Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1546131
74 maconmagazine.com | August/September 2026 how did I love them well? I try to reflect each night, and I have learned to let go of any aim at being a "perfect" or even "great" mom, wife, writer, and pastor. Perfect and great are beyond my reach. But I can attend to loving my beloveds well. It's been said there is something in the water here. Recently, my oldest two children were baptized, in Macon waters. My family and friends from various churches and communities we have loved gathered at the waters edge, and the image nearly took my breath away. We were surrounded by love, voices singing. After the water held them, they stood up and were called by a new name: brother and sister. That's the way Macon feels. The bonds of community hold us together and rename us in ways that call us to matter to each other. My hope for any leader would be enough space to listen to your life—to hold in one hand the stories you have lived and examine in the other hand the hopes you still hold. An author I love, Frederick Buechner, says "Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is." Then listen, imagining an exchange between those two things, because in that I think we hear our own calling. Your stories, heartaches, and triumphs offer something beautiful, and what better way to move forward in this life than follow the beauty. K AT H R Y N D E N N I S I would call myself "The Connector." I want to introduce you to somebody else. "Have you met so-and-so?" And putting people together, I just think it makes us stronger. I love being able to raise up somebody [who] hasn't ever felt seen. Because I believe everybody has something. I would tell an emerging leader to be authentic. To listen and learn, but not be afraid to share your thoughts and ask a lot of questions. Meet as many people as you can. I think those are important things for anybody, actually. I moved here when I was 25, and I was so fortunate to work in the banking industry when banks really saw themselves as part of the community… and they wanted their emerging leaders to get involved in the community. I was expected to do my job and go be in the community. It was great because I'd always been a volunteer and wanted to do that. But I had so many people [who] invested in me when I was young, and it made such a difference. It's fun to dream, but it's even more fun to implement and to be able to work with these incredible visionaries. Josh Rogers was always the little brother that I never had. I learned so much from him, but he had his bold visions. He could have an idea, and then everybody would pile on and make it better. We are now a community of possibility. I hear in the community that volunteers are what people need, and they're just too busy now. We were busy before, but acts of service don't have the same value, and I don't know how to go back and change that. Now, I think there's more true community connection. I am not Pollyanna. I know there's lots of work to do, but people need to know that my colleagues from around the state and around the country say, "How do y'all get this done?" Working as a team and listening to each other. 65+ A L E X H A B E R S H A M One of the best things that could happen to you is to be born and live in Macon, Georgia. I would call myself a community activist. I tried to discover community areas that could be improved for the better, and then generate some kind of activity project or program that will address whatever area that needs to be addressed. I started a program called the Adopt a Role Model Program, a mentoring program for African American boys from single-family, female-headed households. I realized the power of Black consumerism as it relates to the amount of money that African Americans spend, but not enough of that was directed toward the African American community. So that's really why I started the Black Pages: to have a resource that these services and products could be identified. But I always hasten to say that it does not engage in separatism. I don't want to be misunderstood about that. It revolves around self-help. When you can help yourself, you've got internal resources that you can use to help yourself. Then, everybody benefits. Be broad in your approach to gaining influence and respect to the extent that people will listen to you and react to you and support you. You can't just declare yourself a leader and be a leader because what makes you. It is not "legislatable." You have to generate it and earn it and deserve it. And the way you do that is by broadly understanding, interacting, fellowshipping, and networking with people from all walks of life. You got to appreciate the hand that you've been dealt. The hand you are dealt is a lot better than what some other people were dealt. So you just got to understand that you are okay, and you are doing fairly well and you are fairly respected because you were dealt a hand that made you, that positioned you to be influential and a leader. L I Z FA B I A N I aim to be more of a servant leader. Somebody who uses talents for the betterment of others. And it's not really about seeking fame or glory. It's about finding a niche to fill that hasn't been filled, and doing good work and doing it with excellence. My faith is the most important thing. But when it comes down to what I do, I think it's just the longevity that I've been able to continue to serve in this role. When I think back about the people "That's the way Macon feels. The bonds of community hold us together and rename us in ways that call us to matter to each other."