Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1538147
12 maconmagazine.com | August/September 2025 S omeone after, maybe I had been here a year or t wo, said, 'Oh, this is an artist who we need to t ake care of. We need to respect and follow and share with.' And the whole cit y opened up. It's been opening for the last 40 years for me." Someone listened to McQueen and st arted the ripple that changed the trajector y of her life as a textile artist, a life of feeling respected in Macon. She is one of other luminaries in our leadership through the lifespan stor y (page 52) because listening to their stories shows us how contributions to communit y changes at various st ages in life. It's a test ament to the success of 25 years of spotlighting our Five Under 40 young leaders. We heard readers say they wanted to see even more stories of our leaders, from youth to elders. Hear from the groundbreakers and get into the efforts of the Five Under 40 on page 41. Then join us August 12 at Grant's Lounge for a night of listening and learning with Stor ytellers Macon. We'll toast the last 25 years and beyond! Rabbi Aaron Rubinstein ref lects on his hopes for his work at Congregation Sha'arey Israel: "I would like to help my small synagogue meet the challenges of going into the future... it is ver y, ver y much a changed world. So, when I look at the 30-year-olds and 40-year-olds, what is going to inspire them to dedicate or to latch onto communit y? What does it mean for them? My hope is that we're good listeners and that we helped pull them into the stor y." If we want to see what we can be, we are the ones we're waiting for to pull in the younger generations. Read more about Rubinstein on page 90. "I don't always know what he is saying, but I believe he is worth hearing." Reverend Dr. Erin Robinson Hall is speaking about her son in her column on page 106, but I hear a word for ever y age. Hers addresses the path of teenagers. "No idea's a bad a idea. Just because it didn't work through at one point in the timeline of histor y, it doesn't mean that it's not going to work in another timeline," st ates another force, Charles R ichardson. He says that in the past, he could never imagine building an amphitheater or honoring The Muscogee Nation the way we have today. That's a vote of conf idence we could all st and to hear, especially in tr ying times. But if you need to hear something good, this issue's for you. Real progress isn't a solo act. It's built slowly, sometimes quietly, and always through listening, lifting each other up, and f inding people who help you st ay in the stor y long enough to see what's possible. Editor's letter | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2025 Editor, Susannah C. Maddux @susannahcmaddux "It's a q u i e t ge m . An d y o u d o n' t re a l ly u n d e rs ta n d Ma c o n a n d h o w i t fu n c t i o n s u n t i l y o u f i n d a c ro wd w h o y o u wa n t to h a v e m o re t i m e w i t h . . ." -Wini McQue en W e w a n t t o k n o w y o u r s t o r y . J o i n t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n @ m a c o n m a g a z i n e o r e m a i l u s h e l l o @ m a c o n m a g a z i n e . c o m . BELOW Our emerging leaders need our support. Pictured with MM's own Susannah Cox Maddux and Julia Morrison and young forces Max Schutt; Simone Russell; Duane Patrick, Jr.; and CJ Story are representatives Lauren Deal of Mount de Sales Academy and Jazmin Thomas-Pullen from Fort Valley State University. Deal and Thomas-Pullen were there to cheer on their leaders' success.