Honoring the Past, Building a Future
In my last blog, The Narrowing of Leadership, I wrote about how leadership can become confined within a single way of seeing, how a frame, once set, begins to limit what is noticed and what is allowed to be questioned. I suggest that Rocky Mount's City Council shows evidence of this tendency, and this needs … Continue reading Continuing the Discussion of Leadership: The Little Dutch Boy on the City Council
What has unfolded in Rocky Mount over these past weeks has been a civic burden for everyone. The audit’s language, a lack of leadership, a lack of oversight, has stirred more than concern. It has stirred a kind of impatience. You can feel it in the conversations, and certainly across social media, where the question has … Continue reading Rocky Mount, NC: The Narrowing Lens of Leadership
Before commenting on the Council meeting I need to tell you a bit about my mother-in-law for this to make sense. She was a Jackson, Mississippi girl, an Ole Miss graduate, belonging to the Chi Omega sorority. As she grew older, her southern accent became more pronounced. Put these things together and you know a … Continue reading Monday’s City Council Meeting – 3-23-26
In traditional masonry construction, the cornerstone is the first stone set when construction begins. It is placed at the corner where two walls will rise. Everything that follows depends on that stone. The cornerstone fixes the position of the building on the site. It establishes the angle of the walls. Masons measure outward from it, … Continue reading A Sunday Message From Stepheny: Resetting the Cornerstone in Rocky Mount
I have listened to portions of the City Council retreat on YouTube. The retreat carried a certain tension. The council members discussing Rocky Mount’s financial problems are the same body whose lack of oversight allowed those problems to develop in the first place. As I listened, an odd literary memory surfaced. Many people know the … Continue reading A Barking Dog At The City Council Retreat
The long awaited state audit of Rocky Mount’s finances was released Monday, and the findings were sobering. According to the report from the North Carolina State Auditor, the city’s cash and investment balances dropped dramatically over a short period of time, falling from roughly $100 million to about $21.8 million between 2023 and 2025, a … Continue reading Rocky Mount Citizens Calling for Resignations, What Happens Next?
Main Street Rocky Mount 