Roseboro may be a small town but its heart is as vast as the vision its community leaders have shown over the past few years, a vision that has helped breathe new life into the western Sampson community.

Rather than accepting the fate that many small towns have seen over the years, Roseboro’s leaders rolled up their shirtsleeves and got busy finding a way to make their town viable even in the throes of changes that could have knocked the wind out of other less forward-thinking areas.

When word came that the four-laning of NC 24 would mean bypassing Roseboro, leaders didn’t fret, they looked at ways to turn what could have been considered a negative into a workable positive. Touting their town, as well as neighboring communities of Salemburg and Autryville as the “New Triangle,” a group of citizens are working to promote the area as a place to live, work and play, hoping to make it a bedroom community to Fayetteville.

That’s visionary and it’s laudable.

What’s more, it’s only one of many examples of ways community leaders are working to promote Roseboro, its businesses and its residents. From the planting of beautiful flowers and the addition of new banners touting the town’s new branding to the welcoming of new businesses and the support of mainstays, leaders are stressing the town’s positives at every turn.

And it’s working.

People are talking about what’s going on in Roseboro, and what’s being said is beginning to ignite activity that is drawing people to the area, exactly what leaders had hoped could be accomplished with a re-branding.

Roseboro may be considered a small town, but there are dozens upon dozens of businesses within its municipal limits, offering residents a vast array of services. Whether it’s grocery stores and restaurants, doctors and dentists, churches, furniture and pharmaceuticals, residents don’t have to travel far to have their needs met.

Add to that great schools and great recreational facilities at the Western District Park and suddenly it becomes clearer that Roseboro has a lot to offer both those who’ve lived there for years and those who, we hope, will find this community a great place to call their home.

In today’s C section, Roseboro leaders, along with dozens upon dozens of businesses and institutions, have offered their own celebration of a town on the cusp of something great. We have joined that celebration with our own offering both here and on the opening page of our Lifestyles section.

We encourage readers to peruse the section, shop the businesses, support the town and celebrate its willingness to take change by the horns and turn it in a positive direction.

We believe Roseboro is a town worth celebrating and its leaders – government and community members – worth touting for their innovative thinking and their tenacity.

Sampson County has many wonderful towns in its midst. Roseboro is one of those leading the pact in finding ways to accentuate its positives. We believe their ideas will, indeed, take root and bloom.