3 Inspired People: Spring 2023
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.
Bob Seitz
Bob Seitz made his living selling food, but the payment he receives is a different sort of currency.
For the past 10 years, Seitz, who used to own and operate a quick serve pizza business, has volunteered with Project Homestead Food Pantry in his hometown of West Point. His primary job is to oversee the arrival of donated food and portion it out for the 400 to 450 families served by the pantry.
“People can get behind the 8-ball pretty quick. We want to be there when they do,” said Seitz, 62.
Project Homestead opens its door each Tuesday and Thursday for those in need of food.
“Usually, a family will walk out with two, three, sometimes four grocery bags of food,” he said. “A lot of the food comes from the Mississippi Food Network out of Jackson, but we also get food donations from Walmart, Dollar General and other stores. Churches have canned-goods drives that go to us. Other groups collect food for us, too. We also use cash donations to buy food, depending on what’s available at any given time.”
The pantry, located at the old gym on the campus of Mary Holmes College, is run by volunteers and supported by churches, civic groups and individuals.
“Community Counseling means a lot to us, too,” he said. “They pay the rent, pest control, utilities, and those things add up. Really, it would be hard for us to do what we do without their support.”
In his time there, Seitz said he’s come to know the backstories of many of the pantry’s users.
“So many of them have just fallen on hard times, temporary situations when they just need a little help,” he said. “Somebody’s house burns down or they lose a job. It takes a while to recover and in the meantime, they could use some help. What we do doesn’t provide everything. ... It’s a supplement, but a lot of times it means they can make ends meet until they can get back on their feet. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never been in that position, but a lot of good people have.”
Juliette Reid
In her 15 months as program coordinator for the Starkville Area Arts Council, Juliette Reid has discovered the role the arts play in a college town.
“(Mississippi State) is what brings a lot of people to Starkville,” Reid says. “The arts are what keeps them here.”
That’s certainly true in Reid’s case, a Missouri native who enrolled at Mississippi State in 2014 to study English.
“I didn’t have any connection with Mississippi State back then,” said Reid, now 25. “What I did know is that I didn’t want to go to school in Missouri. My boyfriend said, ‘What about Mississippi?’ I knew I didn’t want to go to Ole Miss, so I said, ‘How about Mississippi State?’”
Upon graduating with a degree in English in 2019, Reid might easily have joined the exodus of MSU graduates.
“When you get a degree in English, people naturally assume you want to be an English teacher. Reid said. “I never wanted to be an English teacher, so when I graduated I started looking around for something I could do that was kind of English-y or Communications-y. This kind of fell into my lap.”
Reid joined SAAC as a Americorps Vista paid volunteer after graduation. After that two-year volunteer position expired at the end of 2021, she moved into a regular position as programs coordinator.
“From my time with Vista, the job has evolved into grant writing, marketing, social media and coordinating volunteers and, of course, putting together programs,” she said. “I like the variety. It’s worked for me so far.”
Reid sees her work and that of the SAAC as something like being the man behind the curtain from “The Wizard of Oz.”
“People may not know events they are attending are our work, and that’s OK,” she said. “For me, the fulfillment is working on something for months and months that turns out to be one big day that draws thousands of people to events, like the Cotton District Art Festival. Seeing the results of all that hard, behind-the-scenes work is the part of the job I enjoy most.”
Garrett Torbert
When Garrett Torbert moved to Columbus in 2020 and joined the Mississippi State University Music Department as a voice instructor, he figured he had left the world of musical theater behind him.
In an odd sort of way, it was a failed attempt to open a neighborhood bodega that led him back to musical theater.
“I had everything set up for the bodega, then something happened to the facility I was leasing and they had to give me my money back,” Torbert said. “I kept noticing that every step I took, there was some hurdle in the way. So like a lot of people were doing during the COVID period, I stepped back and thought about going another direction.”
The new idea was to create a children’s theater program in Columbus.
Unlike the bodega, the pieces began to fall into place.
“When I decided to do this, everything I needed to pursue it came to me in a way I was able to pursue it to the fullest,” he said. “I took that as a testament that I’m doing what I should be doing, even though it wasn’t my first idea.”
Torbert, 30, used his experience in opera and musical theater, both regionally and nationally, to shape Golden Triangle Theatre.
“We started with 15 kids,” he said. “Now, we have about 60.”
Torbert said he chose to establish the theater in Columbus, but it’s a Golden Triangle program with 15 members from West Point and another 12 from Starkville.
“I could have started the theater in Starkville where I work, but I realized there was such a need in Columbus,” he said. “There wasn’t anything here for kids in music and theater.”
Torbert’s efforts have been supported by a very active board.
Each semester, Torbert’s kids put on a show, most recently “Annie,” in late February.
“It was absolutely great, I thought,” Torbert said. “We had 700 kids come to the shows and it was fun to hear so many of the kids in the audience singing along. We’ve put on a show every semester, always adding something as we grow. This time it was theater lighting. We’re building from one show to another and growing our group. I couldn’t be more excited.”
PROFILES BY Slim Smith
SEITZ AND REID PHOTOS BY Rory Doyle
TORBERT PHOTO PROVIDED BY Garrett Torbert
