|
 CHASE
SAUNDERS
The Trail of Charlotte History on the Greenway
by Rick Jackson
A view of uptown Charlotte speaks volumes to the Queen City's
relatively recent rise to power and influence in the south. Passing
San Francisco and trailing only New York, Charlotte is now the #2
financial center in America and the gleaming tower of Bank of
America and Wachovia form the centerpiece of a skyline that rivals
much larger cities and offers symbolic pride and power to those of
us who care about the image of our town. We're all fortunate to live
in such a privileged city and excited about our future. But what of
the past? Tangible remnants of our storied history are hard to find
and some of our community leaders have decided it's high time we did
something about it.
Symbolism, history, marketing and public impression took center
stage at Charlotte Rotary this past Tuesday when former Superior
Court Judge, Chase Saunders presented a vision of the future for our
consideration. "The Trail of Charlotte History on the Greenway" is
an idea with a growing number of supporters. "The Greenway," refers
to the Little Sugar Creek greenway project that winds its way around
the uptown area and through the campus of Central Piedmont Community
College. Judge Saunders presentation offers an addition to the
greenway project which will be developed over the next several
years. "The Trail of Charlotte History" would add greenway statues
and special landscaped venues that would create an especially
interesting and pleasant showcase in a park setting for natives and
visitors to discover moments of historical significance in
Charlotte. Although it is still unclear which moments and people
might be chosen, Captain James Jack certainly appears to be a part
of the plan. He is the Charlotte horseman who rode to Philadelphia
in 1775 to deliver a just-signed copy of the Mecklenburg Declaration
of Independence to the newly formed Continental Congress.
Paid for primarily with private money, the plan is to commemorate
the politicians, artists, educators, journalists and other important
contributors to the Charlotte area, from the earliest days of
European settlement through the 20th century. Some of the proposed
names include President James K. Polk, Randolph Scott, James B.
Duke, Billy Graham, Queen Charlotte and a couple of folks near and
dear to my heart at WBT, Loonis McGlohon and Fred Kirby. The list is
a long one and it will be quite a task to pare it down to a
reasonable number.
Judge Saunders encouraged our membership to get involved personally
and communicate the plan to our corporate partners who will be
called upon to support the project through tax free contributions.
Head Table:
John Lassiter, Lila Rash,
Catherine Browning, Meg McElwain, John Phillips, Janet Fortner;
Invocation: Gayle Smith
Visitors and Guests:
Ken Poe; Health & Happiness: Fred
Lowrance; Song: Gregg Walker; Piano: Thomas Moore
K. Martin
Waters, Jr.
2004-2005 Distinguished Rotarian |
 As
the 69th President of our Club, Martin epitomizes the best
of Rotary. When asked to do something for Rotary, this Phi
Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College can always be
counted on to be prepared. Having served Rotary in every way
since 1950, he has 54 years of perfect attendance. He
provides real estate services gratis to the local Presbytery
for location of land for new Churches. Having joined his
father in the real estate and insurance business after Naval
Service in World War II, he continues as Chairman of Waters
Investments, Inc. |
|
*
* *
|
|
SUPPORT THE ROTARY FOUNDATION |
|
$100 EVERY ROTARIAN EVERY YEAR |
|
 |
|
|
þ
Welcome to the latest club
members: Sammy Black,
introduced by Biff Virkler
and Hershel Sanders,
introduced by Dale LeCount.
þ
Rotary International has
designated April 2005 as Centennial Service Above Self
Volunteer Month. Rotarians are encouraged to
volunteer at least 10 hours of personal time in service to
others during the month of April.
Club members are asked to report their
volunteer hours to Sandy by month's end. The
report of hours will be announced at the 2005 RI Convention
in Chicago.
þ
Thanks to this month's
volunteers at Classroom Central:
Tom Robertson, Rich Campbell, and
John Johnson.
þ
The Police Executive
Research Forum (PERF) awarded Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police Chief Darrel W. Stephens
its national leadership award during their annual meeting in
New York City on April 21, 2005. Stephens was nominated by
his colleagues and chosen by PERF's Board of Directors for
his outstanding work in helping to shape the thinking of
police professionals in the United States and abroad. PERF
President and Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton
said "Darrel Stephens brought about dramatic changes in how
police do their jobs. He has been a leader in community
policing and in advancing police practices to ensure that
citizens are served with dignity, fairness and with respect
for their concerns about crime and disorder."
þ
PRstore (Mike Butler) is featured in a national
story in the May issue of Inc. magazine. The article
describes the PRstore franchise concept which provides
marketing services to small businesses as the H&R Block of
public relations.
þ
Hunter Widener was
identified as committee chairman of the City Committee, a
group of young Charlotteans pitching the city as a cool
place to live.
þ
Committee Preference forms
should be returned to the Rotary office by May 4th.
þ
Harriman Jett is doing a great job with the
club's new projectors. If you are interested in working with
Harriman to handle the set up and take down of the
equipment, or would like to lend a hand on the "creative"
side by helping with interesting ways to use the equipment,
please get in touch with Harriman:
hjett@carolina.rr.com.
þ
MARK YOUR CALENDAR…there
will be two dinner meetings in June (yes, they replace the
lunch meeting). You won't want to miss the Club Assembly at
SMS Catering on June 7th, or the family outing at Knights
Stadium on June 21st. Go ahead and post your calendar,
keeping in mind these meetings are dinner meetings.
Registration details to follow. |
|
|
|
|
|
Attendance
Record |
|
4/26/05 |
4/20/04 |
| visitors &
guests |
17 |
16 |
| club
members |
189 |
179 |
| total
attendance |
206 |
195 |
|
|
|
Wedding
Anniversaries |
4 Holli and Keith Nowokunski
4 Ridgely and John Phillips
5 Kelly and Mike Crum
6 Kathy and Mike Hawley
7 Harriet and Ed White
8 Burgl and Ronnie Pruett
9 Mary Beth and John Snyder |
|
|
New Members | Resignations |
Paul Schmidt
Hershel Sanders
Sammy Black |
Tigger Alexander
Barbara Price
Ron Ezell |
|
|
| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
3 Mike Butler, Sanford, FL
4 Kemp Dunaway, Charlotte, NC
6 Frank Timberlake,
Timberlake, NC
7 Mary Rinehart, Charlotte, NC
8 Bob Johnston,
Huntington, W. VA
9 Ray Killian, Conover, NC
9 Selena Rogers, Greer, SC |
|
|
|
|
|
