^The ANSON BIZ-ZINE
WADESBORO, ANSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A.

elbertreble
views, notions
and ramblings

     (February 22, 2010) -- There's a line from a Pink Floyd song that, paraphrased, goes "10 years have gotten by me, no one told me when to run, I missed the starting gun." That can apply to me; however it is 20 years instead of 10.
     Come March 6, I will have been in Anson County (and Wadesboro) for 20 years -- starting as editor of The Anson Record on a Monday morning in March 1990 (fresh from a five-year stint in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach as an editor and writer).
     Twenty years. Wow! How time flies.
     Some reflections on the past two decades:

• Anson County is the place to be. Two hours plus from the beach or mountains. A hour away from the hubbub in the Charlotte area. Friendly people. Nice weather (February 2010 not included).

• I have seen changes in the Wadesboro landscape: development of a strip along East Caswell Street (BB&T, Days Inn, Arby's, Wendy's, Laser Wash); the Walmart and Wadesborough Plaza development; Szechuan (formerly the Istanbul); uptown Wadesboro's revitalization along Greene and Wade streets.

• Lost some great friends: Henry Little, Punky Morton, Dan Ward.

• Worked on numerous projects with the best movers and shakers in the county.

• Developed a personal legacy, so to speak (my opinion): the Anson County Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Anson, Uptown Wadesboro, Anson County Partnership for Children, the Big-Game Hunt Tournament, ChamberLines newsletter, ChamberLights newsletter insert, the Chamber Open Golf Tournament, the publication of three slick-looking Anson County Magazines, updated reprints of the official Anson County map, Celebration 2000, and a chamber website -- www.ansoncounty.org (thanks to assistance by then-Anson Community College). I didn't do all the work myself, but at least had a hand in the aforementioned successes.

• In 1990, the chamber of commerce was a part of the economic development office. At some point, I was asked to serve on the board of directors, then was named chairman. Don Scarborough succeeded me as chairman and led a dedicated group of men and women to lay the groundwork for a viable chamber that had a voice in the community. In 1994, I left The Anson Record to become executive director of the chamber. Over the next 11 years -- through Dec. 31, 2005 -- I devoted a lot of hours and blood, sweat and tears to the chamber, working closely with the board chairs and directors to outline a foundation that would keep the chamber afloat to provide services to Anson County businesses, industries and organizations.

• After my first day on the job at the chamber, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. We had 85 members (later growing to a then-high 286 members). I used a typewriter to write individual meeting notices to mail to the chamber directors and to send membership renewals. That was in August 1994. By October, thanks to Fred Sparger finding a bargain, we had the chamber's first computer and things changed dramatically.

• After my retirement, the chamber was placed in the hands of Lynn Edwards, who has continued the vision set forth by myself and previous directors. Office Manager Dusty Moser came on board later on and the two women have kept the chamber's meter running at full steam. Membership has topped 300. New programs have been instituted. ChamberLines continues to be a monthly must read for the membership.

• I would be remiss if I didn't thank Sandy Bruney, who came on board as office manager in October 1999. Although part-time, she was a godsend in keeping the office open daily and professionally handling the pile of chores that landed on her desk. Although I did the layout and writing for ChamberLines, Sandy folded every one of the newsletters, stapled, stamped and mailed up to 300 issues a month. During our tenure with the chamber, we moved from the Parsons-Ross House to the Townhouse to the Leavitt House to the Scarborough Building.

• ChamberLines evolved as a means of communicating with the membership. The first issue was a one-sheeter, printed front and back on "hot pink" paper in September 1994. I used a PageMaker program at then-Anson Community College to design the first newsletter (the second one was done on the chamber's new Compaq computer). Since the antiquated copier in the office couldn't print front and back simutaneously, I had to print all of Page 1, then reload the copier and print Page 2 on the reverse. That has changed. First we had a black & white only printer and eventually went to a four-page newsletter design. Now, the chamber has color capabilities (check the December issues).

• Although employed by the chamber and with a nod of approval from the chamber's directors, Sandy and I founded Marshall Bruney Media Consultants, LLC, in January 2003 to provide our expertise in newsletters, brochures, press releases and newspaper advertisements. Later, after Sandy completed a web design course at South Piedmont Community College, MBMC entered the world of website development. Over the next five years, MBMC developed over 30 websites -- mainly for local businesses and organizations -- and today maintains about 20 sites for our clients. Although our background was in media relations, MBMC has emerged as a website factory by offering local clients a low-cost development and maintenance fee. And, we established The Anson Biz-zine (www.ansonbiz-zine.biz), an on-line e-zine to print econimic and business news.

• As far as family goes, Carla and I have graduated two sons (Kit and John) from Anson High School; and we now have our first grandson (Jadon) for our family tree -- the first Marshall since son John was born in 1982. With my brother, father and mother in heaven, I have become the patriarch of my branch of the Marshall tree. That, somehow, is mind-boggling to me.

     In looking back, the sad part is that I am 20 years older than I was in 1990. But, on a happy note, I feel I have accomplished much -- thanks to friends, neighbors and fellow Ansonians.
     That said, now, I feel I have come full circle. At the Feb. 16 chamber board meeting, I was approved to fill Stephen Coggin's term as a director. I have promised Lynn that she won't hear me say, "Back in the day, I ..."