Consider who makes the most impact in your life. Take stock of the people you spend time with on a daily basis. It’s likely many are women. And these women often juggle work with family obligations and still manage to listen – I mean really listen – and affirm your own strength and capability. They are the ones who believe in you and what you can do.
This is the sixth annual issue where we highlight women in our communities who rise like the tide to lift up everyone else. The 10 women we’ve featured this year, whose stories begin on page 34, includes Stephanie Basima Terry and her work to close the racial wealth gap with the help of local economic leaders. You’ll also read about Kerri Snipes, a first-year head basketball coach at Northwood High School who in 2022 guided the varsity girls team to their first state championship in the school’s 50-year history. We received many nominations this year with too few pages to feature them all, but we’ll continue to share their stories in our pages this year, next year and beyond.
We’re honored to have the opportunity to celebrate these women who achieve so much in the face of adversity and disadvantage. Their efforts inspire us all to strive to be our best.
Elsewhere in this issue, we talk to retired Army platoon sergeant Michael Daniels, a veterans services officer in Chatham County; Jeff Baldwin, who’s grown the orchid business he started 30 years ago with his artist mother, Rita Baldwin; and Debbi Barrett of Goldston, who teaches container gardening classes at For Garden’s Sake.
For now, I leave you with this thought. Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” It’s my hope that, after reading through this issue, you’ll discover the inspiration to do better, too. – Anna-Rhesa Versola, managing editor
THE WOMEN’S ISSUE
36 Stephanie Basima Terry
WEBB Squared
39 Abbie Lee Roehm
Paces and Roehm Architecture
40 Dawn Landes
Singer-songwriter
42 Melissa Driver Beard
Chatham Outreach Alliance
46 Tonnika Haynes
Brown’s Automotive
50 Sera Cuni
Cafe Root Cellar
54 Kerri Snipes
Northwood High School
58 Edna Rodriguez
Rural Advancement Foundation International
62 Elisabeth Lewis Corley
Harland’s Creek Productions
66 Elaine Chiosso
Haw River Assembly
HOME & GARDEN
76 What We Love About … Vineyards at Chatham Park
A vibrant community blooms just northeast of downtown Pittsboro
92 Contain Your Excitement
Three gardeners share their enthusiasm for potted plants
96 Good Times and Grill Marks
Homeowners share their joy of outdoor cooking
104 All the Pretty Orchids
A son grows the business he and his mother rooted 30 years ago
DEPARTMENTS
4 Letter from the Managing Editor
8 Five Events
You won’t want to miss
22 Noted
What we’ve heard around our towns
28 Who’s Who in Town & County Government
Michael Daniels serves military veterans in Chatham
72 Here We Grow Again
Commercial development updates, plus a look at upcoming projects
PEOPLE & PLACES
10 The State of Black Entrepreneurship in Rural NC
14 Singer-Songwriter Series at The Plant
16 Pigs & Pearls
17 Fearrington Folk Art Show
WEDDINGS & ENGAGEMENTS
110 Fox & Moreland
112 Moore & Staley
SPONSORED CONTENT
32 The Big Give
Our local nonprofits, how they support the community and how you can get involved
