In every community, there are those among us who lead by quiet example. They seldom hold positions of power, nor do they have a title or any official designation that distinguishes them from their neighbors. Yet they are often the ones who, having found their own inspiration, serve to make us better people and a better community. The spark of imagination they ignite through the pursuit of their own dreams, passions and curiosity can spread down the street, through a neighborhood, across a community. Their stories are an inspiration and in the telling of their stories, others may be similarly inspired. In each edition, Progress tells the story of three of the “Inspired People” of our community.
Profiles by Slim Smith
Photos by Deanna robinson
John Folsom
The Starkville Community Band has just one requirement for membership: Show up, says director John Folsom.
Membership is reserved exclusively for those who show up.
“Some community bands in Georgia and other places have extremely skilled musicians and require auditions,” Folsom said. “We are a little different. We have a strict don’t ask, don’t tell policy: If you can play the piece, play it. If you can’t play a section, don’t play. You can jump in later.”
That criterion has created a band that plays purely for the joy of it.
“We have band members who are middle schoolers and teens, but most of our band is made up of people in their 60s and 70s,” Folsom said. “A lot of them haven’t played music in years and aren’t sure they can play. For them, having an opportunity to play again means the world to them.”
Folsom said he was particularly excited when MSU football legend and Hall of Famer Charlie Weatherly approach him about joining the band.
“He said he in high school he played in the band during halftime, so I said, ‘sure, we’d love to have you.’ So here he is, at age 90, playing in the band and obviously enjoying himself.”
Folsom has been director of the Starkville Community Band since 2019, overseeing the transition of the band from a group of lesser-skilled members of the Mississippi State band program to a community band in every sense of the word.
Folsom, 74, was a high school and college band director in Alabama and Georgia for 45 years. The experience of building a band from a group with varying skills has served him well.
“I never really knew what I wanted to do for a living,” Folsom said. “I was graduate student when a high school band director retired. I was asked if I wanted the job. I guess you could say the job found me.”
The Starkville Community Band holds two performances each in the spring and fall.
The band practices on Monday evenings at MSU’s band hall, which also serves as its primary concert venue.
“The program is based on the strengths and weaknesses of the band members,” Folsom said. “We want this to be a fun and successful experience for them. Really, that’s the entire point.”
Naomi Palagi
The way Naomi Palagi sees it, everyone is an artist, even if they don’t realize it.
She is determined to share that message through a program she brought to the Columbus Arts Council after moving to Columbus with her husband, Jason, a biology professor at MUW.
Known primarily for her poetry, Palagi views creativity as part of everyday life.
“My paycheck comes from being a bookkeeper, but my passion is art,” she said. “I write poetry, hum, restore furniture and sew. It’s all connected.”
The idea of encouraging people to discover their own artistic bent began to percolate in college when she and her classmate, Acacia Reed, put together a program that became “All in the Same Breath Cultural Exchange.” It is an open mic-style event held twice a month, through an in-person meeting at the Rosenzweig Arts Center and a virtual meeting on Zoom, where attendees discuss or perform their current works of art for five-minute sets.
The event began in 2021 after Palagi moved to Columbus, where she saw a void of spaces artists could present their works without the judgment or monetary barriers of other events like poetry workshops or open mics.
“I wanted to be able to be around people and talk about art and do art,” Palagi said. “And an open mic is not really the place for that. … There’s no getting into the meat of it, and I think artists put a lot of thought into the meat of it and what it means to them.”
During its first three years, All in the Same Breath was held virtually before transitioning to in-person events at Columbus-Lowndes Public Library. In 2023, it landed at the Rosenzweig Arts Center, where it’s been ever since.
While it struggled with consistent attendance as locations changed, the group has finally found its footing in its new home..
Locations have change, but not the format
“The presentation can be about anything — a work in progress, a finished work, roller skating, crafts, a song, whatever it is they are pursuing,” Palagi said. “After that, we have a little session where the group talks about whatever caught their attention in the presentation. It’s not about offering suggestions or what can be improved, so it’s not so scary.”
Palagi said the events serve as an affirmation for the presenter and inspiration for the group.
“I’ve had people who came and insisted they didn’t have anything to present, but just wanted to listen,” she said. “Then, after listening to the presentations for a while, they’ll say, ‘You know, I do have this poem I’ve been working on.’ That’s really the goal of the program. Everything has a connection. It helps people see that.”
Frances Smith
When Frances Smith and her husband, Bob, moved to her hometown of West Point in 2014 after retiring, she wanted to meet people and make a connection to the community.
To that end, she began volunteering and serving as a board member of The Mission, a residential addiction program for men. More recently, she has started an organization called Play It Forward to raise funds to install musical play equipment on the Sally Kate Winters Park playground.
What she had not expected to help her make connections in town was a game she had never heard of.
“My daughter mentioned that I should learn how to play mahjong,” Smith said. “I’d never heard of it.”
Mahjong is a traditional tile-based game that originated in China and is now played worldwide. In fact, the popularity of the game has taken off in the U.S., eclipsing both bridge and canasta as popular tabletop games.
“I have always been a game person,” Smith said. “I grew up in a large family and we all played games. When I started to learn a little about mahjong, I began to see how adaptable it was. It’s something you can play with multiple generations. The game is designed for four players, but you can play a derivation with three or even two players. It suits almost any situation. The game last about 40 minutes., so depending on what time you have, you can play as many games as you want.”
No one has been a greater ambassador for mahjong than Smith, who has organized a mahjong club that features regular tournaments for both beginners and more experienced players. Smith teaches the afternoon and evening classes on alternating Tuesdays at the Louise Campbell Arts Center in downtown West Point.
The biggest event is The Mahjong March Madness Tournament, which has become a major fund-raiser for The Mission.
The tournament has already started to draw players from Memphis, Oxford, Amory, Columbus and more to register, Smith said.
“People that play it really are passionate about it and love it, and they want other players to learn about it and love it too,” Smith said.
“We’ve also started a kids camp,” Smith said. “In fact, I’m teaching a variation of the game to my 3-year-old grandchild. It’s a wonderful game on so many levels .”