Cynthia Leeks is the proactive leader of the Seabrook-Broadell Neighborhood Community Watch.
She’s not just a figurehead.
She’s involved, and the kind of community watch leader every neighborhood watch group should have when it comes to the neighborhoods people call home.
“Be engaged,” reads the notice Leeks sent Monday reminding to Seabrook and Broadell residents about the 40th National Night Out that unfolded Tuesday at Arthur D. Smith Recreation Center, a gathering that is such an integral component of Seabrook and Broadell lives. “Bring your kids, Grandma, Grandpa, your neighbors and friends.”
Hot dogs, popcorn and snow cones were a part of Tuesday’s event along with plenty of neighborhood fellowship. You get the gist of it. A lot of conversation among folks about what they have planned for summer vacation, how they liked the preacher’s sermon on Sunday and just what’s happening throughout the community. Probably plenty of interest, too, in just how the Golden Bulls football team of E.E. Smith High School and the Fayetteville State University Broncos will fare in the season ahead. It didn’t hurt, either, having Rachel Townsend, the reigning Miss Fayetteville, mingling with those who attended.
The evening also was one where Seabrook and Broadell residents could interact with local law enforcement about their concerns about crime in the city and county. Among those who were scheduled to address crime concerns were Chief Kemberle Braden and representatives of the Fayetteville Police Department; Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright;and Roberto Bryan, chief of police for Fayetteville State University.
“National Night Out is a time for communities to engage with our law enforcement teams,” Leeks was saying Tuesday. “I believe this is another great opportunity to continue building trust between our citizens and our law enforcement teams. Seeing our officers in uniform participating and engaging with citizens, I think, is awesome. National Night Out is also an opportunity for us to thank our men and women in uniform who service our city with pride. Citizens will have the opportunity to ask their individual questions as they engage in conversation during NNO.”
National Night Out is an initiative with a purpose, says Sgt. Alpha Caldwell of the Police Department, and 19 neighborhoods were among those taking part Tuesday. They include Arran Lake, Wells Place, Massey Hill, Tera Gardens, Rayconda, Fairfield Farms, Cliffdale West, Edgewood, Hickory Grove, Green Valley-Mintz Pond-Mallard Creek, Morganton Place Apartments, Westlake at Morganton Apartments, Chason Ridge Apartments, Preserve at Grande Oaks, The Village at Cliffdale Apartments, Clairway-Briarwood and Liberty Hill.
“To me, National Night Out is very important,” says Caldwell, who is assigned to the office of community affairs. “It is a time when officers and community members can get to know one another. Community members can see that officers are more than just the uniform. The uniform is what we wear, but underneath the uniform, we are everyday people. We have just responded to the call to serve our communities in a law enforcement capacity.”
A return to her roots
The Broadell Homes neighborhood is where Leeks grew up as a youngster before heading off to Shaw University and spending 33 years as a military wife before returning to Fayetteville and the Broadell neighborhood in 2017.
After retiring from a career as a human resources manager for the state, Leeks became involved in the Seabrook-Broadell Neighborhood Community Watch.
“I was raised in the community I serve,” Leeks says, “and I love every day trying my best to make a difference by simply encouraging my neighbors and friends to be engaged.”
She listens to residents with a receptive ear.
Leeks even made a bid to replace Tisha Waddell, the City Council member who abruptly resigned in 2021 over what Waddell described as a lack of transparency involving Mayor Mitch Colvin and other council members about the potential sale of the Public Works Commission utility to a Louisiana-based investment group. The appointment went to Antonio Jones, who was among a number of others who sought Waddell’s seat in District 3.
Mario Benavente needs no introduction to Leeks.
He knows what she means to her Seabrook and Broadell neighbors, and the difference Leeks makes in the quality of life for them.
“Yes, Cynthia was elected to serve as president of the Seabrook-Broadell community watch late last year,” says Benavente, the District 3 Fayetteville city councilman who represents the Seabrook-Broadell neighborhood. “In a relatively short time, she has really elevated what was already a well-established group into an organization that is writing and winning grants to further their impact on community safety in this part of the district.”
Grants, Leeks says, have meant ring doorbell cameras for residents and dusk-to-dawn lightbulbs and updates on crime to include domestic violence and breaking and entering, as well as, Leeks says, “the ongoing burning of homes that have occurred in our community this year alone.”
And there is concern of a Saturday homicide, when a 22-year-old man was the victim of a fatal shooting in broad daylight in what Leeks describes as the heart of the community.
“We are all in shock,” Leeks says. “Such a senseless, awful tragedy. We have already reached out to the family to provide our assistance in any way we can. It is our duty as citizens to seek new, innovative ideas by getting neighbors, neighborhoods and our law enforcement engaged in efforts to prevent such tragedies involving our young people. Creating pride and purpose is a key solution. We must keep working together.”
Epilogue
Today, Cynthia Leeks is the woman and leader Seabrook and Broadell residents can turn to with neighborhood and community issues and concerns.
Not every neighborhood participates in the annual National Night Out, but you can be assured the Seabrook-Broadell Neighborhood Community Watch does because Cynthia Leeks is just that kind of leader who wants the best not only for residents there but residents throughout the city.
Every neighborhood should be so fortunate as to have a Cynthia Leeks and neighborhood community watch leaders like her.
“We are honored to celebrate National Night Out,” Sgt. Caldwell says, “with the members of our community.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
