Storytellers from region are needed

The Daily American Republic is looking for storytellers.

We’re fortunate to have a great staff of news and sports reporters, as well as part-time writers from our region, who work to keep our region informed about everything from the day-to-day to the special.

But we make up only a small percentage of the life experiences, perspectives and communities in the seven-county area.

More than 100,000 people live in our coverage area.

We know there is more to see and know across Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Reynolds, Ripley, Stoddard and Wayne counties.

That’s why we’re reaching out to community leaders and others in search of more storytellers; People like retired teacher Nancy Vines of Dexter, who writes wonderful feature stories drawing on her connections to Stoddard County and the education community, or Pastor Dave Truncone of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren, who writes monthly faith-based columns.

Nancy has written stories like that of teen Ryder Boles’ battle against cancer, and how the Bruce family celebrated the birth of their first child in the midst of the pandemic. Truncone has written about his community’s struggles and successes as Van Buren worked to recover from historic flooding in 2017.

Both writers, and everyone else who contributes their knowledge to the DAR, help deepen the connections of the communities we serve to their neighbors.

The kind of storytellers we hope to find are inquisitive and detail-oriented. They are interested in sharing their skills with our region.

If you or someone you know might be interested in helping keep our region informed, please let me know at dfarley.dar@gmail.com.

Donna Farley is the editor of the Daily American Republic.