Publisher's Letter
There is something powerful about looking back.
This month’s business issue had me thinking about where it all began: the friendships, the influences, the moments that shape who we become, long before we ever hold a title or sign a paycheck. Those early years, when dreams feel oversized and the future feels far away, are often when the foundation is being laid.
I grew up in Cass County with Kacie Kirkland. We became best friends in elementary school and spent most weekends together until college. We cheered together. We served in clubs together. We navigated every stage of growing up side by side, including a few questionable decisions that helped build character. We pushed each other and helped each other grow. Kacie was always the smart one. She was in the Gifted and Talented program, involved in everything, and naturally driven. She is also a black belt in taekwondo and was even on the taekwondo team at Ole Miss. I remember watching her back then and thinking she was going to do something great. I just knew it. She carried herself with a confidence and determination that set her apart, even as a teenager.
What I did not know was what I would become. Never, as a little girl, did I imagine I would own a magazine. I did not map it out or circle it in a yearbook as a future plan. Yet here we are. Both of us are local business owners, carving out our own paths in ways our younger selves could not have understood. I am not surprised by her success. I am humbled by the way life unfolds, drawing together friendship, faith, risk, and opportunity.
She is not alone. There are incredible women like Lesley Ledwell Dukelow, who serves as president of a truck manufacturing company, a role that would have been nearly unimaginable for many little girls a generation ago. I think about the young girls who see her now and quietly decide they could do that, too. That is how possibility spreads. Across Texarkana and across the world, women own businesses, lead organizations, serve as CEOs and presidents, and create opportunities not just for themselves but for others. They are building companies, mentoring the next generation, and changing the narrative about what leadership looks like.
That makes Texarkana better. That makes society stronger.
In this issue, we proudly celebrate our locally owned businesses, the ones that sponsor your child’s T-ball team, support booster clubs, donate to fundraisers, and show up when the community calls. They sit beside you at church, cheer beside you on Friday nights, and invest right back into the place we all call home. These are the businesses that give Texarkana its personality and its pride.
Back then, I had no idea what I was becoming. Now I get to spend my days sharing the successes, the stories, and the great things happening right here in our community.
So this month, shop local. Support the people who support you and who show up for this community every single day.
