Coffee and Conversation

Every first Friday, the Chamber of Commerce hosts a gathering at On Cue Restaurant to spotlight local town officials, group leaders, and businesses that affect local policies, and to explain and discuss what’s happening in the area: nothing fancy, just an hour of grown adults talking about what’s happening in Warren County. You know, the stuff people claim they desperately care about online, between posting memes and arguing with strangers.

A core group shows up every month. They drink coffee, ask questions, get real answers, and somehow manage to do it without threatening to “move out of the county!!!” It’s wild. Meanwhile, social media is overflowing with folks who can write thesis-length rants about local government but mysteriously cannot spare 60 minutes to hear from the actual humans running things.

Attendance? A few dozen. Percentage-wise? Less than 1% of the population.

Let’s be honest: if your grand strategy for improving the community is posting angry paragraphs on a Facebook page at 11:47 PM, you’re not exactly the hero Warren County needs. You’re just providing free entertainment for everyone who turned off notifications months ago.

And here’s the real kicker: these meetings often highlight local groups and programs that could genuinely use volunteers – actual, real-life help. Not Facebook-like “thoughts and prayers” help. It’s important to stick your neck out, show up, and get involved. How can anyone expect things to change if all they do is watch from a distance and complain? Spoiler alert: progress rarely springs from the comments section.

So maybe next First Friday, consider stopping in for a cup of coffee. Who knows? You might even become part of the solution instead of just part of the noise or discover that the real power to change things isn’t in your keyboard… It’s in showing up.

Sue Laurence
Front Royl, VA

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