“What is the Singing River Trail?” “Why would anyone hire a historian to build a 200+ mile greenway system?” “What do you know about North Alabama . . . you’re not even from here?” “Why is the Huntsville Business Journal covering North Alabama?”

These are all valid questions and ones that I’ve had to answer many times, but ones that also hint at why the Huntsville Business Journal asked me to write a regular column about our region.

Twice a month, we’ll bring you a column that will be part dispatches from the Singing River Trail and part insight that comes from crisscrossing North Alabama as the Executive Director of a project that binds together eight counties, twenty-six towns and cities, and a quarter of Alabama’s population.

The Trail will be an economic development tool, a magnet for job and opportunity creation, a place that binds rural and urban initiatives, and something that will create civic pride. This column will reflect those points.

We don’t need to take a HudsonAlpha DNA test to know that North Alabama is blessed to have good people, wonderful communities, and bountiful natural resources. The “who cares” is that there is a welder from California, an FBI agent in Virginia, and an engineer in Tennessee who is thinking about moving to North Alabama.

When they search us, what do they find? They see TVA, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Google, and UG White. It all matters because it shows opportunity and a quality of life that is attractive.

So what is the Singing River Trail? It is a 200+ mile greenway system that will cross North Alabama from Bridgeport to the Shoals. It will connect people together at a time when we seem to be pulling apart. It will bind our communities together; embracing what makes us unique and whole while confronting challenges that have held us back.

It will be a place where you can find physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health and wellness during trying days. It will be a reason to visit North Alabama and allow someone not from here to turn to their person and say “I could live here;” creating a new worker, a better quality of life, and new opportunities in Alabama.

Finally, it will create new jobs, businesses, and aspirations for ALL of our citizens regardless of where they live, how they live, or their circumstances.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Why would anyone hire a historian to build a 200+ mile greenway system? Because history majors have been taught and trained to do anything from public speaking, fast reading, effective writing, and to listen more and talk less (well, I try). The Singing River Trail will not be an engineering feat, but an investment in the people and places of North Alabama.

Lastly, why is the Huntsville Business Journal talking about North Alabama when it only has Huntsville in its name? Because it takes a region to support Huntsville and vice versa. This column will be about Sheffield, Courtland, Guntersville, and Scottsboro and spots you have never heard of and how they will work with Huntsville and show how our region is growing. This is a Huntsville publication. We get it. But a broader picture tells a more complete story. We will show you a region full of possibilities . . . from quantum computers to milkshakes. From the Singing River Trail to the next big project.

Remember, I’m not trying to get to Mars. I am trying to get to you.

Photos: Courtesy of the Singing River Trail