By Robert Basinger

A second-generation educator with Rowan-Salisbury Schools, I try to stay attuned to elections that will directly affect the lives of public school students, teachers, administrators and support staff. This year’s election for Rowan County commissioner is among the most critical ever for Rowan County residents. I am proud to endorse Alissa Redmond for this esteemed office. 

Since her arrival in Salisbury in 2019 to assume ownership of South Main Book Company, Alissa Redmond has been a force for positive change in the community. Her independent bookstore has become the focal point of intellectual life for residents — like me, my family, friends and colleagues in education — who love to read. South Main is one of the gems of downtown Salisbury, where readers have immediate access to a wide selection of bestsellers, critically acclaimed fiction and non-fiction, and curated works from almost every literary genre. (I often go in just to peruse the international cookbooks…and to snuggle with Hazelnut, Alissa’s dog and frequent bookstore denizen.)

Alissa Redmond has contributed thousands of dollars’ worth of books to Little Free Libraries around Rowan County, replenishing stocks during the height of the pandemic, when schools were closed. To further her mission of promoting childhood literacy, Alissa converted a “mini” fire truck into a bookmobile, with the express purpose of distributing children’s books at parades and other community events. Like our mutual heroine, Dolly Parton (founder of the international Imagination Library), Alissa recognizes that childhood literacy — and a love of reading — is foundational for future academic and professional success.

Alissa Redmond is also the mother of two students in the Rowan-Salisbury Schools System and is an active participant at both their schools. She is a volunteer librarian at Southeast Middle School and a board member of Communities in Schools of Rowan County, which dedicates essential resources, tutoring and wraparound supports to high-need and at-risk students in our public schools. One of her central platform items is to recruit and retain highly qualified educators to Rowan County and specifically to Rowan-Salisbury Schools. 

A small business owner, parent and pillar of the community, Alissa Redmond is uniquely positioned to represent a wide cross-section of Rowan County residents. For many of us, her bookstore represents the best of Salisbury and a tantalizing glimpse of what Salisbury could be: a mecca for economic growth (particularly new, thriving independent businesses), diversity, inclusivity and multiculturalism. 

Alissa Redmond “walks the talk” and is an example to us all of the ripple effect one person with a vision can have in a small, Southern community. I am excited to see her continue to make waves as a Rowan County commissioner. 

Robert Basinger lives in Salisbury.