Earlier last week, I had the chance to speak to a local group of business professionals about The Vicksburg Post, our other companies, Speediprint and Signs First, and specifically, the newspaper’s role in the community.

Since 1883, The Vicksburg Post has been a strong and viable member of the Vicksburg and Warren County business community, and it is always a pleasure to be invited and talk about what we do and our goals of serving our community.

During my comments, I said that we — as a newspaper and media at large — do a good job of telling the story of everyone else, but do a terrible job of telling our own story.

And that made me think; we as residents of Vicksburg and Warren County do a poor job of telling and sharing our story with others.

While we sit here in a community with an amazing group of organizations that market and advertise Vicksburg to the world, promoting our parks, our attractions, our venues and our opportunities, they are only are one piece of the puzzle.

It is our job — those of us who live here — to tell and share our story, dispel rumors and promote all the great things here.

It is easy for me and my family, who moved here just over a year ago, to see and appreciate Vicksburg. From day one, we have been welcomed with open arms by neighbors, our church family and others in the community.

But now that we have lived here for more than a year, the job of helping promote Vicksburg and Warren County — selling others on why they should make their home here — is now part of our job, our responsibility.

In nearly every case, the first person a visitor to Vicksburg will meet is not someone from the award-winning Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. The first person a visitor to our town will meet is likely not going to be someone from the Vicksburg Convention Center or the Vicksburg Warren County Chamber of Commerce.

Instead, it is those who work at area stores, restaurants and gas stations who are on the front lines of our welcoming committee. It is those who run businesses, industries and organizations — who bring in new employees — who are among the first to help sell Vicksburg.

As for the rest of us, a welcoming smile, a tip of the hat, a brief “how you doing,” or a simply “good morning” go a long way.

The positives of our community far outweigh many others and things are only getting better.

New industries have moved in. New stores and restaurants are opening on a regular basis. Our beautiful downtown is gorgeous and offers an experience not found in many places.

Our public schools and private schools offer amazing curriculum, and those leading our education systems are driven to give Vicksburg a world-class education environment.

The list of things that make Vicksburg and Warren County a great place to live, work, play and pray is long, detailed and growing.

It is our job, our responsibility, to let others know by being better at telling our own story.

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Tim Reeves is publisher of The Vicksburg Post. You may reach him at tim.reeves@vicksburgpost.com or by calling 601-636-4545.