S7 E2: Dreaming Big in a Small Town with Schumata Brown

What does it take to turn a “passage to the beach” into a small-town destination? We sit down with Maysville’s town manager, Schumata Brown, to unpack a lifetime of roots, the courage to lead at home, and the practical playbook for rural revival: professional management, grant-first funding, and a community that sees itself with fresh eyes.

Schumata shares how growing up where everyone knew your name forged integrity and accountability that guide every decision today. From rebranding the gateway sign to acquiring distressed buildings before the grant money was certain, we walk through the bold bets that lit a spark on Main Street—now home to mixed-use apartments, a new laundromat, and the kind of construction fences that signal progress, not decay.

We also honor the people who laid the groundwork whose stories shaped Maysville’s identity, plus Schumata's own family legacy in public service. If you care about rural development, civic leadership, and turning pride into projects, this story delivers a clear, gritty blueprint. 

Transcript

Meet Maysville’s Town Manager

SPEAKER_04 0:04

On this edition of Flippin the Switch, we have a special guest joining us here in the studio, and it is Shemada Brown from Maysville. For those of you who don't know, Shimada is on the circuit of all things small community-wise. I see him a lot in Jones County, and we're happy to have him here at Jones Onslo with us today. Welcome, Shemada.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 0:25

Shimada's been a fixture, I think, in Maysville your whole life, right? Entire life. Which is incredible. So can you kind of tell us a little bit about your life early on in Maysville?

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Yes. You know, definitely grew up where a time where value was important, right? That is true. There's a different day and different time. Growing up, everybody knew your name, right? Everybody knew who you were, your mom and dad.

SPEAKER_04 0:47

And you better not get in trouble because a neighbor will tell. Number one thing, right? Yep.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

So you had to learn integrity real quick, right? That is true. So that that brought a lot of integrity into me. And that also it made me remember that your name's gonna carry you a long way. So you better make sure you have a good reputation.

SPEAKER_04 1:05

And I think that speaks volumes to the person you are today, for sure. I think so. Yeah, you have inspired a lot of people in the community to come home. So whenever you were in high school, did you think you would stay in Maysville?

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Yes. I I I don't think I had any um desire to leave. I did join the reserves kind of sort of, but I knew I always wanted to stay in Maysville, a small town.

SPEAKER_04 1:26

For sure. Now, can you tell us a little bit about what you do for the town of Maysville currently?

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Yes, I'm currently the town manager. Um this June, gonna be 10 years. That's a long time. I can't believe how long it's been.

SPEAKER_04 1:38

Um He started when he was 12.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

You laugh, but uh my previous career I actually did 20 years there um before I came to Maysville. And uh these 10 years have flown by as well.

SPEAKER_04 1:51

Can you kind of tell us a little bit about what made you want to become the town manager at Maysville?

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Yes, I actually um got into politics by chance. I would have said I was coaching, doing a little bit in the community, you know what I mean, being a volunteer, and you know, being approached, hey, you ought to start getting the political career, let's run for the county uh town board seat that I ran. Okay. Actually won. It was a funny story. Uh at the time that I ran, uh, Maysville didn't have early voting.

SPEAKER_04 2:17

Oh, yeah.

Growing Up With Integrity And Roots

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Um and I was in Florida at the time, so I couldn't even vote for myself during the book. Oh, how funny. It ended up winning that election and getting the most votes and serving on the board for a few years. And what I saw uh right before I got on the board, the town made a decision to go to the manager, council former governor, where you have a town manager. We used to be a mayor, council former government, and it just wasn't working. I think this has been the best decision that that previous board made was moving into a manager. And what I saw was Maysville was beginning to be a breeding ground for town managers.

SPEAKER_04 2:51

And can you tell us a little bit about what that type of governance looks like for you guys?

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Yeah, now that we are in that manager form of government, the manager in the day-to-day operations. So you have someone there today, every day, applying for grants, right? Managing the town.

SPEAKER_04 3:05

You do a great job with that.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Thank you. Uh so at previously, yeah, the mayor, and most of the mayors work a full-time job, so they didn't have that time to dedicate to that. You know what I mean? I recommend a lot of small towns investing into a town manager. Uh, you know, they well, we don't have the budget, but I I asked them, would you pay just say$70,000 a year for a million-dollar return? Right. If you wouldn't. Right. If your manager is getting you back those type of grant money, I think that investment is worth it.

SPEAKER_04 3:34

Well, now, you know, one thing that I can say is that you are in and out of the office all the time in the community, and having that latitude to be able to do that in the community and be seen helped the folks that live in Maysville know who you are. That's right. And know that you're doing everything in your power to make this a special place. So for you, you know, coming into this role was a big step for you. Were you nervous about becoming a town manager?

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Absolutely. I I again I come out of the the private sector building yachts, right? And I'm coming into the public sector, you know, running under government, and it was, and it was a culture shock, right? I come out of a place where if you were one minute late, they would write you up. You know what I mean? They cared about the bottom line, it was all about production. So I walk in Maysville the first day, employees coming in five minutes late, got their coffee, then sit down at the desk and leave. You know what I mean? I was like, huh, I see why government is always uh ridiculed for not being efficient. You know what I mean? Right. You didn't do it that way and uh, you know, in the private sector, you know, and I brought some of those things over to the private sector, which which was tough on employees, kind of a culture shock, but I'm just telling them this is how we're gonna turn Maysville around.

SPEAKER_04 4:46

And I think you've done that. You know, you think about a person with a servant leader's heart, you're definitely that person. And for you, what are some of the things that have stood out as a leader in your own community for you?

From Private Sector To Public Service

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Uh, you know, the the Bible tells you you can't be a prophet in your own town, right? You know, I always heard that it, you know, I mean, like, what did it mean? But you know, sometimes I understand being a leader in your own town. Again, going back to growing up there, right? Oh, they see me bust out one, you know, with BB guns, right? Now this guy's gonna, you know, leave the town, right? So, but I think also as them saying that, hey, maybe this guy's not a knucklehead. He's he's turning, you know, uh the town around. That has been very refreshing and rewarding. And also you you you gotta think um my parents lived there. My grandparents were there, my great-grandparents, my kids are there now, my you know, my grandkids, and being able to make that decision and you know and move the town forward has has been it's gonna create a ripple effect for generations now.

SPEAKER_04 5:45

It is uh Black History Month this month, as you are aware. And being a leader in your community means a lot of things, but one of the special things to me about Maysville is that it does have a terrific past as far as like generations have stayed there. And how do you think the history of Maysville is reflected for you personally? You know, whether it's you like Black History Month or in general, like the generational impact that it's made.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Yeah, I think it's you know, you talk about black history, it is the history of you know Maidsville. It for sure is. I mean, you're talking about the churches, the business owners, and all that. They had a part of being the fabric, you know, of Maysville, you know, and something special, you know, growing up going to church. It was a guy named J. E. Morris that they had named the church uh annexation out of. And, you know, he was interminable in getting a school there, you know, the Black Rosenwald school. Oh, yeah. So he was very and he actually helped build houses around there. So that name was huge, and you just listen, you know, to those stories, and then you see, you know, I mean, I again my uncle uh was the first black mayor. Um, and it shows now that you know they named the park. That's a fact. And then coming in leading after, you know, the first black mayor, being my uncle. I mean, that's just it was in your blood, right? Right. And you know, and you're seeing others that you know around town that has impacted, you know, my neighbor. I think he's one of the most decorated vets that. Oh, really? I mean, he was I mean, this guy went in and listed, he was so good that they commissioned him. You mean I had a actually talk with him and he said, no, I didn't ever go to college or whatever. They commissioned me and he ended up retiring to major. And as a kid, I remember this guy had so much power, he would land helicopters in Maysville and come on home. You know, that's incredible. Other Brooks, I mean, he was, you know, again, one of the most decorated vets. I mean, that don't get recognized. And his brother, I mean, his brother Henry Books was the bicentennial soldier of the army, right? Wow. From right from Maysville, um, that played the role in, you know, in the Maysville.

SPEAKER_04 7:45

So I think there's a lot of um hidden stories or gems within Maysville that the world doesn't know about, but probably needs to for sure. Right. You know, the history of Maysville is something, you know, gr if you've grown up in Onslow or Jones County, you've seen it kind of change through the years and you knew what it when you were little or whenever I was even little, I can remember what it was like driving through Maysville. There were a lot of things, you know, there were car dealerships on two corners. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. And that was a rural, you know, farm town, but the people in that community are still there and they want it to be special, and you're helping with that every day. Correct. How do you find a way to engage with the next generation to want to be part of the fabric of Maysville?

SPEAKER_01 8:26

I think we get we got to go through storytelling, right? They got to hear about the Other Brooks, the Henry Brooks, you know, the J.E. Mars. But we got to do that digitally, right? They're not studying any books anymore, right? We we're handing them iPads at breath, so we got to find some digital archives to be able to tell those stories and also get them engaged, you know, into that through those stories as well.

SPEAKER_04 8:46

Do you feel like there's a next generation that want to stay there in Maysville?

Why Manager-Led Government Works

SPEAKER_01 8:50

I think, you know, it's hard, right? We oh yeah, for jobs. We're competing with the Raleigh's and the Wilmington's and the Charlotte, so it's tough when they, you know, they go off to college and they see these big lights in big cities. Um it is tough, but I tell them one thing about Maysville, it's a great place to raise a family.

SPEAKER_04 9:06

For sure. And you know, a lot of those people, and you know, we can speak to like some of the other rural areas. They do see the big city lights, but then give it 10 years and they'll be back. Correct. You know, I'm a testament of I didn't think I'd ever come home. 10 years, I fell right in that trap of coming home to raise my family. Because it is indeed a great place to be.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Yes, uh, you know what I mean, and my friends, or I'm in Raleigh, we got so much to do. I'm like, well, are you going to concerts every night? Or you know, not right. Well, the steakhouse is right down the road, but we get in his car and the steakhouse is four miles down the road. Yeah. But it takes us 20 minutes. That's right. Right? So I could get in my car and go 12 miles in 20 minutes. So it's the same thing.

SPEAKER_04 9:43

Yeah, you're like, I can still get to a steakhouse.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

With a cheaper house payment.

SPEAKER_04 9:47

Exactly. A lot more land, you know? Now, as town manager, do you have some accomplishments that you're most proud of right now?

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Moving Maysville forward, making people believe in Maysville. You know what I mean? Again, I I tell people all the time my biggest accomplishment, and it's my nuke, uh, is changing the gateway signs into Maysville.

SPEAKER_04 10:06

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

The gateway sign used to say a passage to the beach.

SPEAKER_04 10:09

It did say that. I forgot.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

We was uh more than a mere passage, right? We're we're we're a destination. Yeah. And um, we changed that to natural welcome, and I think that started helping change the mindset of the folks there. And also making sure people believe in us. And you can see people are believing in Maysville right now.

SPEAKER_04 10:25

Oh, they are. And I would encourage anybody, whenever you're driving, don't take the bypass around Maysville. Hit the road and go downtown and just drive through, and you'll see innovation and forward-thinking folks working every day. That's something that I'm most proud of you for, and I think everybody in the community is because you weren't scared. Correct.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

You did it. And I got to, you know, it could test to uh having a board because if they say no to all the crazy ideas that I have, we'll be in trouble, right? Right. Ultimately, they are the naysayers, right? But they trusted me, and you know, and I applaud that because I can bring them some crazy things, you know, just like the downtown building. Hey, we gotta buy these buildings to possibly get a grant. Right? Just think about it. Oh, yeah. And they're falling apart. So we're gonna own these buildings without a chance, have a grant. But they said yes to it, got the grant, and look at it now. Because they could have said no, and those buildings would have been in the took a leap of faith. Correct.

SPEAKER_04 11:23

So, for that purpose, let's talk about how you are doing that. You're blending some historical buildings and bringing them into like this generation. How do you think that blending of history meets the future is going?

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Well, I think sort of like the depot, everybody wanted maybe to be the depot to stay historic. But I again I think we got to modernize things for this new generation, right? Some of them don't really care about the history of the thing, but how good it looked. And I think we have to do the same thing with the downtown because again, we are competing with the Rollers of the Charlotte. So now what we brought that idea down was mixed use. That's what you saw in in the in the big cities. Oh, yeah. So that was sort of the idea that we had, you know, coming to that. Is that we're gonna keep the history, we're gonna keep the bricks, because there was a talk about tearing it down, but let's keep that historic part of town that everybody remembers.

SPEAKER_04 12:13

That's right. So in those buildings, let's kind of give a little illustration for folks that might be driving on the highway going through downtown. Which buildings are those?

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Those are the downtown buildings right there in the heart of town on Main Street, uh landmark across from Farmer's Kitchen. Um, you'll see the probably one of the only two-story buildings in town right now. You can see a lot of construction. We kind of look like a city. We got the black fence up in the panic right there. We are.

SPEAKER_04 12:40

It's it on the move over there.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

So we already got one tenant is scheduled to come in as a laundry mat. Um, we're working with a second one, and departments are pretty much 95% um finished, and hopefully we get some tenants in there soon.

SPEAKER_04 12:55

That's fantastic. Now, in addition to that, there's some other movement happening in town near your office. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Leading At Home And Building Trust

SPEAKER_01 13:04

Correct. We're we're putting about$5 million in that block, right? We're building a new fire station for our volunteer fire department, um, which is about a four million dollar project. And we're doing a town hall renovation, um, which is$1.5 million roughly. So we'll have a space better for the DMV, better for the meetings. Um, we have additional meeting space. We're gonna have a senior room in there where we can just programming during the day for our seniors. That was something that the commissioners wanted, you know, to be able to offer. But again, we're gonna have a nice fire department in that corner, and again, just enhancing downtown.

SPEAKER_04 13:38

So, as you move forward, what are some of the key goals you see for Maysville in your community?

SPEAKER_01 13:44

I think we're gonna continue with improving infrastructure, right? Without the infrastructure, you don't have anything. So I think water sewer uh is gonna be the most important thing and with the growth that we're experienced. We're definitely gonna need, you know, more of that. And keep the community moving forward and keep the mindsets um that we're not just Maysville. We could be just as big and better than anybody else, right?

SPEAKER_04 14:09

Just as good, yeah, for sure. And one of the things that I like is whenever I'm driving home, if I'm going through Maysville and I hit 58 to go to my house, I love seeing the basketball courts full every day. You know, you think people are outside of Maysville and they want to be a part of the community, and you guys are given up the spaces to do that in.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Correct. Uh yeah, and and that's a big, big, big thing for our community. The only park in Jones County, right? Um, they're working on another one, but that has been the only park in Jones County that a lot of people utilize, and we don't know how blessed we are to have that sometimes, right? Oh, yeah. But I get a lot of folks coming through, going to the beach. They like, y'all got one of the nicest parks. You know, we got a splash pad out there, two basketball courts, baseball field, and I just had the pleasure recently to be out there, see a football camp going on. Oh, great. Basketball courts were going, the kids were on their scooters, uh on the sidewalks, and you know, that's what community to me is.

SPEAKER_04 15:05

That's that small town feel. Correct. That's what you don't get in a big city. You know, people are out, and that's how they get to know their neighbors too. That's right. That's huge. So as we talked about, we talked about it was Black History Month. So, how for you personally and professional, what does it mean to you to be a leader?

SPEAKER_01 15:22

Yeah, I mean sacrifice, right? And the resilience that they had back in the day, you know, to be able to be able to sit, you know, here personally. Um, professionally, I think it's about, you know, representation and making sure that I do excellence for the next person that comes and sit in the seat.

SPEAKER_04 15:40

And so do you think that what do you think your legacy will be whenever the day comes in a hundred years that you're not town manager anymore?

SPEAKER_01 15:47

I think is who you asked, right? Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

What do you want your legacy to be?

SPEAKER_01 15:51

I I think that that I led with integrity, right? That I'm again that I moved the town forward and that they was able to see, you know, something being done through my leadership.

SPEAKER_04 16:02

And I think you're gonna do it. That's gonna for sure be your you've already created that legacy with yourself, and that's a big round of congratulations to you for that. You lead with the servant's heart, you find ways and for which your community is special because it's special to you each and every day. And that's why you're here with us today. And we're so happy to have Shemada here with us. If you haven't gone to Maysville lately, take a drive, go down the highway and see what's going on. If you wanted to even take your camper out to the new campsites at the lakes, it's a good place for you to stop. It's a beautiful spot. There's no hesitation to go in there and grab lunch even while you're downtown. That's right. So thank you so much for coming today, Shemada, and we wish you all the best. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

We recently experienced a big winter plunge. Although the temperatures may be milder now, energy use during the recent frigid weather makes up a big chunk of your upcoming heating bill. Remember, the colder it is outside, the harder your heating system works. It uses more electricity to maintain the indoor temperature, even if your thermostat setting remains the same. For more energy tips to avoid billing surprises, visit joemc.com.

Black History Interwoven With Maysville

SPEAKER_03 17:20

Hey there listeners. Natalie here for the second installment of what's happening for this season of flipping the switch. Let's jump in. Our virtual annual meeting is just around the corner. As a member owner of Jones Onzlo EMC, this is your cooperative. The annual meeting of members is your opportunity to see how your co-op is working for you and what's ahead. Tune in on Friday, March 27th, 2026, at 10 a.m. on our website or Facebook page. A registration packet with more information will be arriving to your inbox this month. If we don't have your email address on file, keep an eye on your mailbox. If you have any questions, call us at 910-353-1940. Midwinter is a great time to ensure you're making the most of your home heating system. Replace or clean filters to keep your furnace or heat pump running efficiently. Listen for strange noises and check for uneven heating. These signs indicate that the system may need servicing. Ensure vents and radiators aren't blocked by furniture or rugs as proper airflow helps your system work less and save energy. A little maintenance along the way can prevent costly repairs and keep your home cozy through the winter. Take control of your electric bill before spring arrives. Your electric account should be easy to manage. And with J O E M C's member portal, it is. Whether you're at home or on the go, our secure online portal gives you 24-7 access to everything you need all in one place. With just a few clicks, you can pay your bill and view your current balance, review pass statements, set up automatic payments, or enroll in paperless billing, update your contact information, and customize account notifications and alerts. If you have any questions, call us to speak with our member service representatives. And that's what's happening at your co op this month. Natalie signing off.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

Well, folks, that's all for today's episode of Flippin' the Switch. Be sure to follow us on our social media platforms to stay in the loop with Jones Alonso. We'll see y'all next time.