We have officially been in our new downtown office for about two months now.
We continue to figure things out and are still working on signage for the building’s exterior – so many ideas, decisions and approvals.
For those who don’t know, we moved from our North 40th Avenue location to downtown Hattiesburg in the Montague Building at the corner of Main and Pine Streets.
Our address is 525 North Main, Suite C, but our office door is actually on the Pine Street side of the building, just across from the Forrest County Tax Collector Office parking lot.
It’s a one-way street yet we’ve discovered how many people really don’t know what one way means.
There’s a blue United States Postal Service mail receptacle and two large windows by our door. You’ll also notice our green Signature magazine box as well as a white PineBeltNEWS box beside the entrance.
We’re proud to share building space with Montague, Varnado and Pittman attorneys upstairs and attorney Anna Rush in the front of our building. We’re in good hands should we need legal counsel.
It has taken some getting used to, and as some would say, ‘we are in the thick of things.’
The old office was just a hop, skip and jump from my house which made it convenient for running home to get something I’d forgotten or needed or for lunch.
Even though I’m only now about seven miles from the house, navigating Hardy or Fourth Street traffic isn’t conducive to a quick run home, so I’ve had to better prepare.
I’ve learned for the most part to throw some lunch in a bag and on Tuesdays when I’m always at work late, a little dinner.
I’ve navigated several scenarios to traverse those seven miles with the least amount of traffic at different times of the day.
As with any day, stay off Hardy.
I’m still learning where the potholes or dips in the road are and where the porch sitters perch, so I can wave on a regular basis.
I’ve also had to mentally adjust my brain for getting to those places that I frequent on a fairly regular basis.
Once I found a route that worked best it became rote. These days I have to think where I’m going and the best possible route for getting there.
That now means allowing extra time to get to west Hattiesburg.
Not one who likes to be late, I usually arrive in plenty of time, but that’s OK.
Being downtown is also conducive to walking where I need to go. I can hoof it to the chancery building, city hall, the cultural center or a number of other venues without ever moving my car, which is convenient, especially with the parking situation downtown.
There’s a city lot a block north of the office which allows for plenty of space for our crew and then there are limited two-hour parking spaces on the streets surrounding the office which are handy for a quick in and out, if you can find one.
Those have also served as a refresher course for parallel parking.
If you’re in the vicinity, poke your head in and say hello. Just make sure you go the right way down the one-way street.
We’re watching you!
Beth Bunch is the managing editor of The PineBelt NEWS.
