Ponderings by Dan Ponder

The Presbyterian Church (USA) holds a worldwide conference every two years.  I was honored to be chosen to represent the Flint River Presbytery in the 221st General Assembly held in Detroit this month.  The experiences and blessings were so far reaching for me that I know I can’t possibly convey everything I experienced in those…

The stately Westin Book Cadillac is majestically located on a downtown corner.  Inside it is as sleek and modern as any of its hotels in the upscale chain.  The corner room I have is an example of what hotel rooms used to be like. However, looking out the windows to the front, there is a…

A little over three years after buying the Donalsonville News, we just had the opportunity to see how other people thought we were doing.   The Virginia Press Association judged entries for this year’s Georgia Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.  Judging by the results, we are feeling pretty good. Of course, success has many different definitions. …

Life occasionally throws you things from the past that give you pause in the present.  Such was the case a few days ago when I discovered a picture of my first basketball team the same day that the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team was reportedly sold for Two Billion Dollars. I have said before that…

Each and every year I write my article about Memorial Day after the fact.  Part of that is because with weekly or bi-weekly newspapers, I have to write either before or after the last Monday in May.  Because the Memorial Day Weekend has been such a big part of my family’s tradition, I chose to…

Can it be true that my niece and nephew are graduating from high school already?  Has it really been eighteen years since their parents brought Addison and Davis home for the first time?   I know more of this year’s high school graduates than usual.  That is partially due to the fact that the twins…

“The mediocre teacher tells.  The good teacher explains.  The superior teacher demonstrates.  The great teacher inspires.”  This quote by William A. Ward could have been about many different teachers in my life.  Over the years, the list may have become a little fuzzy in my brain, but the teachers that truly inspired me during my…

I have been thinking about Heinz 57 for the past couple of days.  While I tend to think of it only as a steak sauce, its name actually came from the 57 varieties of products made by the H. J. Heinz Company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.   The first product marketed under the slogan “57…

I love my grandchildren and love being around them.   That’s no big secret to anyone who regularly reads my columns and I am not any different from most of you that have the blessing of grandchildren. The fact that my grandchildren live nearby, in Dothan and Bainbridge, is just an unexpected treat.  I try to…

There are several legal ways for a city government to operate.  Some have a full time Mayor, while others have what is known as a Strong Mayor system.  As the duties and responsibilities running even small towns and cities has become more complex, most of them have moved to the City Manager form of government.…