The JB Cissell Memorial Fund

On Sept. 7, 2019, Inside Carolina lost a treasured, founding member of its family in J.B. Cissell. You can read more about him and what he meant to Inside Carolina in the column below. The J.B. Cissell Memorial Fund was set up in coordination with an organization that was near and dear to his heart: Volunteers for Youth.

Combining J.B.’s concern for kids with his love of Chapel Hill and UNC athletics, VFY is using the memorial fund for its mentoring programs, creating scholarships to send area children to UNC sports camps, who otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity. Please consider making a donation in his memory.

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Remembering J.B. Cissell
Sept. 2019
by Ben Sherman

J.B. Cissell was pivotal to both the early survival and long term success of Inside Carolina. In the late ‘90s, he was the managing editor of the magazine and web site, and both he and Tommy Ashley — on a volunteer basis — logged long hours doing everything from writing, editing, marketing, and even mailing the early magazines to subscribers. Those two essentially kept Inside Carolina afloat solely out of a passion for the job. Once the publication became more stable under new ownership, he maintained an editorial role in the magazine for another dozen years, and later was the video studio manager for the web site, but in between he did just about everything else. He was at his best as an interviewer, willing to talk to anyone and ask anything, and that combined with his vast knowledge of Carolina sports, his commitment to the assignment, and his genuine, friendly personality yielded fantastic longform Q&As.

To me, he was always kind, supportive, and encouraging, dating back to our first communications in 1998. From the first time I met him, he was always a reliable, friendly face. He showed me the ropes in Chapel Hill, at UNC and with Inside Carolina. In fact, both he and Tommy played an integral role in the decision to merge my prior web site with Inside Carolina, continually encouraging Buck Sanders and I to work together and seeing the potential of the partnership. I don’t think I would have gone through with the merger if I didn’t trust his opinion and know that we’d be working together.

He was certainly eccentric, though that was part of what made him endearing. He kept irregular hours, lived in the same Chapel Hill spot forever, was an avid salsa dancer, and found himself involved in some of the most uproarious stories that would have you laughing so hard you’d be wiping tears from your eyes. I remember sharing laughs with him at lunch spots around Chapel Hill, on long car rides to basketball tournaments, and in the media room before games. Everyone always spoke fondly of J.B. His love of Inside Carolina, UNC, Chapel Hill and its community, and his complete dedication to his friends and their families, always shined through.

When he had to step away from Inside Carolina this summer, I sent him the following heartfelt words in a text message, expressing my appreciation, and asked to meet up with him for an overdue lunch.

“You’ve always been a willing contributor in whatever role is needed, and friendly face at IC, and that’s not something to be taken for granted. We go back two decades and have lots of great, shared stories. Please know that I’m forever grateful and will never forget how welcoming you were to me from the get-go, and the pivotal role you played in bringing me to Inside Carolina.”

We never got to have that lunch. J.B. died this past weekend. I’m going to sorely miss that friendly face in Chapel Hill.