Neuse News, Magic Mile Media promotes Thrower to VP
Photos by Brandon Potter / Potter Photography & Design
By Bryan Hanks
A woman described as the “glue” of Neuse News by its owner and publisher has been promoted within the organization.
Aleatha Thrower has been with the site for almost a year on a part-time basis. Effective today, the Pink Hill native is the vice president of operations in a full-time position for both Neuse News and its sister entity, Magic Mile Media.
“Over the past year, Aleatha has proven she is a trustworthy team member,” Neuse News Publisher and Magic Mile Media Owner B.J. Murphy said. “She coordinates projects with our social media clients for Magic Mile, assigns stories for our Neuse News team and brainstorms on business objectives for both.
“She is our glue — we needed someone to help balance a lot of crazy and fun ideas with the need to execute them and she does all of it flawlessly.”
Thrower is a graduate of South Lenoir High School and The Potter’s House Seminary and Bible College with a bachelor’s degree in theology. From 1997-2003, she was in upper management for East Coast Oil Corporation before becoming a mother.
Following the birth of her daughter, Thrower was a homemaker for 14 years, where she also home-schooled her child, who is now a student at South Lenoir.
It was during that period she assisted a group of residents in beginning the Cross of Christ Community Church in Beulaville.
“The skills I use here (at Neuse News and Magic Mile Media), I used there,” she said. “We created systems, infrastructure, policies, procedures and by-laws to form something out of nothing.”
After her daughter went to high school, Thrower decided to reenter the workforce by joining Turner-White Photography in Pink Hill as a client relations manager on a part-time basis.
“I decided it was time to rediscover what my purpose was for me as an individual after all that time serving and taking care of my daughter,” Thrower said.
On the advice of Turner-White Photography owner Marie White, Thrower responded to an ad for office help for Magic Mile and Neuse News in August 2018, a few weeks after the launch of the latter.
Before she initially interviewed for the position, Thrower said she was already impressed with the way Murphy and Neuse News covered local news. She was also a member of the Magic Mile Media social media masterminds group on Facebook.
“I liked what B.J. was doing by positively impacting our community in so many ways,” Thrower said. “That was very important to me — I wanted to be part of something that was contributing to our community while using my creative talents.”
Since joining Neuse News/Magic Mile Media, she’s contributed to a plethora of projects, including the upcoming Social Media Masterminds Marketing Summit (SM3 Summit) in October, BBQ Fest on the Neuse, the Holly Jolly Show, the Kinston Christmas Parade, CappsTrailers.com, WeReport Neuse News Facebook Group and every election-related live event the organization has produced.
“To be a part of this organization from the ground up — and, certainly, to thrive at it — has been satisfying to me,” Thrower said. “The future is very bright and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Murphy said he’s also excited about the future of Neuse News and Magic Mile — and a major reason for that excitement is because of the Thrower’s contributions and dedication.
“Thanks to talented team members like Aleatha, we’ll continue to provide businesses and organizations the tools they need to communicate with their customers and individuals the information they need to live more productive lives,” he said.
