Change is said to be a constant and I think it is even more so in today’s society. If you look up its meaning in the dictionary, as a verb it means to make or become different.
Change is a fact of life as things change rather quickly sometimes. As I’ve written here before, our lives have been in a constant state of change the last couple of years with a wedding and getting accustomed to the empty nest, losing people we know and other numerous things going on in our lives.
At times I can embrace change and actually welcome it. There are times when I want the change, like at home, changing the color of a room or adding or deleting something from the wall. Or wanting a change in clothing. Those are easy changes.
Seems like our community in Crawford County-Roberta, is now in a state of change. Yes, that has an effect on us at the newspaper. We, like most people, get used to doing things certain ways and dealing with certain people. Sometimes, we even figure them out and how we need to deal with them regularly. So when there is a change, it’s kind of like starting all over again.
In our capacity as newspaper, we have enjoyed a good relationship with the county. I was here when Pat Kelly became county manager and his transitioning went well for us and there were never any issues about transparency or open meetings. We were very thankful for that and from that standpoint, we truly miss Pat because we knew what to expect.
We are looking forward to working with the new county manager and I have expressed that to him and I believe we will have that same good working relationship. We have tried not to bother him, as we know he has a lot to catch up on coming in to such a demanding and busy job.
Now, there’s another change for the county. We are so proud of David Mincey III, for getting a judgeship. I have always admired David since coming here and have often wished there were more attorneys like him. He always seemed to care, was not arrogant or haughty and there was a humbleness about him.
While interviewing him Friday, everything I have ever thought about him was reinforced. He is a great guy, with a caring heart and he is going to be a great judge and will make us all proud on that level.
There were so many unique items in his office which I couldn’t include in the story on him this week. Several family items passed down to him. In fact, I could have stayed forever, just getting the background on some of the items. There is an old safe, which came from Macon on a forklift. His great, great grandfather’s diploma and an old party-line telephone. David knew every story behind each item.
You can usually always tell when a person is genuine and David is the real deal. We need more attorneys who have the compassion and concern for humanity that David has shown. He is also passionate about his job and what that job really is all about.
He always has a smile on his face, no matter what’s going on and if he didn’t have an answer for the county, he always admitted it and would get back to them. In my experience with attorneys, they usually don’t admit they don’t have an answer.
While we all wish him well, we are going to miss him. I have not only attended county meetings where he was, but other meetings as well. He does care about this community. He feels confident with Joel taking over and his dad coming out of retirement to help. In fact the name will change to Mincey & Sherlock, at least for now. That could change whenever a new partner is found that will mesh well in the community.
Of course, one main thing I really like about him is that he still believes in the printed version of the newspaper. I’m just kidding about it being a main thing, but you don’t find that very often these days.
Keeping a printed newspaper is extremely important. Yes, we are having to change with the times and use other mediums as well but there is nothing like holding that newspaper in your hand reading it. Doesn’t tire your eyes as much as the computer and you can always put it down and come right back to it. In the community, it just makes more sense as I believe it is a history of the community to preserve for posterity.
I recently read a comparison of print vs. digital which compared it to steak vs. ramen noodles with print being the steak. I agree. Digital products are usually inferior and you can’t put as much “meat” into the stories you publish on digital. But, we’ve got to teach our young people the importance of print newspapers. While some people do prefer the digital, there are three times as many who do not and in studies digital editions don’t fare as well as print. But that’s a lesson for another day.
Here at The Georgia Post, we wish Judge Mincey much success. ©2017

VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. You can reach her at vsimmons54@gmail.com