Fayetteville Observer's 40 Under 40 Class of 2022: Jessica Hendrix Brown
Name: Jessica Hendrix Brown
Age: 33
Birthplace/where you were raised: Raeford
Where do you live now? Raeford
Employer: I own Brown Publishing; we publish Hoke County's weekly newspaper. I also work for Hoke County Schools
Job title: I write an advice column for The News-Journal. I manage federal and state Career and Technical Education budgets for Hoke County Schools
Who are your immediate family members? My husband is Taylor Brown. My parents are Karl and Wendy Hendrix. My grandmother is Janet Hendrix.
Education: I graduated from Hoke County High School. I attended FTCC and UNC Pembroke but left to pursue my career.
What community and professional groups are you affiliated with? Hoke County's CTE Advisory Board; NCACTE; the NC Press Association
What are your guiding principles? My guiding principles are integrity, honesty and courage. I know that my community needs young leadership that demonstrates unfailing integrity, and has the courage to stand up for what is right.
Here's the list: Meet the Fayetteville Observer's 40 Under 40 award winners for 2022
How do you volunteer your time in the community? I operate a weather, news and community outreach group on Facebook called Hoke County Weather & More. I created the group prior to the arrival of Hurricane Florence in 2018. My goal was to create a space for people in my community to share what was happening on their street, in their neighborhood, and around town. I had hoped that it would lessen the number of people that were on the roads checking out storm damage. During the storm the Facebook group became a central location for citizens in Hoke and surrounding areas to share and find resources to cope with the hurricane's aftermath. It also provided a space for people to organize additional community outreach, such as collecting canned goods and updating each other on power outages. Today, I still provide daily weather updates, coverage of severe weather events, and curated local news. Additionally, the citizens of Hoke County continue to contribute towards this online community, helping each other with everything from finding lost pets, to finding the right building contractor.
Who has helped you achieve success in your life and career? My husband, and my family.
What goal would you like to accomplish before turning 40? I hope to have expanded my publishing company, and maintained a thriving newspaper that benefits and reflects the lives of everyone in my community. I hope to be able to say that I am just as happy and optimistic at 40 as I was at 33.
What's your favorite book? "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf
What are your hobbies? Gardening, candle-making, spending time with my family and blogging about the weather.
What's your most prized possession? My family. My home.
If you had a theme song for your life, what would it be? "Dream On" by Aerosmith
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 40 Under 40: Jessica Hendrix Brown of Raeford's the News-Journal
