APG MEDIA EAST BEGINS PLANNING EVENTS IN 2023

In January, 2023 APG Media East located in Greenville, North Carolina started from ground zero and begun planning and executing a variety of in-person events with their existing daily and non-daily papers. The goal was to garner new print and digital revenue streams and engage more within the community. Planning events right after COVID has not been without its challenges. Although many of the events were successful, each event was a way to engage more with the community and give back in various ways. The planning team has learned a lot, adjusted various event themes, preserved past events bringing them back into the light and learned a lot along the way.

Christina Ruotolo, Regional Events Director for APG Media East and the events team have completed a variety of events so far in 2023 showcasing The Duplin Times, The Daily Advance, and The Daily Reflector newspaper. The first few events hosted by The Daily Reflector included a Bride and Groom’s Night Out Thursday, February 16, 2023 in Ayden, N.C. with over twenty regional bridal vendors taking part. They followed this up with the Feast in The East food truck event Saturday, February 26, 2023. The event featured food trucks from across the region, bouncy houses for the kids, family fun and food trucks competed to win Best Food Truck. Cousins Maine Lobster food truck took 1st place.

On Saturday, March 4, 2023 The Duplin Times hosted a Mommy & Me Tea which featured Karolyn Martin, Miss North Carolina 2022 along with local Miss North Carolina contestants. The event took place at The Mad Boar Restaurant in Wallace, N.C. The event had a great turn out and allowed local pageant contestants and mothers and daughters the opportunity to meet Miss North Carolina, visit with over fifteen vendors, decorate crowns and enjoy tea and finger foods.

On April 1, 2023, The Greenville Daily Reflector co-hosted a Senior Health & Wellness Expo with the Pitt County Health Department. Dozens of health and medical vendors took part and patrons enjoyed various free health screenings. On April 19, 2023, The Daily Advance in Elizabeth City, N.C. hosted the 2023 Best of the Albemarle Awards Banquet at the Museum of the Albemarle. During the sold-out event over 100 awards were handed out to businesses in the east.

To round out the winter and spring season, The Greenville Daily Reflector partnered with Her Magazine for the Her Magazine Shopping Spree at the Greenville, N.C. Convention Center on Thursday, May 4, 2024. The event was co-hosted by The Center for Family Violence Prevention and patrons “Shopped to Stop Domestic Violence.” Over 45 vendors took part in the day long event. $1,000 from ticket sales was donated to The Center for Family Violence Prevention. This is just a taste of the events that have occurred in eastern North Carolina through APG Media East and much more is still to come.

Wedding Day Bliss

Iris Festival Fun With the Greeneville Sun

Military Memorial Ground Breaking Celebration

Celebrating the ground breaking of a 45 ft. tower memorializing the lives lost in the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut happened in Port Charlotte, Florida. The tower more than $2 million will replicate the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut. The park is named after William R. Gaines Jr., a young Marine and Charlotte High School graduate who was among 241 killed in the Oct. 23, 1983 bombing. The Fourth of July celebrates our freedom. These brave soldiers died for our freedom