Confession: Richard and I work our asses off to uncover the truth.
We take heat. Real heat. We get nasty messages. People don't like it when you upset their apple cart.
If you know Richard personally, you probably wonder why he uses his first name on the content published by South Arkansas Reckoning. Here's the answer. Richard has gone by his middle name Preston his entire life. His son Greg also uses his first name Preston on social media. In an effort to avoid confusion, we publish under the Richard byline.
Here's why. Recently we published a story about a family leaving a public school. A teacher’s mother took to Facebook messenger to harass Richard, but ultimately sent the messages to his son. Foul ball. Richard's son is off limits. Many have asked why the name swap. So there you have it.
Richard and I met about a year ago when we were both investigating the same thing. We created South Arkansas Reckoning because the local mainstream media no longer wanted to report the whole truth especially when it concerned their friends, subscribers or donors.
Since last summer the Reckoning has crisscrossed South Arkansas trying to help people expose the truth in areas close to where we live all the way to Nashville, Ark., in Southwest Arkansas back across to the Mississippi River down to the Louisiana border. We have taken calls from folks at midnight and at 8 a.m and everywhere in between. That's because we believe in what we are doing. We believe truth and integrity matter.
What you may not know is Richard does all of this — trying to sort out the truth and talk to people about their issues — while being a full-time caregiver for his son who has brain cancer. While your paid subscriptions greatly help our small business, being a caregiver is an entirely different situation. I know. I cared for my mom by myself most days at home as she battled lung cancer. Caregiving is the hardest job, but most rewarding job, anyone will ever do.
Richard has launched a Go Fund Me to help his son because, frankly, the current Reckoning subscriptions don't come close to covering the costs of caring for a loved one. Medical and personal needs suddenly arise that no one could have seen coming. Treatment options are limited in Arkansas. Clinical trials are available in other states. Limited as they are, clinical trials provide a little more hope. There are none available in Arkansas.
As time goes on, the needs at home are becoming increasingly more demanding. The need to raise capital to provide pathways to better treatment options as well as general help with the cost of living is needed.
South Arkansas Reckoning has reached and continues to reach thousands of readers. We sound like a broken record asking the readers to upgrade their subscriptions to paid. Honestly, those requests were made in hopes of avoiding asking for donations separately from our small business.
Today I am asking you to contribute if you can, even a $10 donation or upgraded subscription will help more than you know. Both options are available. We are easy to find on social media and would appreciate if you all would share the Go Fund Me on your social media to help make daily life a little easier for Greg.
Here's the link to Richard’s Go Fund Me. You can read more about Richard’s story by clicking here on his Go Fund Me. If you would like to send a check, send us an email and we will provide you a mailing address.
Every Go Fund Me donation goes to Richard and his son. No donation goes to the Reckoning. If you have it in your heart to help him and his son, please consider donating. Any amount will help right now. This is far more important than seeking the truth. It is this simple. It's about being a good person and helping a man who is his son’s only caregiver give his son the best possible life.
We — Suzi and Richard — work collectively, too, on stories in the Reckoning. It's a business, not a hobby. To help the Reckoning grow, we are doing one more change by lowering our yearly subscription to $45 a year for a limited time. Our monthly remains at $6. A founding member is $300 — that's for the entire life of the Reckoning and we aren't going anywhere.
We help shed light on untold stories by continuing our investigations, which are time consuming and unavailable in any other publication. You help us by making Richard’s life easier as a caregiver 24/7.
We will continue the Reckoning although you may not receive an article every day simply because there's only so much two people can do. Investigations and interviews take time and do not always turn into a story. And, ultimately, caregiving for a loved one is much more important than journalism or anything else at this moment.