09/09/2026
Linger Longer in Lumberton
Recently, I came across this Facebook Pic from our Lumberton Visitors Bureau featuring the slogan, “Linger Longer in Lumberton.”
Personally, I think it is catchy, memorable, and inviting. Unfortunately, many of the comments beneath the post were anything but inviting. Some were dismissive, others were derogatory, and several seemed determined to reduce our entire community to its shortcomings.
Honestly, they made me angry.
Not because Lumberton is perfect. It certainly is not. We have real challenges, and there is nothing wrong with honestly acknowledging them. But there is a difference between confronting a community’s problems because you want it to become better and tearing it down because cynicism is easier than hope.
August 23 marked 14 years since I was fortunate enough to open Chick-fil-A here in Lumberton. At the time, I knew precious little about Lumberton or Robeson County. I simply knew that Chick-fil-A was giving me an incredible opportunity, and I was excited to come here—even though some people shared their misgivings about the community with me in the months leading up to our grand opening.
In the nearly decade and a half since then, we have grown from one restaurant to two. We have employed more than 1,000 people and served literally millions of customers. More importantly, I have come to truly love Lumberton—and I have been fortunate to feel that love returned.
I have seen the character of this community revealed through both celebration and heartbreak.
Just a few months after we opened, we tragically lost one of our team members, Zach Murdock, in a vehicle accident. In the days that followed, his family, friends, and coworkers poured into our restaurant because they needed a place where they could simply be together and mourn together. Our restaurant became more than a place to buy chicken. It became a gathering place for people who were hurting.
When Hurricane Matthew devastated our area, flooding homes and businesses and leaving us without running water for nearly a month, I watched strangers from every walk of life take care of one another. People who may never have met under ordinary circumstances became neighbors and friends because the circumstances demanded compassion, generosity, and courage.
Two years later, when Hurricane Florence brought more flooding and heartbreak, I watched Lumberton respond again.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many of us lost loved ones, faced financial uncertainty, or simply wrestled with fear of the unknown, I saw that same spirit of care and resilience emerge once more.
Time and time again, I have watched this community rally around people in need. I have seen Lumberton care for its own despite the differences that society constantly tells us should divide us. I have witnessed quiet acts of goodness that may never make the news unless someone is intentional about telling those stories—but they reveal far more about the heart of this community than the comments beneath a Facebook post ever could.
That is why I am grateful for the deliberate work of the Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce and its Image Committee. Since 2019, the committee has met each month with the purpose of promoting the good and positive things happening throughout Lumberton and Robeson County. Through its Trending in Robeson page, the committee helps tell the stories that too often go unnoticed and reminds us that our community is filled with people, organizations, and businesses making a meaningful difference every day.
Again, we are not perfect—not by any stretch of the imagination. But civic pride does not require us to ignore our problems. It asks us to believe that our problems are not the whole story and that our future does not have to be defined by our past.
I remain genuinely excited about the future of Lumberton. I believe this can be an outstanding place to live, work, raise a family, visit, and do business. That future will be built by people who choose to see the glass as half full, who are willing to invest rather than merely criticize, and who believe our best days are still ahead of us.
So, Lumberton, let me offer a heartfelt thank-you.
Thank you for embracing this New England boy and welcoming him as an adopted son. I am proud to do business here. I am grateful for the more than 1,000 people from this community who have worked alongside me. I am humbled by the millions of guests who have trusted us to serve them. And I hope that, during these first 14 years, our organization has made a positive difference in the community that has given so much to us.
Lord willing, we will have many more years together.
We may never silence every negative voice, but together we can answer them—with our service, our generosity, our progress, and the stories we choose to tell. Let’s continue pointing people toward the tremendous amount of goodness that already exists here while working side by side to make our community even better.
I love you, Lumberton.
Let’s keep showing everyone why this truly is a wonderful place to linger longer.
- Mark B. Morse
