Appomattox Happenings: keeping you in the know!

Teresa Davis has been a published writer since her junior year of college when she joined a newspaper team in 2002.

Though, if you ask her, she’ll tell you she doesn’t consider herself a writer — more of a communicator, who happens to “write pretty good.”

Teresa’s writings have been published in numerous newspapers, lifestyle magazines, a christian magazine, and more. Most recently you can find her work on this website, AppoHappo.com, which she created in July, 2022.

Teresa believes that each person has a gift (or, a talent) and that life is better when you figure out what your gift is, and serve others with it.

Teresa and her family moved to Appomattox in 2017. She’s from a small town just over an hour from here, and she understands that small towns are made up of, mostly, mom and pop shops and entrepreneurial businesses that were started by local people just trying to use their talents to serve their community, and make a living in the process.

And that’s just exactly what Teresa set out to do in 2022 when she quit her full time job as a communications director and officially launched Appomattox Happenings as her very own entrepreneurial business!

Meeting a need in the community

Before making the move to Appomattox, Teresa searched and searched the internet for valuable resources and information about daily life in this area. While her search did not come up completely dry, she felt it was definitely lacking.

She wanted to know where she could buy daily household essentials, but she also wanted to know about the local businesses that serve the community in a variety of ways:

Where would she be able to get her car’s oil changed?

Where could she buy a gift?

Who serves a great breakfast?

As an outsider looking in, it was difficult to find the answers.

After moving and settling in to the area, however, she began to realize what an absolute gem Appomattox, Virginia is!

“The people in this area are truly what makes it so special,” she said. “People in Appomattox care about one another. I’ve seen it time and time again since moving here. ‘There’s been an accident? Let’s do a fundraiser to help the victims.’ ‘You’re opening a new business? I’ll be there for your grand opening.’ ‘Your kid has the flu? Let me bring dinner for your family tonight.’”

“It’s beautiful,” she continued. “You know those movies about life in small towns? Where everyone is so nice and helpful and people want to pitch in for the good of the community? I see that take place in real life here in Appomattox. It’s such a cool thing to witness and to be able to be a part of.”

What is Appomattox Happenings all about?

In 2018, Teresa started a Facebook group called Appomattox Happenings. It was a place where she could share and learn about local events in the community.

As the group’s popularity grew, Teresa began meeting people who told her how much of a great resource the group had become.

Teresa saw the potential for growth with this type of group, where she could offer her writing services to local businesses and tell their stories to a) those who live here, b) to those who want to move to the area, and c) visitors and tourists!

After much prayer and planning, she took a leap of faith in 2022 and created this website: AppoHappo.com.

“'Appo Happo' is catchy, and it’s way easier to type than ‘A-P-P-O-M-A-T-T-O-X—H-A-P-P-E-N-I-N-G-S,’” she explained, “so I shortened it. Thankfully, others really like it, too!"

“The website serves several purposes,” Teresa said. “First, it’s a place where people can find out about what this community offers - from feature articles about local businesses, to the updated-daily event calendar, to the business guide page for a quick resource.”

In her first year of business, she’s received great feedback about the work she is doing.

“It’s been really neat, because, I’m hearing from newcomers who tell me how helpful the site has been for them,” Teresa said, “and I’m hearing from people who’ve been in Appomattox their entire lives - who tell me ‘I knew this or that business existed, but I didn’t know they offered XYZ.’ It’s been really cool to get that kind of feedback.”

Keeping Appomattox in the know

Teresa shares feature articles about local business, the folks who own them, and the services and products they offer. (She also plans to begin promoting local churches and nonprofits later in 2023.)

She also keeps a chronological calendar of events on her website, where anyone interested can read about events coming up in Appomattox County (and sometimes in surrounding areas, too).

For nonprofits, churches, and groups trying to fundraise or host community events, there is no charge to add their events to the calendar. For Businesses trying to gain a profit or leads through a community event, there is a small fee to add the event to the calendar.

“The way I see it: I run a marketing business. If someone wants to advertise an event through Appomattox Happenings that their business will make a profit from, then I hope they would also support my small business in my efforts to advertise their event,” she explained.

Those who pay the $20 fee also receive extra promotions through the weekly Appo Happo email as well as on social media.

“I saw a great need for better online community communication and my hope is that I’ve opened a door to meet that need,” Teresa said. “The way Appo Happo is set up, anyone who is, or is not, on social media can benefit from it. Those who ‘don’t do’ social media are loving the weekly emails and keeping up with the calendar on the site. Those who are on Facebook or Instagram can see the articles as they scroll. It’s a win-win for everyone. Well, for anyone with access to a computer or mobile device!” If you have a business you'd like to see highlighted through an article promoted by Appomattox Happenings, you can contact Teresa Davis through Facebook, Instagram, or through this website in the contact form at the bottom of this page. You can also email her at appomattoxhappenings@gmail.com.

If you enjoy the articles Teresa writes about local businesses, you can help spread the word by simply sharing or commenting on each article post on social media. Your comments and shares help support the hardworking business owners who strive use their gifts and talents for the betterment of this community.

Did you know.....? Not only do your encouraging words brighten a business owners day, your comments on social media also help increase visibility of each post, thus, helping spread the word about their good businesses!

So, when you see an AppoHappo article pop up, give it a like, leave an encouraging comment, and share it to show your support of the great local businesses on this site, (and your support of this business too).

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