About | The Crossroads Chronicle

The Crossroads Chronicle owners (from left) Greg Bennett, Halei Lamb, and Trudie Kasper

OUR TEAM | OUR STORY

Timely.
Personal.
Informative.
Accurate.
Thorough.
Local.

The Crossroads Chronicle’s story, our history, starts with three people: businessman Greg Bennett, salesperson Trudie Kasper, and newsroom leader Halei Lamb.

The trio met for the first time on December 3, 2020 with an idea to give the community a refreshed take on local news. With careful yet quick planning, the group narrowed their vision—a newspaper comprised of various beats, investigative articles, human interest pieces, affordable advertising, a philanthropic heart that would literally lend to the community by giving back whenever possible, a grassroots staff, and a forward-thinking mindset ready to progress with the technological advancements of the news industry.

With Bennett’s business expertise, Kasper’s more than a decade in sales, and Lamb’s five years combined experience in editorial, pagination and design, and web management, the trio felt confident in their ability to move the newspaper, still unnamed at the time, from a mental proposition to reality. By December 4, the paper had a name: The Crossroads Chronicle, a moniker that pays homage to the county seat, Swainsboro, also known as the “Crossroads of the Great South,” thanks to Highway 80 and Highway 1’s intersection at Main and Main. (The name also alludes to the infinite amount of other “crossroads,” both dirt and paved, that abound throughout our rural community.)

The next part of the business plan perhaps remained the most important. A newspaper is only as good as its staff, and in an earnest attempt to ensure The Chronicle’s quality, the

paper’s leaders curated a team of locals who would have a stake in the publication's coverage area. Writers Mike Williams, a now-retired longtime educator; enthusiastic journalistic newcomer Brittany Hall; as well as college students Brianna "Bree" Chapman and Lauren Canady join numerous columnists in curating editorial content on a weekly basis. Cameron Kennison, a self-taught digital artist from Swainsboro, designs advertisement artwork printed in the paper.

At the heart of quality community journalism lives a burning desire to highlight, inform, and empower. In short, those three words, “highlight,” inform,” and “empower,” have from the beginning and will forever be the mission of The Crossroads Chronicle.

As local newspaperists, there is a fine line we must tread. If we do it well, we have the ability to make a meaningful difference here. That is our goal.

On one side of the line, we, the staff of The Chronicle, are your friends, family, and neighbors. In the spirit of community, we have a responsibility to shine a positive light on our area, its people, governments, and businesses; to seek and tell the positive side of every story; and to foster heartfelt, uplifting conversations about the goings-on of Emanuel County. These stories highlight our love for one another and the innumerable qualities that make our area special.

On the other side of the line, we have a duty as members of the press to act in our role as the watchdogs of society. We at The Chronicle will answer our charge to inform and consequently empower the people for the betterment of our society. We will achieve this through the following practices: identifying key issues, asking tough questions, reporting sensibly, and being honest, objective, timely, thorough, and accurate in our journalistic endeavors. Further, we pledge to never underestimate (or abuse, neglect, or otherwise misuse) our influence. We believe a well-informed citizenry makes for a better place to live, and it has been our intention from the day The Crossroads Chronicle was born to empower the public and ultimately make our community better. Our vow to you, our readers, is to stay that course, no matter how difficult it may be.

Furthermore, we aim to provide quality advertising opportunities and exposure for our businesses, big and small, enabling them to promote their companies and products at affordable rates. We believe this, too, will benefit our coverage area overall.

The Crossroads Chronicle is locally owned and operated. It is published by local people, for local people, about local people, supporting local people. We intend to be a news source that is highly valued by the residents and stakeholders of Emanuel County. Our weekly newspaper, published every Wednesday from here on out, will consistently provide news, advertising, and information to enrich others’ lives. Committed to Emanuel County, we are a voice for the people.