 DAVID
ERDMAN
The Geography of Charlotte
By Jill Santuccio
President-elect David
Zimmerman conducted the meeting in Luther Moore's absence and
speculated that we had scared Luther away after just three meetings
… Bill Griswold was inducted as the first new member of the Rotary
year. He brings loads of Rotary experience, including serving as a
club president and having a grandfather who met Paul Harris.
The club's own David Erdman presented a fact- and fun-filled program
on the geography and history of Charlotte, including the following "betcha
didn't know" factoids:
- The entire continent of
South America actually is east of Charlotte.
- Three-fourths of
Mecklenburg County is in the Catawba Watershed, one of
the richest water supplies in the state. Conversely
Raleigh, Greensboro, Chapel Hill and other areas in the
Triangle are in a precariously low-watershed area and
may face water crises in the future.
- Cowan's Ford Dam was
built in 1962, eventually giving birth to Lake Norman,
the largest inland lake in the state.
- Charlotte's early
beginnings were thanks to the "intersection" of two
emigration routes: southwest from Philadelphia and
northwest from Charleston.
- Our city was founded in
1768, six years after Mecklenburg County and was named
for Princess Charlotte Sophia, wife of King George III.
- Charlotte's system of
wards developed in 1875 was some of the nation's first
urban planning. It was constructed in a grid mapped
around the intersection of Trade and Tryon, taking the
railroad into account. Second Ward was designated for
African-Americans, while Third and Fourth wards were
predominantly white - not the first or only place where
the train tracks separated the races.
- Dilworth was our first
suburb, followed by the master-planned community of
Myers Park designed by John Nolen. Nolen also had the
brilliant idea - in 1917 - of constructing a belt road
around Charlotte.
- David quipped that while
cities such as Richmond have permanent marble markers at
their city limits, our Charlotte City Limits signs are
"on wheels."
- Due to annexations,
another state and several towns bordering Charlotte, we
have a maximum potential of growing to 340 square miles.
The city limits currently encompass 280.5 square miles,
so we are close to "topped out."
- The area's first
racetrack was actually wooden and stood off of South
Blvd.
- Camp Greene, west of
uptown, was only in operation for less than two years
but housed more than 60,000 troops. That effectively
doubled the population of Charlotte, which was a mere
60,000 at the time.
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Head Table:
Bob Alexy, John Johnson, David Zimmerman, Russell Ranson, David
Erdman, Al Nikles, Jeff Searcy; Invocation: John Snyder
Visitors &
Guests:
Don Carmichael; Health &
Happiness: Randall Groves; Song: Alan Barnhardt; Piano: Thomas Moore
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NEW MEMBER APPROVAL |
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The Classification and Membership
Committee recommend and the Directors approve for consideration
for all members, the following NEW MEMBER. Should you question
the eligibility of any nominee, please call the Rotary Office by
August 8th. You will be contacted by a member of
the Board. Otherwise, no reply is necessary and election will
proceed according to our bylaws. |
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Christian Ogbonna
Liberty Grace LLC dba Sierra Mortgage & Realty
Sponsor: Floyd Davis
Endorsed: Alan Adler and Mike Rash |
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Rotary Club of Charlotte
841 Baxter Street, Suite 118, Charlotte 28202
chltrot@bellsouth.net 704-375-6816 |
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From the Papers:
The club's favorite community columnist,
Thomas Moore, provided
another thought provoking article in Tuesday's Observer;
Janet Fortner (Hospice &
Palliative Care Charlotte Region) was photographed attending
Party at the Stars; Great coverage in Jeff Elder's column
for the Rotary Scholarship Golf Classic. Not only was the
tournament mentioned, the Chiefs (Luther
Fincher, Joe Penner, Darrel Stephens and Pres
Luther Moore) were pictured
in the "whisper" shot. And three other Rotarians,
Powell, Don Haack, and
Jeff Triplett rounded out
the coverage on other issues; Congratulations to
Michelle and
Robert Fish on the birth of
son Samuel Bankston Fish.
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Bill Griswold joined the
membership on Tuesday and is the club's first new member of
the Rotary year. Contact Bill at Vistage International,
Inc., 704-995-5955 or
bill.griswold@vistage.com.;
Richard Bailey reports
wife Ellen's knee
surgery went well and she is working with a physical
therapist at home; Steve Meckler
has thrown his hat into the mix of those wishing to fill the
school board seat; Hope Lanier
checked in with lots of news: her grandmother, Evelyn
Lanier, passed away July 22nd; her father had bypass surgery
on Monday; she is moving to Columbia, SC and has accepted a
job with MG&C Consulting Services. Contact Hope at
hlanier@mcgconsulting.com.
THE CHALLENGE IS ON…"Herb's
Harem" challenged "The Table's" contribution ($1300) to the
Rotary Scholarship Golf Classic and reported their
collection to date is $1900. David Zimmerman then said the
size of the harem is increasing - and invited ALL women of
Rotary to join that group. David then explained the first of
many challenges pitting classification against
classification…the first being the Bankers/Financial
Planners against the Lawyers. Chris Kemper will serve as the
contact/donation collector for the bankers; Steve Meckler is
the point person for the lawyers. The fund raising efforts
will be reported next week. And the next group will be
identified. Stay tuned… |
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NEW MEMBER
PROFILE |
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Charlie Raubacher
Classification: Construction,
Program Management
Parsons 4701 Hedgemore Drive (28209)
charlie.raubacher@parsons.com
704-558-4255 |
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Charlie Raubacher is a Vice
President and Deputy Division Manager for the Healthcare and
Education Division with Parsons. Parsons is a worldwide
leader in program and construction management, planning and
engineering. Charlie has over 35 years experience in program
and construction management, general contracting,
alternative project delivery methods, estimating and
scheduling. While an adjunct professor in the School of
Civil Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he
developed and taught the Graduate Construction Program
Management course. Charlie has participated in numerous
program management, project delivery methods and claims
avoidance training seminars for both public and private
organizations and professional associations. Charlie holds a
B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland,
and a M.S. in Engineering (Engineering Management) and a
Master in Civil Engineering (Construction Management) from
the Catholic University of America. He is a Professional
Engineer and a Certified Professional Estimator (inactive).
Charlie served as a Combat Engineer Platoon Leader and
Construction Officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in
Vietnam. He is also an Eagle Scout and has served in various
Boy Scout leadership positions. Charlie is the recipient of
the Atlanta Rotary Club of America Fred Hoyt Hospitality
Award. |
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Attendance
Record |
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8/01/06 |
8/02/05 |
| visitors &
guests |
12 |
11 |
| club
members |
168 |
176 |
| total
attendance |
180 |
187 |
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New Members | Resignations |
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Bill Griswold |
Hope Lanier |
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| Roaming
Rotarians |
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Tom Burgess, Highlands, NC |
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Wedding
Anniversaries |
10 Faye and Ron Campbell
11 Pam and Skip Berry
12 Ellen and Richard Bailey
12 Elsie and Bob Garner
13 Mary and Jay Deyton |
| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
08 Bob Boehm, Bayonne, NJ
08 Ronnie Bryant,
Shreveport, LA
08 Pam Daigle, Chicago, IL
09 Marilynn Bowler,
Rochester, NY |
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