishments.
All people, from elderly seniors to young folks, are within reach of Antonio’s helping hands.
As a member of the Cumberland County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, Antonio supports efforts to “assess [the] needs of juveniles in the local community,” evaluate
The Diary of a Mother is a musical stage play about the struggles of a single mom raising two young Black men, which was presented by the Fayetteville Community Lions Club and Tried by Fire Inc.
resources, plan for unmet needs; develop intervention strategies for at-risk youth, and fund services, according to the council’s website.
“This is a key role for me simply because juvenile crime is trending up, and to be in a position to aid organizations that are helping our youth is key to improving and helping our community,” he said.
Through it all, Antonio’s guiding principle is to leave his community better than he found it.
“My wife encourages me to always do what’s in my heart,” he said. “She sees how passionate I am about causes and helps me keep my priorities straight.”
Despite his busy schedule, Antonio still finds time for fun. He loves oldtime gospel music and jazz. He can play bass guitar and percussion and enjoys singing. An athlete in college, he still shoots some mean hoops, and there is little he enjoys more than losing himself on a local lake in his boat.
He describes himself as real and authentic.
“What you see is what you get,” he said. “I don’t have ulterior motives. I’m straightforward and a straight shooter.”
Still, the one he looks up to the most is his dad — Alexander Jones Jr. — and he becomes emotional again when he describes the values he learned from him.
“My father taught me the value of hard work, and how to manage my time so I can volunteer, serve God, take care of my family, and do things I enjoy,” he said. “And because of him, I have realized that I may not be able to save the world, but I sure can save a heck of a lot of people.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A place to belong
With the power of community and self-expression on the call sheet, FSU Professor of Theatre Jeremy Fiebig highlights the impact art has had in Fayetteville, both in and out of the classroom.
BY TREY NEMEC | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN
PPerformance and fine arts play a crucial role within the fabric of a community, weaving together threads of creativity, expression, and connection. From thrilling theater performances to stirring art exhibitions, art rises far above just entertainment — it helps us cultivate a shared identity, a sense of community, and a space to not only help tell each other’s stories but to explore our own.
In Cumberland County, the arts are flourishing, thanks to the hard work and dedication of arts organizations and the community leaders who champion them.
Jeremy Fiebig is one such leader. As the professor of theatre at Fayetteville State University and the founder of Sweet Tea Shakespeare, a local theater company, Jeremy has spent the last 15 years nurturing creativity and community at FSU and throughout Cumberland County, creating spaces where a feeling of belonging is central.
Originally from Missouri, Jeremy attended William Jewell College near Kansas City, majoring in theater while, in his words, he “danced with” a range of other subjects, from music to religion, before eventually earning bachelor’s degrees in both theater and cultural performance studies in 2003. After undergrad, Jeremy earned multiple master’s degrees from Mary Baldwin College in Virginia, focusing on Shakespeare performance and directing.
Before settling in Fayetteville, Jeremy taught at a small college in Iowa, but when the financial crisis of 2008 began to hit his previous institution, he needed to be cast in a new role. FSU gave him a callback.
During his time at Fayetteville State University, Jeremy has played an integral role in expanding and integrating the theater and dance programs, and in creating connections with other departments and community organizations.
“The changes we’ve tried to pursue are ones that get us reaching out in our community,” he notes. The spirit of collaboration led to the creation of Sweet Tea Shakespeare in 2012, which began as a summer project at FSU. Today,
the company has become a pillar of Fayetteville’s arts and culture scene.
Many of FSU’s students gain their first professional experiences through the company. As students branch out, connections grow between Sweet Tea Shakespeare, FSU’s performing and fine arts programs, and other regional theaters, such as the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, and other institutions around the state. These connections are part of Jeremy’s vision for a vibrant arts community.
“The impulse here over the last 15 years has been to see the program reflect the community, and for us to make an impact together,” Jeremy said.
He believes that many aspects of our social lives can be connected to performance.
Jeremy Fiebig will be honored at CityView ’s Power of Giving Community Impact Awards presented by PWC event, to be held in February 2025.
Jeremy Fiebig, the founder of Sweet Tea Shakespeare, poses for a portrait at The Capitol Encore Academy.
“I think that the way people think about theater, generally, is that it’s this thing that happens with the weirdos over in the corner of campus, or on the street corner at the end of downtown, but really it’s everything we do together,” Jeremy explained. “In a way, the ‘weirdos’ who are studying it in a specific way, are calling us to think about how we relate to each other in other settings.”
When Jeremy first came to Fayetteville, he noticed that the town felt a sense of low self-esteem. Fayetteville didn’t feel that it deserved the things a city of its size and composition should have, including “a little Shakespeare company that does plays sometimes,” he mused.
However, he believes that the city is experiencing a “cultural renaissance,” shown in upcoming performing arts facility upgrades for Cape Fear Regional Theatre, which will break ground in fall/winter 2024, and the Crown Event Center, planning to open its doors in 2027.
“We, as a community, are waking up to the idea that the arts really belong here,” he said, noting that much of the credit for that belongs to the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County and other arts organizations in the area.
The journey of establishing Sweet Tea Shakespeare was not without challenges, as there is with starting any organization, but Jeremy emphasizes it is the support he felt in Fayetteville that allowed the company to succeed.
“There’s a freedom in not having lots of expectations,”
Jeremy explains about the early stages of the company. This freedom gave them the chance to create something that felt authentic.
Jessie Wise, one of the three community members to nominate Jeremy for this award, said young and adult artists have been able to cultivate their skills thanks to the space Jeremy has created.
“He has created a space where a diverse community can gather and grow in empathy and understanding of one another,” Jessie said. “ … In all he does, he works to unite the community.”
One standout moment for Jeremy came in January 2015 during Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, which he believes marked the moment the company found its voice. The production included not only seasoned artists but also teachers and librarians. He was proud that the company was able to create a place where people, whose day jobs were all about giving, could reconnect with their artistic selves.
“There’s a sliver of my job that’s making the next Broadway star,” he explains. “But there’s much more of my job that’s about making a bunch of people who will do their next spreadsheet in a way that gives life to that situation.”
In other words, he argues that fostering creativity can lead to better professionals, parents, and community members, even if those contributions aren’t easily tallied in an Excel data set.
Jeremy speaks with members of Sweet Tea Shakespeare Izaiah Zapata, Stephanie Meador, Traycie Kuhn-Zapata, and Michael Sousa, as they rehearse at The Capitol Encore Academy on Oct. 9 for the upcoming production of Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare.
Jeffery Womble, university ombuds (representative) at FSU and one of the three judges, reflected on the impact Jeremy’s work makes in and out of the classroom. (Jeffery recused himself from voting for Jeremy because they are colleagues.)
“It’s great to see someone who takes their profession and turns it into something to benefit the community, and that’s what Jeremy does,” Jeffery said.
Looking ahead, Jeremy’s mission is clear: He wants to build a sense of belonging within the community while raising the bar for the quality of artistic work.
As Fayetteville’s arts scene continues to evolve, Jeremy Fiebig works to weave connections and foster a vibrant culture through the arts. His belief in the importance of storytelling and collaboration ensures that the stories of Fayetteville’s residents will continue to be told, enriching the community for years to come.
The work is about creating spaces where everyone feels they belong and can contribute. Jeremy explains, “The primary value is actually not the art, it’s the community.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Jeremy Fiebig’s title as Associate Professor of Performing and Fine Arts. Jeremy’s official title is Professor of Theatre. This article has been updated with the correct information. CityView apologizes for this error.
FALCON CHILDREN’S HOME & FAMILY SERVICES
Your gifts and donations help support our mission to provide care for those who need it most We hope you’ll partner with us to make a difference in the life of a child.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trey Nemec is a senior at Fayetteville State University, majoring in communication and media studies. Along with interning for CityView he serves as the editor-inchief of FSU’s The Voice student-led newspaper.
We provide a home for children up to 21 years old needing out-ofhome placement and make every effort to improve the overall wellbeing of the populations we serve.
The care of children is our foremost concern and the centerpiece of all that we do. We have a home serving teen mothers and their babies, a foster care program, an on-campus school for residents of FCH and the community, a second home in Turbeville, SC, and a home for victims of child sex trafficking and exploitation called Magnolia Hope.
FAMILY
A labor of love
Gallberry Corn Maze closes out its 11th year in Hope Mills
BY TREY NEMEC | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN
NNow that leaves have changed colors and the sweltering temperatures of another North Carolina summer have become more tolerable, many of us continue to enjoy the fall and the traditions the season has to offer.
While some believe that a perfect fall day is spent with a good book and a mug of apple cider, and others feel that visiting a haunted house more fully embodies the spirit of the season, one community mainstay, Gallberry Farm, strives to provide wholesome autumn fun for the whole family.
With a determination to preserve farmland in Cumberland County and to provide entertainment and education activities for children in the area, Gallberry Farm owner Marcus McLean purchased a 12-acre tract of land from his great-grandmother’s estate in Hope Mills and got to work. According to Marcus, the land, which he began purchasing in parcels in 2010, has been in his family since the late 1700s.
With its 11th year coming to a close, Gallberry Farm reflects on its mission and the wide variety of seasonal
attractions offered from midSeptember through the end of October each year.
“My main objective when I became the owner was to preserve a small family farm setting while offering a delightful, relaxing, healthy, and educational atmosphere for family members of all ages to enjoy!” Marcus wrote in a post on the farm’s website.
Among the activities, like taking a meeting with the farm’s mayor, a rescued donkey named Mr. Hee-Haw, watching as goats cross the famed “Golden Goat Bridge” or rooting for racing pigs at the Nas-Hawg Speedway, one attraction never fails to draw a crowd — the Gallberry Corn Maze.
Six acres in total, the maze offers both a one-acre kids course, complete with a storybook theme, and a five-acre main course, ensuring that even the most talented puzzlesolvers can get turned around.
This year’s design featured Mayor Hee-Haw and a baby alpaca, the newest edition to Gallberry’s animal family.
“Gallberry Corn Maze provides a unique way to show the public one of the many positive aspects of farm life through fun and entertainment!” Marcus wrote.
At its massive scale, the maze takes months of preparation on its own, not counting the day-to-day duties of the farm’s operation overall. From taking soil samples prior to the early July planting spree, submitting maze design plans, and preparing for scores of school field trips and weekend visitors, running the farm is a year-round job.
“It’s been a great experience,” Marcus told CityView. He emphasized that welcoming school field trips and seeing the kids smile has been a highlight of the farm’s autumn operations. “Having the kids come out has been a really rewarding part.”
Jeanette McLean, Marcus’ mother, told CityView that for the community, the farm is a labor of love.
“The farm gives people a chance to disconnect from everything and have fun,” Jeanette said.
The pig race at the Nas-Hawg Gallberry Speedway Oct. 19 highlights the many entertainment festivities at Gallberry Farm.
The McLean family works year-round, feeding animals, maintaining land, and fielding calls from overly eager developers vying for the land, in an effort to protect their farmland and share the experience of farm life. Through hard work, and with unbendable values of education and preservation, Gallberry Farm’s mission undoubtedly makes Cumberland County a richer place for the community.
No matter how you envision your ideal fall day, whether it’s with a good book or your favorite spooky movie, there has never been a better time to lock your phone, get lost in a corn maze, take a hayride with your family, and maybe watch some pigs race.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trey Nemec is a senior at Fayetteville State University, majoring in communication and media studies. Along with interning for CityView, he serves as the editor-in-chief of FSU’s The Voice, a student-led newspaper.
Join us in celebrating the 200th anniversary of
Lafayette’s Farewell Tour
REGISTER NOW FOR THESE EVENTS! Regency Dance Workshop
with Mr. Steplively
November 3, 2024, 3:00-5:30pm (only $20, but FREE if registered for ball) Hay Street United Methodist Church
Farewell Tour Ball
with Dancemaster Charles Steplively of Virginia
March 4, 2025, 6:00-9:00pm Cape Fear Botanical Garden
Farewell Dinner Theatre
March 5, 2025, 6:00-9:00pm Cape Fear Botanical Garden
For more information on how you can participate in this once-in-a-lifetime event, visit www.lafayettesociety.org.
Ray, O’Connor, Coleman & Halverson, PLLC, based in Fayetteville, is a distinguished law firm practicing primarily in the areas of Estate Planning, Trust and Estate Administration, Commercial Real Estate, and Business Law. The firm’s Estate Planning practice encompasses the preparation of wills, powers of attorney, and advance directives, as well as the implementation of various types of trusts. The attorneys at Ray, O’Connor, Coleman & Halverson, PLLC are also adept at handling the intricacies of probate, trust, and guardianship administration.
910-483-2101 | www.raylawnc.com
Dancemaster Charles Steplively (center), with historical music group Syllabub, will be at the ball.
As the last surviving Major General of the American Revolution and a symbol of Liberty, Justice, and Equality around the world, everyone wanted to see Lafayette during his Farewell Tour of 1824-25. It is estimated that 2 out of every 3 Americans did!
Now Lafayette is back for the 200th anniversary of the Farewell Tour! Like the original tour, the celebration will last 13 months, covering more than 6000 miles and 250 cities. One of the PREMIER sites for the Celebration is Fayetteville, North Carolina, where you are invited to Party like it’s 1825!
Tuesday afternoon, March 4 – Lafayette arrives in a horse-drawn carriage accompanied by the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry – his bodyguard 200 years ago!
Tuesday evening, March 4 – Dance Master Charles Steplively of Virginia and the historical musical group Syllabub will help you polish your dance moves at an authentic Regency Period costume ball. A truly magical experience!
Wednesday, March 5 – Explore Fayetteville’s 250-year history! See Lafayette’s carriage, the Liberty Point
Hope and healing
Joe's journey through cancer care at Cape Fear Valley Health
BY JAMI MCLAUGHLIN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN
R
Retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Joe Allen, 67, had wanted to join the Army as a little boy, looking up to his favorite uncle who served as a staff sergeant in the Army.
“You can say I was destined to be a soldier,” Joe said. “And I got to live out my childhood dream.”
Joe joined the U.S. Army out of high school and went straight to training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in 1975. And for the next 37 and a half years, he served multiple tours with the 82nd Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, now Fort Liberty, before retiring in 2012.
Highlights of his career adorn his house walls and office with dozens of military coins, photos with former U.S. presidents, and medals.
During his life in the Army, he served multiple tours to Iraq, Grenada, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Desert Shield, but in 2017, Joe was in for a fight with a silent killer.
“You know, military men know more acronyms than anyone in the world,” Joe said. “Ironically very few know what ‘PSA’ [prostate-specific antigen] stands for. No one hears it until you hear the ‘c’ word.”
Cancer — more specifically, prostate cancer. The prostate is an essential gland for reproduction “because it supplies part of the seminal fluid (semen), which mixes with sperm from the testes,” according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. “The prostate (not prostrate) is a small, rubbery gland about the size of a ping-pong ball, located deep inside the groin, between the base of the penis and the rectum.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, PSA stands for prostatespecific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate gland that can be measured in the blood to help detect prostate cancer.
Five months after his wife, Patricia, died from ovarian cancer in May 2017, Joe received a phone call out of the blue from his primary care doctor. Joe was told that his PSA levels were increasing based on his last couple of blood work panels for his regular annual checkups.
A little shocked, Joe followed up with a urologist to get further tests, and two weeks later he learned he had prostate cancer despite having no signs or symptoms.
“My urologist asked me if I had a weak urine stream and I was being funny answering back that I could bounce all the water off the commode,” Joe said. “I didn’t have one inkling whatsoever.”
That is why he said many call prostate cancer “the silent killer.”
“I had just buried my wife and now I was facing prostate cancer,” Joe said. “2017 was a big year.”
He decided to undergo a radical prostatectomy, where the whole prostate gland is removed, according to Cape Fear Valley Health, in October 2017 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he had spent a lot of time visiting fellow soldiers.
While he was in the hospital, his good friend Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, who he served alongside as part of the command team for the U.S. Forces-Iraq, came to visit.
“When he came to see me, he said if you are an African American in this country, if you don’t have some kind of problems with your prostate, you haven’t lived long enough,” Joe recalled.
Joe said Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2023.
“He was right,” Joe said of Austin’s well-publicized diagnosis and journey.
The National Cancer Institute says that prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. One in eight men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.
For Black men, it is higher.
According to the Zero Prostate Cancer organization, one in six will be diagnosed, and “Black men are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with — and 2.1 times more likely to die from — prostate cancer than white men.”
“Being over 50, overweight, or having a family history also contributes to risk factors,” Joe said.
Joe said doctors suggest that Black men be screened regularly, beginning in their 40s. He has now made it his life’s mission to educate the community, especially Black men, about the importance of getting screened regularly.
Retired U.S. Army Command
Sgt. Maj. Joe Allen, shares his experiences with combating prostate cancer following 37 years of honored service to the U.S. Army.
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In an effort to educate the community and raise awareness for prostate, ovarian, and childhood cancer, Joe organized an “All The Way Joe” golf tournament and a Cancel Cancer Walk and Family Fun Day this year. He plans to continue those efforts every September for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. More information can be found at allthewayjoe.com.
“We need to encourage men of color to get checked regularly and early,” Joe said.
When Joe came out of the hospital, he learned that he had an advanced stage of prostate cancer and it had been a good decision to have the surgery. However, his cancer journey was not over.
Earlier this year, his PSA levels started to increase again.
“I was lucky that it had not spread to other areas of my body, but I needed to have eight weeks of radiation,” Joe said.
He started radiation five days a week in June at the Cape Fear Valley Cancer Treatment & CyberKnife Center.
“After meeting the staff ladies of the cancer center, I looked forward to seeing them every day,” Joe said. “I cannot say enough about the staff there. They calmed every bit of my anxiety.”
He said that while his journey with radiation ended in August, he continues to get screened, which he had never
thought about before.
“I didn’t have any signs,” Joe said. “That one phone call out of the blue saved my life.”
He wants to normalize the conversation, especially among Black men.
“You hear women talking about breast cancer,” Joe said. “Men should be able to talk openly about prostate cancer. We are responsible for our own health and need to get checked regularly.”
Cape Fear Valley Cancer Treatment & CyberKnife Center is located at 1638 Owen Drive in Fayetteville and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cape Fear Valley Health has two additional cancer centers for convenience of care, one in North Fayetteville and one in Lillington. For more information, visit capefearvalley.com/cancer or call 910-615-6910 for medical oncology services and 910-6155894 for radiation oncology services.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jami McLaughlin can be reached at jmclaughlin@cityviewnc.com or 910-391-4870.
Above, an expansive collection of challenge coins, often presented to military members as a sign of appreciation and respect; opposite, presidents, dignitaries, and celebrity photos visually represent Joe's career; Joe reflects on a photo of the Iraq War battlefield depicting Abram tanks transversing the desert; a photo of an unknown Iraqi child taking shelter at the rear of an American soldier during the Iraq War represents one of the most memorable moments of Joe's career; memorabilia covering an expansive military career fill Joe's home office.
Giving and gratitude
BY JAYLIN KREMER
In today’s world, it’s all too easy to think about the things we want and the things we don’t have. Content creators on social media often encourage us to buy trending items on TikTok Shop, incessantly reminding us to buy more and to “treat ourselves.” Our friends and family often post about their new cars and houses.
We all want to share our success, our beautiful new purse, or new hairdo. Rarely are we reminded of our capability to give, and the importance of being thankful for all that we have. As much as self-care, treating ourselves, and taking care of our families is necessary, so is remembering to give, to be grateful, and to take care of those around us.
Gratitude doesn’t cost us anything, doesn’t take much time, and is such an important part of our well-being. Getting swept up in comparisons and worrying about all of the things we want but can’t afford or can’t have will make us miserable and leave us feeling eternally unsatisfied.
Have you ever read a story about a tragedy someone else was facing, and it reminded you that maybe you don’t have it so badly? I encourage you to start remembering you don’t have it so badly without that tragic reminder. Practicing gratitude more often, on our own without grim reminders, has a powerful effect on our minds and bodies. It has the power to change our entire perspective of the world. Who doesn’t need a little bit of that?
When you’re feeling down or find yourself focusing too much on all that’s negative in your life, thinking about all the good does help. When you feel that you don’t have anything good, think about what you have that someone else doesn’t. I can assure you, you have something someone else would be grateful for.
At the very least, if you’re reading this, you have life, you have sight, you have the capability to read and comprehend. These are all things to be grateful for. At the very least, I’m always grateful to you, the readers, for taking the time to read a piece I’ve written.
I’m sure some of you are wondering how you can give if you don’t feel like you have anything to offer. Again, I can guarantee that you do. Typically, we associate money or objects with giving, but these methods are not always feasible, especially in today’s economy. Some rely on food banks for meals, or live paycheck to paycheck and have no money to spare, understandably. The important thing to remember about giving is that it’s about so much more
than money. It’s about giving back, doing good, and the impact you have on others.
When we don’t have objects or money to give, we have time and we have kindness. To me, these methods mean more than money anyway. If you don’t have all the time in the world to volunteer to coach your kid’s sports team or commit to a constant schedule, volunteer on your schedule, whether that means once a year on GivingTuesday, once a month, or whatever you can do. If you can’t do that, you still have kindness to give. Take a second out of your day to do something kind for someone in your community.
Sometimes we can give monetarily but feel the amount and the item we can donate isn’t good enough. I assure you that someone out there will appreciate what you have to offer. Whether it’s adding $1 to your total at check out for whatever charity is listed, donating $5 on a GoFundMe for a person or family in need, or parting with a bag of clothes your child has outgrown, someone somewhere will appreciate your donation.
Gratitude and giving are powerful tools — use them. Once a year, once a month, once a day, whatever it is. Even when you feel like you have nothing, don’t let the darkness cloud your mind. Let the light in and remember that you do have many things to be thankful for.
Remember that you have the ability to shine a light on others when they are in dark places. The world is dark and twisted, but we don’t have to be.
Jaylin Kremer, is a HomeFront columnist for CityView. She can be reached at jaykremer95@ gmail.com.
PHOTO BY MEGAN WATSON ON UNSPLASH
Paintings
Drawings
Photography
Hand-crafted
Hand-crafted
THE TO-DO LIST
Here are just some of the things happening in and around Fayetteville this month. Scan the code with your phone for more events, additional information and to post your event on our website. Events are subject to change. Check before attending.
Drop-In Garden Tour (visit the Garden with a Guide)
Cape Fear Botanical Garden 536 N. Eastern Blvd. capefearbg.org
Nov. 14
Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet
Crown Complex
Crown Theatre
1960 Coliseum Drive crowncomplexnc.com
Nov. 14
An Evening with Brad and Jess Halling
U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum 100 Bragg Blvd. asomf.org
Nov. 15
Community H&H Stand Down Information & Resources Fair
United Way of Cumberland County VFW Post 6019 116 Chance St. unitedway-cc.org
Nov. 16
Harvest Festival
Rick’s Place 5572 Shenandoah Drive rhfnow.org
Nov. 16
Gobble Gobble 3 Point Shoot Out Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation
Smith Recreation Center 1520 Slater Ave. fcpr.us
Nov. 16
Heritage Farmhouse Drop-In Tour
Cape Fear Botanical Garden 536 N. Eastern Blvd. capefearbg.org
Nov. 22-24
2024 Book Sales
Friends of the Cumberland County Library
Headquarters Library
300 Maiden Lane cumberlandcountylibraryfriends.com
Nov. 22-Dec. 8
A Christmas Story
Gilbert Theater 116 Green St. gilberttheater.com
Nov. 22
Blackbeard and N.C. Pirates
Headquarters Library
Local & State History Room
300 Maiden Lane cumberland.librarycalendar.com
Nov. 23
Handel’s “Water Music” Suite Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra
St. John’s Episcopal Church
302 Green St. fayettevillesymphony.org
Nov. 25-Dec. 4
GivingTuesday 2024
Cumberland Community Foundation
308 Green St. cumberlandcf.org
Nov. 29
A Dickens Holiday
Downtown Alliance
Downtown Fayetteville 325 Franklin St. faydta.com
SEEN @ THE SCENE
Cape Fear Valley Health presents CityView 's Food, Wine, & ART 2024
Cape Fear Valley Health presents CityView's Annual Food, Wine, & ART took place from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Photos by Tony Wooten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra
2 Cumberland Choral Arts' Artistic Director Michael D. Martin
3 Michael Solomon and Lisa Geddie
4 Rep. Francis Jackson and Cumberland County Commissioner Glenn Adams
5 A guest interacts with Prima Elements Holistic Wellness Center
6 Adel Wells, Joyce China, Jasmine Hines, and Emily Dawson of Melvin's at Riverside
7 Kaitlin Peterson, Amanda Andrus, and Allison Bish
8 Christina Jacops, Tami Pope, and Dr. Elizabeth Sawyer
9 LaShana Poole, Jacques Car, and Tara Haynes
Hope. A FACE OF RESILIENCE. A STORY OF
Fayetteville, NC
When
Thursday, Nov. 30 from 5-7
Friday, Dec. 1 from 5-7
Saturday, Dec. 2 from 10
Thursday, Dec. 7 from 5-7 PM
Friday, Dec. 8 from 5-7 PM
Saturday, Dec. 9 from 10 AM - 5 PM
Lennox Haymount
Our Christmas Home Tour is in two of our neighborhoods, the first two weekends in December on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
We are offering interest buydowns starting as low as 4.5% buydown for the 10 move-in ready models during this Christmas Parade of Homes Tour.
You are invited to celebrate the season with the Floyd Christmas Open House. Come see the exquisitely, decorated homes and all of our latest features. Pick up your gift from under our tree and enjoy a glass of eggnog while sharing holiday food, fun, and cheer with us.
Discover timeless luxury at this brand new community of townhomes built by Floyd Properties; owned and operated by Lennox Townhomes, LLC. Lennox at Haymont showcases our executive townhomes with exquisite finishes and superior construction, redefining high standards. Centrally located in desirable Haymount, our 70 years of home-building expertise ensures a residence that stands the test of time. Welcome to a legacy of refined living.
Where
Scan for information and directions.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
Where Your Children Come First
Kids First Pediatrics of Raeford and Fayetteville has created a professional and caring medical environment for infants, children, adolescents and their families. We provide complete pediatric and adolescent care.
Pediatric Services We Provide Check Ups, Sick Child Visits & More in Raeford and Fayetteville
• Well Child Visits
• Sick Child Visits
• Vaccine & Immunization Schedule
• 2023-2024 Guide to the Flu
• School, Sports, & Camp Physicals
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Vaccines & Immunizations
• ADHD Testing & Treatment
• Asthma Symptoms & Treatment
• Breastfeeding Support
• Urinalysis
• Strep and Mono Screen
• Vision and Hearing Tests
Jose Buenaseda, MD, FAAP
Leamor Buenaseda, MD, FAAP
Sreelekha Sashidhar, MD, FAAP
Christine Arnold, CPNP-PC
Melanie Pitts, DNP, NP-C
Beverly de La Rosa, CPNP-PC
Danielle Trigg, CPNP-PC
Cinthia Follrod, CPNP-PC
Rachelle Olson, FNPC
Ashley Monroe, PA-C
2694 NC 24-87
Cameron, NC 28326 Mon. to Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 910.500.KIDS (5437)
Brookstone office only 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Saturdays for sick/urgent appointments, established patients only.
– CSM Joe Allen, Prostate Cancer Survivor
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, other than skin cancer, among men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men in the United States.
Getting screened can greatly improve outcomes and your quality of life, and if caught early, prostate cancer is highly treatable.
Talk to your primary care doctor about when you should be screened. Regular visits with your doctor will help in early detection. Most men don’t have any symptoms at all so clinical screenings are vital. Should you need us, we’re here for you.
Are you high-risk for prostate cancer?
• Most common in men 65 – 74 years of age
• Family history increases your risk; having a father or brother who had or has prostate cancer more than doubles your risk
