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Local community members and their stories, accomplishments, and struggles are the foundation of small-town journalism.

A week ago in The Lowndes Signal, we saw an example of this in Larry “Tadpole” Forest, who works at the QV convenience store in Hayneville.

Forest’s positive demeanor and general friendliness is noticeable from the start. He describes himself as a “people person,” an assessment enthusiastically supported by the owners of the store, Sandy and Leanne Harrell, who gave Forest an opportunity to work there after seeing the way he positively interacted with others.

It’s a heartwarming, feel-good story, and we’re certain there are many similar tales just as deserving of being shared with our readers.

According to 2020 U.S. Census data, Lowndes County boasts a population of 10,311. That’s a ton of potential “Tadpoles” swimming in the proverbial pond – and we’d love to be able to share their stories with our readers, too.

We want to hear more story ideas from our readership, but we also realize not everyone’s journey is the same. Not every story starts with a positive tone. There’s no doubt people exist within the county who have overcome tremendous obstacles and challenges to find success.

Whether it’s a story featuring someone who organized a fundraiser to assist a local family suffering through a hardship, or a story where someone conquered illness, addiction, a traumatic event, or any other form of adversity to go on and accomplish great things, those stories deserve to be told.

For those out there who feel like they have a unique story, or know someone who you feel deserves to be featured in our local newspaper, we’d like to hear about it and consider it for publication.

Rural Alabama might feel like a small pond, but we’d love to share the stories of the people who call that pond home.

To submit an idea for a story, don’t hesitate to contact shane.dunaway@greenvilleadvocate.com, or call us at 334-382-3111 and ask for Shane.