Join me in a special project

The story of Connie Maxwell Children's Home has long fascinated me. Born out of the tragedy of a little girl's death, this ministry in Greenwood, S.C. has been helping children and their families find hope and healing for nearly 125 years. I've long wanted to tell this story and began to do so in 2014 when I took on this documentary project. Since that time, I've had the opportunity to do numerous interviews, dig around in various archives and explore the long history of this special ministry.

A former journalist, public relations professional and now a college professor, I served as the communications director for Connie Maxwell Children's Home from 1987-1993. During that time I had the opportunity to see firsthand the difference a residential childcare ministry can make. One of my great joys has been to see some of the children who were at Connie Maxwell during my time there as adults with families of their own. It's hard to know exactly what their lives would be like today without Connie Maxwell's intervention.

For me, this production is a passion project and one that I want to do well. That's where I hope you come in. Any project of this size and scope requires the help of many people. I've already received great help from many current and former employees and presidents of Connie Maxwell as well as from alumni and friends. I won't try to name them now but I do look to do so on this site in the days ahead and in the final credits of the production. The help of these individuals has gotten me to the point where I am deep into the editing of the film with the hope of completing it soon.

I am currently working on the rough cut, which is essentially a rough draft. In a rough cut, most of the pieces are in place but the editing is not finalized. The narration track is a scratch track that has not yet been recorded professionally and music levels and color grading are not complete. The rough cut at this point also does not include various soundbites that will be in the finished film. All in all, the production is moving along.

But there are gaps.

There are places where I just haven't been able to come up with the images or video footage that are needed to match the script. While the Connie Maxwell archives have been invaluable in providing numerous photographs of Connie Maxwell at various points in history, there are many images that I'd still like to have to better tell the story. Some relate to the children's home itself while others simply relate to a time period in South Carolina, Greenwood or South Carolina Baptist history. I can work around these obstacles if necessary by changing the script or eliminating certain sections of text but I'd rather not.

So my hope is that by starting this website and tapping into the many alumni and friends of Connie Maxwell, you will be able to help me fill in the gaps. Over the coming days and weeks, I will be posting snippets of video from the rough cut and asking for your help. My hope is that you will take a look at these short sections and then give me feedback. You may have an image that you can share or a suggestion for where I might find one to best fill a gap. Or, you may see a correction that needs to be made in terms of a time period in which an image is being used to help the film be more accurate. Any feedback will be appreciated.

I look forward to partnering with you on this project to tell an important story.