The “Small Town Podcast” continued its four-episode series in Mississippi by visiting Carrollton to talk with Mayor Pamela Lee in its latest episode.
The podcast is an audio project in which small-town officials discuss their stories and the stories of their municipalities.
“We hear about the joys and struggles of small-town living. And of course, we hear about the hilarious things that only happen in a small town,” the show’s description states on its Apple Podcast page.
On the most recent episode, which was released on Monday, Lee discussed how she came to live in Carrollton and “her unique way of picking it as the place she would call home.”
Lee and host Matt Seale – who is mayor of Ocilla, Georgia — also talked about how Carrollton has grown and developed over the years. According to a statement from the podcast, “this episode is very special being that this is the smallest small town Mayor Matt (Seale) has traveled to so far.”
After the interview, Lee said that she thought the conversation went pretty well and “was a lot of fun.”
She said she discussed the challenges of running a small town with Seale for about an hour and admired his skillful interviewing style and how he approached the conversation.
“He was a lot of fun to talk to,” Lee said.
The series is produced in partnership with the Mississippi Municipal League and sponsored by Government Consultants.
The league said seven small towns from all over the state applied to be a part of the show. To qualify, the town had to have a population of under 5,000 citizens and had to fill out an application, including a short video.
The towns were selected by an anonymous panel.
“I think the thing I enjoyed the most about the interview, and the thing I found most interesting, was that they did a really good job with historic preservation,” Seale said.
Particularly, he said he was impressed with the Carrollton Pilgrimage & Pioneer Day Festival, an annual event that celebrates the town’s past.
Seale also said he admired Lee’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Here is an example of a very small town that was very adaptable, that didn’t just batten down the hatches and say, ‘Well, we’re just going to shut down life until this storm passes over and then figure it out.’ They made the adjustments, and they’re moving on, not just shutting down,” he said.
Other episodes in this Mississippi series of the podcast will spotlight Lucedale, Okolona and, in next week’s episode, French Camp.
“Small Town Podcast” is available on Apple iTunes or the Apple Podcast app, Stitcher and at www.smalltownpodcast.com.
Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. Twitter: @AdamBakst_GWCW
