NC Local’s inaugural live journalism event, The Heart of the Mountains: Stories from a year of courage, kindness, and community after Hurricane Helene, marked the one-year anniversary of the storm. The event demonstrated NC Local’s mission and values—providing a service to communities with journalism about important statewide and regional issues, centering the community’s voices on topics they care about, and collaborating with other news organizations.

  • Laura Lee | NC Local Editorial Director
  • Michael Hayes | Umoja Health, Wellness, and Justice Collective Founder & Executive Director
  • John Coffey | Black Mountain Fire Chief
  • Jason Sandford | Ashevegas Founder & Journalist
  • Travis Long | News & Observer Photojournalist
  • Diamond Vences | Charlotte Observer Videographer
  • Emily Cadmus | Buncombe County Special Collections Come Hell or High Water Project Coordinator
  • Lilly Knoepp | Blue Ridge Public Radio Senior Regional Reporter
  • Delia Jovel Dubón | Tierra Fértil Coop Co-Founder
  • Patricia Serrano | Enlace Latino NC Reporter & Producer
  • Amanda Watts | Yancey County Nurse & Field Hospital Organizer
  • Jacob Biba | Asheville Citizen Times Reporter
  • John Arndt | Swannanoa resident and whitewater kayaker
  • Ren Larson | The Assembly Reporter
  • Phillip Cooper | Operation Gateway & Voices of Affrilachia Founder
  • Laura Hackett | Blue Ridge Public Radio Helene Recovery Reporter
  • Brandon and Davie Davis | Owners of DayTrip
  • Sara Murphy | Freelance reporter and Beacon Tribune Editor
  • Donna Ray Norton | Madison County 8th-Generation Ballad Singer
  • Thomas Calder | The Mountain Xpress Managing Editor
  • With music from the Resonance Sessions: a powerful collection of live recordings featuring 35 regional musicians, captured in the Old Marshall Jail following the storm.

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