It’s an important year for the historic Bladen County plantation home and grounds in White Oak known as Harmony Hall Plantation Village.

The past 12 months have been rough ones for the iconic Revolutionary War-era house built by Col. James Richardson. Despite getting a new cedar-shingle roof that was long overdue, the group that oversees the plantation was rocked by a coup that resulted in the resignation of brothers Seth and Bobby Lewis from the board.

Things were further muddied when Bobby Lewis suddenly passed away and the new board relieved Tony Parnell of his duties as treasurer.

Quite frankly, though the new board — which operated through a majority of 2016 without an official president — maintained Harmony Hall Plantation Village at a bare bones level, the site’s events, publicity and attendance were hardly at a level built by the previous board’s leadership.

It’s our feeling that Harmony Hall is at a fork in the road.

While there remains a core of folks who truly have a love for the historic, 255-year-old plantation, the leadership of the committee has been sorely lacking for several months.

If Harmony Hall is to be a destination site for those interested in touring the home and several buildings that dot the grounds, then simply maintaining a bare-bones presence that feature a couple of hours on Sundays and a few events a year won’t cut it.

The committee desperately needs new blood and lots of it — those interested in creating something bigger and better. After all, Harmony Hall isn’t only one of the most important sites in Bladen County, but in all of North Carolina. There are very few buildings still standing that date back to about 1760, and perhaps none that have the legacy and lore Harmony Hall offers.

If that committee can get beefed up with individuals who care about the plantation site, it will be important to select leaders to fill strategic board positions — leaders who will be active on a consistent basis looking for ways to improve the current events, create new events, find reasons for local, regional and statewide publicity, and look for grants and funding opportunities to keep the Plantation Village thriving.

This is no time for egos, strong-armed wills or petty in-fighting — all of which have plagued the oversight of this hidden gem over the recent past.

The reversal begins on Thursday, when the committee meets for the very first time in 2017 — at 7 p.m. in the Elizabethtown Municipal Building’s council chambers. It’s the right time for anyone who may be interested in keeping Harmony Hall alive to come and find out what kind of roll they may be able to play.

We fear, should the Harmony Hall Committee not use 2017 to really step up and put strong leadership at the controls, the decline may become too far gone to reverse and the plantation site will return to its pre-2000 decay.

We hope to see you there on Thursday.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader … they set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role, always about the goal.” (Anonymous)