Towards the end of 2024, Nate and I decided to scale back the packaged food side of Crew Family Orchards which meant discontinuing our private-label products, focusing solely on what we grow and produce ourselves, and our honey. This was entirely my side of the business, and I felt a little lost and unsure of what I would do with my time and talents. I toiled with the idea of going back to pharmacy and promptly eliminated that idea for a plethora of reasons, most namely, I am unwilling to lose my creative freedom, and I want to always be present for my family, to cook and tend my garden. Those things, to me, are far more valuable than going back to a career that is so limiting and draining.
Me being the Type A, driven, overly ambitious person I am, knew I needed something that would stretch me and push me outside my comfort zone. Continuing to think and pray on it, really leaving it up to God to show me my next steps, I got a call from a good friend of ours asking me to meet to discuss a new business opportunity. Beyond just a brainstorming project, they wanted me to spearhead this incredible new opportunity downtown Fayetteville, a chance to really highlight my talents for building and growing community. I thought, “Ok, Universe. You got my attention!” Of all the people our friend has worked with over the years, she feels I am the woman for the job and whole-heartedly believes I am up for a project of this magnitude. Energized by her confidence and the promise of it all, I said an enthusiatic yes! Of course it was a yes! I was sold on the vision and I could just feel the energy! It gave me goosebumps in fact!
My motto is: if I feel like I will regret not doing or saying something (whatever it might be), I need to leap at the chance and figure it out later. So that's exactly what I'm doing. Through a little bit of boredom, the Universe was pointing me towards this moment even though I didn’t know it when Nate and I made the decision about Crew Family Orchards – how serendipitous! The wheels started turning and the ideas started flowing freely, and haven’t stopped – it was truly an answered prayer.
I love old pictures, so here's a walk down memory lane of what Hay Street, and our building used to look like. Time marches on and downtown looks a tad different now! Looking foward to contibuting to the positive change happening though.
So, the task, gargantuan as it may seem, is to add vibrancy to the 400 block of Hay Street, beyond the ballpark, that has been forgotten about for years. Sadly, it looks forlorn and unloved, see pictures below, but it has been just waiting for the perfect team to come along to turn it from a rhino into a unicorn! With some TLC, we are going to add life to that space! Stay tuned for our progress!
I named our new event space The Gathering Place, because it is an incredible location that with an infusion of hope and light, can be cultivated into a community of culture, diversity and love through small business owners, entrepreneurs, events, activities and endless possibilites. A place to gather and break bread together. I’ve got big dreams for that space and to transform it into a place people want to do life together. I am a firm believer that things happen at the exact time when they are meant to happen and with all that is going on in our world, and in our community, there hasn’t been a better time to create such a space. With time and a whole lot of work, we're going to pull this off. If you’d like to collaborate with us, just let me know. We want you to grow with us! This will be a place for all - only good energy and good vibes.
Until next time.
Love, Dr. Amanda
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