It Starts and Ends With Conversation BEN BROWN Communications & Multimedia Strategist REP. REECE PYRTLE ON THE JOY OF WORKING WITH PEOPLE Coffee shops, for communities of just about any size, are in that circuit of classic catch-up spots, where folks regularly process or transact together. Whether it’s the news crawl, personal life, or thoughts on the happenings locally, you can often find a good conversation at the coffee shop, noted state Rep. Reece Pyrtle on what was essentially a random Thursday morning in a java stop in uptown Eden called the Roasted Bean, where indeed a group of involved locals (not limited to Mayor Neville Hall, coincidentally) were caffeinating and casually going over the latest. For an elected official, particularly a state representative, connecting with people over conversation and common ground might just be the nature of the job. But for Rep. Pyrtle—a retired police chief who entered elected office as a county commissioner in 2016 before his appointment to the N.C. House in 2021—that’s the very point of interest. Over morning coffee at the Roasted Bean, Rep. Pyrtle spoke with Southern City about how, for him, public service truly is fulfilled by steady conversations and connections with people, including those from places of disagreement. But, first, we had to discuss the latest. ˘˘˘ What’s been going on in your world? As we speak, we’ve just wrapped up the primary work of the 2024 legislative short session. RP: Well, I enjoy being retired. And so it gives me a lot of opportunities to go around to different areas of the county and spend some time with different folks. Today I was at a— I’m a member of all the chambers here in the county and I try to attend their networking events and spend time having conversations with the constituents. You know, one of the things that I shared with them this morning is that, now that we’re out of session, my office remains open, and if there are any issues, please call. We have an amazing staff of great problem solvers, and I said, “You know what? Even if your problem isn’t necessarily something that we can handle or we can take care of, we can at least point you in the right direction or connect you with somebody that maybe can mitigate whatever issues you’re having.” And so, I’ve grown up in Rockingham County, you know, I’m a product of this county, and one of the things that I’ve always been doing—whether it was my background in law enforcement before I got into politics, or as a county commissioner, or now as a state representative—is just keeping those relationships open and active; I think that’s important. I think from a political standpoint, you know, one of the things that I pride myself in is that, as a police chief, you came into my office with the problem; I didn’t care where you live. I didn’t care anything about your socioeconomic background. And I’ve just taken that with me as a county commissioner and now in the North Carolina House. You call my office with an issue. I don’t care what your party affiliation is. I don’t care if you contributed to my campaign. My staff’s going to try to resolve your issue the best we can. I pride myself on trying to serve everyone in Rockingham County, and not just those that supported me when I was running for election. What inspired you to run for election or enter public service, to begin with? Some people go through life appreciating people but it never crosses their mind to jump in like that. RP: It’s something I’ve always had an interest in. My grandfather actually ran for sheriff of Rockingham County as a Republican, and I want to say that was in the ‘50s. So there’s a little bit of politics many years ago in the family. My dad was a World War II veteran, born in 1925. He passed away in 2004, had me kind of late in life. But he was always engaged in local, state, and even at the federal level, the political climate, maintaining what was going on in the world. He was one of those guys that read the paper from cover to cover, and he would often cut out articles for me to read. Because he was concerned I may not have seen it in the paper, about what’s going on. But he was very conservative. His best friend in this world was also a World War II veteran. My dad was in the Navy. His best friend was in the Marines. His best friend was on the other side of the political aisle, so to speak. And they often had great conversations. So, I think I got that from my dad. We often had great conversations about what was taking place in our community and in our state. So, you’ve preserved that aspect of life in public service, but it still comes with sacrifice. What makes it worthwhile? RP: You know, I’m a people person. So, I enjoy meeting people and having discussions about issues with folks that, although we don’t often agree, I think it’s important to understand the flip side of the pancake. One of the things I’ve often said is that every pancake’s got two sides. And I think it’s important to understand that although you may not agree with the different ideas, and outcomes that ought to take place, I think it’s important to understand where the other person is, where the other side’s coming from. And so, I value that. I really enjoy that. But I also SOUTHERN CITY Quarter 3 2024 20
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