Clinton native Claire Fox has been hired as The Sampson Independent’s newest content writer. Fox grew up here, and is a class of 2015 graduate of Clinton High School.
Her whole life, she said, could be summed up with a love for words. “As soon as I could hold a book, I was found with one close by at all times,” she attested.
Once she learned to write she could be found filling journals, documenting things she found interesting, and making handwritten notes for her family and friends. Language Arts and English were always among her favorite classes in school, and she said she even preferred essay questions on tests because she could count on getting at least partial credit for a well written answer.
Fox said writing has always come naturally to her. “More natural than speaking, I would say.”
She earned the North Carolina Young Authors Award in third grade, and has gravitated toward any opportunity to write ever since.
Fox has a love for stories, details, and discovering the truth. She said she has hoped for a chance to use her love of writing professionally, and is thrilled to get to write for the very newspaper she has clippings of from her time in Girl Scouts, soccer, and academic clubs in the Clinton City Schools.
“I look forward to reporting on the community I grew up in, highlighting the rich diversity, school spirit, and strong roots of Sampson County,” Fox stressed.
Publisher Sherry Matthews said she was just as excited as Fox about having her join the SI news team.
“She is so enthusiastic about writing: I just love that about her,” Matthews said. “I can already tell she loves this county, and she understands so much about this community and its people. Just those two aspects, alone, make her a perfect fit for our newsroom.”
Matthews said like editor Anthony Goodman, a Sampson County native, Claire’s roots in the community offer a unique opportunity for the newspaper to have home-grown writers reporting on areas they are very familiar with and interviewing people with whom they can relate on a granular level
“I see a lot of my younger self in her, really — a love of writing, a love of community and a love of telling stories in a place like Sampson where there are hundreds of stories to tell. She has the potential to be a long-time contributor to a paper that she grew up with and can only make better as she grows as a writer,” the SI publisher noted.
Goodman said he shared much of Matthews’s optimism regarding Fox joining the editorial team. “Having a teammate who is from here can be so advantageous for all of us. Though she’s new to us, she’s not new to the area, which will benefit her a great deal, I truly believe,” Goodman said.
Fox will be covering the Clinton City Schools system, its staff and students, the town of Roseboro, the town of Newton Grove, the town of Garland, the Sampson County Board of Commissioners, as well as writing feature stories.
”Growing up here, I know how much value and depth can be found in small towns, and I look forward to showcasing all the rich aspects of our community,” Fox said.