Sharing the stories of the people in my community has been one of the greatest joys of my life.
In more than 35 years of writing for publications such as The Augusta Chronicle, Augusta Magazine and the defunct Fort Gordon Signal newspaper, I’ve had the privilege of retelling the stories of amazing people such as the 90-year-old woman who went skydiving, a blind Army captain training to run a marathon, an amputee who won a gold medal at the veteran wheelchair games, many women who’ve gone through diseases such as breast and ovarian cancer, women who’ve written books and multiple women who went back to school later in life including a few who were college students alongside their teens.
I could go on.
The people I’ve interviewed and written about have often challenged me and inspired me to live out my dreams. Their stories have given me hope and encouragement at low times in my life. They’ve made me laugh and cry as they’ve told me their struggles and their victories.
A little over a year ago, I knew that my life needed to go another direction.
On Oct. 2, 2022, I woke up and saw a picture in my head.
It was a magazine cover. The image itself was hazy, but the name was crystal clear – Inspiring: Women of Augusta.
The idea energized me, and the possibilities were exciting.
The Augusta area has many women who are doing great things. But I didn’t know how to get from where I was to where I wanted to be. That’s one reason I created Augusta Good News — to build a platform for positive news and launch this magazine from it.
Augusta Good News has been overwhelmingly received since it began. People regularly tell me how much they love the positive side of news coverage.
Over the summer, I knew it was approaching time to launch the magazine, and we’ve been working hard to put it together.
The inaugural edition of Inspiring: Women of Augusta comes out Nov. 1.
It’s a bi-monthly print publication and will be available around town in multiple locations. Here’s a link to the list.
The first issue will highlight women from multiple sectors — the arts, education, business, sports and philanthropy.
Among the stories are Nomi Stanton who wears two hats — one as the wife of the commanding general at Fort Eisenhower and the other as the head of a organization serving the area’s homeless and those in need. Also, meet Francie Klopotic who has used art multiple times in her life to bring healing.
I won’t tell you about all of them.
My goal for the magazine is to inspire people with the stories and perhaps even bring hope to them.
And not to worry, Augusta Good News isn’t going anywhere. We’re approaching our first anniversary Nov. 22, and I’m believing next year will be even better than this first year.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Support local journalism: Local stories on local people, organizations and events. That’s the focus of Augusta Good News. And you don’t have to go through a paywall to find these stories. An independent voice in Augusta, Ga., Augusta Good News is not funded by a billionaire or a large corporation; it doesn’t have celebrity reporters who have agents. It’s local people who are invested in the community and want to tell its stories. You can support local journalism and help us expand our coverage by becoming a supporter. Through Ko-Fi, you can give once or set up a monthly gift. Click here to learn more. Thank you!
